It's always great to escape from the daily grind and just get away!

I am sure we all agree.

Mr Awesome and I decided that he would take a day off and we would make a good weekend trip away.

 So last Friday lunch time, we packed the caravan, hooked it up, popped the kids in the car with their DVD screens...and off we went to Albany.

We arrived there at 6pm and checked in at the Big4 Middleton Beach Holiday Park.

 We have stayed here many times before and keep going back because it is a lovely, neat, family-friendly place to stay. Nice amenities which is very important. We obtained access to the Family Bathroom so it was easier to get the kids bathed. There is a toilet, shower and HUGE corner bath in there which the kids LOVED!! And in the ladies, you can see in the pic above that there is always some fresh posies of flowers on the sink benchtops. Very pretty and just a nice touch I think :-)

And...

It's right on the beach!! BONUS!

 

On Saturday, we hit the shops! I raided TWO op shops and found many things I liked and bought. I also found something I LOVED and TOTALLY WANTED but sadly didn't buy.

A drop-down front desk!

I have been on the look-out for one of these for a couple of years now. It would be a perfect little compact office area where I can write and blog and other administrative things. But...

Mr Awesome simply stated something not-so-awesome to my ears -

"Where would you put it Anna?"

Which pretty much means NO. But he did do it gently and kindly which made it easier. I think he would have agreed if I could have come up with the space solution and justifiable reasoning for its use! But - there is the issue of space,

Soooo...it stayed there.

Aaaanyway, we kept shopping. Clothes we needed, storage boxes for some home organising (I will share at a later date), some new towels/handtowels, some toys for the kids, YARN - ya know everything we NEEDED ;-)

It was tiring but enjoyable AND I got everything I had on my list to get!

We headed back to the caravan park about 2:30 and decided to take a stroll down to the beach.

 

Which is still a lovely place to go. The kids had a BLAST!!!

 

 

We headed back and freshened up before heading off to our dinner reservation.

 

As a birthday treat for Mr Awesome, we had pre-booked a table at Rustlers Steakhouse and Grill. It's expensive but since it was a continuation of the birthday celebration, we splashed out!

 

Here is the Entree's and Sprout's grilled fish and chips, which she didn't eat...so little Sparkle downed it! Little foodie she is :-)

I had garlic mushrooms sauteed in speck bacon and red wine. It came served in a cute little red pot. So adorable. And the mushrooms were yummy!

Mr Awesome had the Oysters Kilpatrick. To which he remarked, "This is livin', Barry!" LOL!

 

Then there were the MAINS!!

 

 It was the local fish market but there was other food and fresh produce stalls as well. There was also a few stands which sold handmade goods and crafty, knick-knacky things. My favourite stall was the candle stall called GLOW. I bought a set of rainbow candles for Sprout's upcoming birthday party. And a beautiful lime-scented candle. I was smiling. So was Sprout. And she got to smile even more when a lady gave her a cute little crocheted flower hair clip.

 And Sprout thoroughly enjoyed the live band. She would have stayed there watching and listening all day I reckon.

But we did have to leave, but as we were heading out, we could not go past a particular bakery stall who were cooking quiches, croissants and other pastry and baked goods in a wood fired stove. We bought and devoured a vegetarian quiche (me), a croissant (Mr Awesome & Sparkle), and some brownie (ALL of us)!! So totally tasty and delicious :-)

 

We then all buckled up in the car again and headed off to Mount Barker which is a little country town just out of Albany. And we visited Mr Awesome's Pop and Nan.

I always enjoy taking in the crocheted goodness at their house. Nan has a different crocheted rug on EVERY chair and a few crocheted cushions spattered here and there too. Delightful!

Mr Awesome was particularly delighted with this visit as Pop gave him some of his old tools and woodworking implements. Pop used to work alot with wood and tinker around in his shed making lots of different things. Our wedding present from them six and a half years ago was a pair of candle holders he had made himself.

It was a very humbling and sentimental experience for my husband and I could see he was very touched by this gift. He will treasure it forever!

 

It was then time to make the trek home. So we all piled into the car again and made the journey back to our humble abode.

 

It was a very lovely weekend. On our way home, both Mr Awesome and I stated that is had been a pleasant experience filled with good times and family fun.

A nice little break to catch your breath and refresh and collect a few memories along the way.

Happy Times :-)

 

What is your ideal getaway? Where is the best place where you feel the most relaxed and able to breathe away from the pressures and busyness of everyday life?

 

 

With Sprinkles of Sunshine...

 

Anna