adventures in travel

Camping – Dwellingup

Posted on August 21, 2011August 22, 2011 by bekswhoknits

I love camping

I love getting away from it all.

And food always tastes better on a camp fire.

We set off a little late on Saturday morning. We had planned to leave at 6 but it ended up being about 10. We got into Dwellingup (after a few scenic route detours) around 12 and we picked up some salad rolls at the local deli.
Once we got into the campsite we could relax.

We set up the tent, the (brand new) stretcher beds, self-inflating mattresses, and sleeping bags. Realised we forgot pillows!! We always forget pillows. Then we sat around the fire (I needed coals for the pork belly) and listened to the football on the radio with a couple of cold beers.

People watching gets better on holiday. We started off with some really awesome neighbors (a young, quiet couple) but they left and we got a couple with a child and a boombox. I’m not even exaggerating, it would run off double d batteries and still took CDs!! Anyway, they were loud and bogan and kept us up all night with their arguing.

J went fishing and I kept knitting. It suits us perfectly.
One of the things I love about camping is my alone time.
I enjoy and cherish solitude.
Camping provides that for me. I can sit by myself and watch the world go by.

He didn’t catch anything but I added a few rows to my knitting.

I had prepared most of the evening meal the night before, as in I chopped the onion, carrots, and capsicum so all I had to do once the camp oven was hot was plonk everything in. I left the potatoes whole so they wouldn’t go soggy.
And it was delicious.
The veggies may have been a little on the overcooked side (read slightly burnt) but the pork was delicious.
Seriously awesome.

The rest of the evening read like our usual camping evenings. Drinking beer, listening to music (the national, arcade fire), and talking about life the universe and everything around a campfire.

Imagine the shadows of trees against the sky, and the sky littered with stars. The stars were beautiful. Escaping the city to see the stars.

Did I mention I love camping??

A trip to Mundaring Weir

Posted on August 14, 2011October 5, 2011 by bekswhoknits

A lovely Sunday morning drive to the Mundaring Weir about 40 minutes outside of Perth.

We stopped at a local bakery to pick up a pie, and drove to a little secluded spot in the Mundaring national park.

The scenery is always beautiful, and the weir is looking better for the recent rain we’ve had. We even found a little creek!

After lunch we went for a drive on a couple of 4WD tracks.
There was a couple of challenging parts and a couple of water crossings but we made it through.

I would have liked to have explored the Mundaring markets that were on, but we were late for my nephews first birthday.
My new modcloth skirt was perfect for a birthday, but not so perfect for exploring the bush.
It was a lovely Sunday, and I just hope we can get away further out of the city next weekend.

Footy at the ingie

Posted on August 13, 2011August 31, 2011 by bekswhoknits

The Inglewood Hotel is one of my
locals.
I pretty much know the menu, and I know it’s a good feed.

It’s not always the football result I want (my boys are having a terrible year), but it’s a good vibe and a good experience.

So my best gal and I went to watch the Hawthorn v Port Adelaide game.
A spot of lunch was in order between beers, and instead of individual meals (read I couldn’t decide) we ordered some sausage rolls, three cheese croquettes, and wedges.

I love the ingie’s sausage rolls. Lamb and fennel are a wonderful combination, I do t know why I don’t eat them together more often.

The three cheese croquettes were a little bland. The quince chutney suited it, but it sort of tasted like hash browns whereas I expected it to taste more like grilled haloumi or baked camembert.

Wedges are wedges. They’re a pub staple and the ingie doesn’t get them wrong.

I’d order the sausage rolls again, but not the croquettes, and not the wedges unless there was nothing else available.

And after losing the footy, those sausage rolls with lime aoli were the highlight.

Saturday lunch – The Royal

Posted on August 8, 2011August 9, 2011 by bekswhoknits

In the middle of a busy weekend, on the way to pick up some dry cleaning, we stopped off at The Royal for a late lunch.
Sitting in the sun, after a rainy week, was just delightful.

The pints of heineken went down very easily. J had the chicken penne, whilst I had the hand torn pasta with lamb.
It was absolutely delicious.
My lamb tasted like a roast dinner on pasta. The roast vegetables were little parcels of goodness, and the hand ripped pasta was divine.

I didn’t know what sauce was on J’s pasta, but if ever figure it out I would make it every night.
And there was still more options on the menu that we wanted to try.

I’ve been to The Royal before, mainly for after-work drinks, a few times for lunch, but this was the best food I’d tasted there.
J had never been there before and he wants to go back (always a good sign).

The views are lovely, looking out over the water.
Hopefully next time we could take the boat and stop off for a spot of lunch.
Either way, we’re going back.

Saturday lunch @ Chapels on Whatley

Posted on June 27, 2011August 9, 2011 by bekswhoknits

Maylands is evolving.
Slightly biased because I live here, but I keep discovering new places.
Well mostly I stick to the same places but every now and again we venture out to some where new.

Chapels on Whatley has been a shop that I’ve walked past on the way to the train countless time. But it never really appealed to me aesthetically. It’s just not the kind of furniture that I like.

But as a coffee shop I was willing to give it a shot. And I was pleasantly surprised.

Feeling ever so delicate from a night at the Inglewood previously, the ham bagel went down a treat.
But the highlight was the scone and jam that was fresh and hot out of the oven, and the best cup of tea I have had in a very long time.

They actually sell the tea as well which I have to buy, as soon as I buy a teapot that I can use. I have my Royal Albert teapot which I got for my 21st, but I’ve never used it.

Now I’m on the hunt for a teapot.

A sad day for Perth – One Movement festival cancelled

Posted on April 5, 2011April 5, 2011 by bekswhoknits

It is with great sadness today that I read about the WA Government’s decision to abandon the One Movement festival which has been held the past two years in Perth.

One Movement was run over 5 days, at several venues around the centre of our beautiful city here. It was crammed full of live music, industry showcases, and opportunities for not so well known bands to be heard. It is the closest thing Australia has to a SXSW. And, in my own opinion, had the potential to become the equivalent of SXSW.

I see the cancellation of One Movement as a loss for two reasons.

Firstly personal.
One Movement is a festival entirely driven by curiosity and excitement. It’s not about the headline band, but about who you can discover. Much like SXSW, bragging rights come from ‘i discovered this band 2 years at One Movement’. There are certainly opportunities to discover bands at festivals such as Southbound, but at Big Day Out, Soundwave, On The Bright Side et al. the crowd swells towards the latter part of the day are more apparent. Only the truly dedicated are watching the first band.
One Movement was geared towards this experience and discovery.
This event was quite important not only as a music fan but as a music blogger. Last year i had tickets and couldn’t use them due to sickness. This year was going to make up for that.

Secondly there are the success stories that have come out of One Movement.
Stonefield were a particular success, who after being seen at One Movement were invited to play at glasonbury. One Movement was a perfect springboard to perform in front of so many industry professionals, and also to get advice from industry professionals.
It had an important function within the Australian music industry and deserved its spot in the calendar.

One Movement was always an overly ambitious idea for a city like Perth. And no doubt much of the criticism will focus on the stale and backwards thinking stereotype (perhaps warranted) of Perth.

Yes, apparently they were making a loss at tax payers expense. But this tax payer will happily pay for it.

Maybe that’s why there is a government enquiry. Perhaps changing the business model is the answer.
Instead of canceling why not cut it from 5 days to 3.
Or maybe try hiring less venues.
Look at Perth Festival for inspiration.
Think about the bigger picture. The tourism money that can come only once a reputation has been established. The boost that you’re doing to the music industry as a whole. The exposure that young bands can get, which can only be a good thing for the city.
Imagine if Perth became the next happening place for musicians to come, be inspired, and be heard.

Please just don’t admit failure.
Particularly when you were offering such a unique product which had the potential to become the next SXSW.

Weekend reminiscing

Posted on April 4, 2011April 4, 2011 by bekswhoknits

Well the weekend didn’t go entirely as planned. I didn’t get any writing done, didn’t listen to any new music, and the writing I did do I didn’t save properly.

But it was still an awesome weekend.

Went down to Dwellingup and camped near Nanga Mill in the Lane Pool area. It’s so stunningly beautiful down there.
We left later than we should have and took a detour to see Serpentine Falls. That was nice but not worth the $11 cover charge. Particularly as would have only stayed for 20 minutes.
We had lunch at the Dwellingup Pub where we watched my boys lose to the eagles. Terrible game.
Then we went to set up camp.

Had a bit of a walk before settling into camp.
Listened to the Geelong-Fremantle game on the wireless whilst I knitted and my boy read a fishing book.

Cooked up 2 kilos of mussels in a bottle of Coopers Pale Ale, but I think next time we’ll stick to the white wine.

It was good stuff. Everything tastes better in the bush.
The next mornings breakfast was a beauty as well. Bacon & egg sandwiches with some hash browns that didn’t survive the frying process but added extra crunch. Bit of BBQ sauce and they were the perfect camp brekkie.

Packed up camp and went to go fishing. I got snagged on the first cast, my boy got snagged not too long after. But it was a nice spot just a few too many logs in the water.

Relaxing.
Good stuff.

Check my tumblr for more pics

Southbound Monday

Posted on January 14, 2011January 31, 2011 by bekswhoknits

Woke up surprisingly chipper.
Well my mates thought I’d be a lot worse, but I still maintain it was those two smokes that hit me. After not smoking for over a year, two smokes is enough. And I don’t get a hangover from smoking.
There was no one in the morning that we really wanted to see, so most of the boys went into Busso, and my boy, marnie, and I went in search of shade.
We wandered around rather aimlessly. Went to the Little Creatures tent for some pizza and listened to a bit of Pond who I like (in moderation, and in the right mood).
Then went into the Paper stage for what ended up being most of the day. Continue reading Southbound Monday

merry christmas, happy new year, and all thatjazz…

Posted on January 7, 2011January 12, 2011 by bekswhoknits

Happy new year oh faithful blog.

And what a way to start the year.
Southbound festival was magnificent. And 2 days of caravan park camping before that with my boyfriend and my best friend (and boyfriends brother but he’s pretty ok) were pretty awesome too.
Now I’m giving my liver a bit of a rest.

I have no new years resolutions because I don’t believe in them. I just fully intend to write more, take more pictures, and get more sunshine.
Continue reading merry christmas, happy new year, and all thatjazz…

19. Muse – Uno (132)

Posted on December 21, 2010January 13, 2011 by bekswhoknits

this really makes me feel old.
i can remember being on year 11 camp and drumming this out on my legs until they bruised, just trying to get the right rhythm
i can remember the thrill of hearing showbiz on the radio because it was my favourite song and i didn’t think i would ever hear it on the radio because they were just some random english band i was interested in
talking about muse is like opening up a minefield.
Continue reading 19. Muse – Uno (132)