Family Road Trip: Albany

This past weekend we packed up the car, piled in, and drove down to Albany.

  

The boys did a really great job with the five-hour drive but we were all glad when we finally made it to our destination.  We went straight to the beach to stretch our legs.  It was Eliot and Peter's first visit to the Southern Ocean and they had a great time playing chicken with the waves.

We stayed in a place with a small kitchen.  Eliot was extremely impressed:  "Mama!  Even they have a toaster!"

Their favourite part was the little enclosed patio area.  Eliot was also very excited about sleeping in a different bed.  So excited, in fact, (and probably exhausted) that the first night he announced that he was ready for bed at about 7:00 pm and went right to bed.

Peter just had a great time being in the thick of things.  It didn't matter what was being done, so long as he was doing it too.

The next day, we got an early start and drove out to visit The Gap and Natural Bridge.  According to the sign-age this is a spot where Australia and Antarctica were once connected, and similar rock formations are found on the northern shores of Antarctica.  Pretty cool.

The Natural Bridge

The Gap.  Rock cliffs at a 90 degree angle.

In the parking lot, a large rock marked the opening of the hiking trail.  I'm sure it was there to prevent cars from obstructing the trail.  I'm also sure that I'm not the first, nor the last, mother to tell her children that it is a special Climbing Rock, put there especially for them since all of the other rocks are off-limits.

The boys had a great time getting the rock climbing out of their system on the Climbing Rock.

Next it was off to the old Albany Gaol which has been converted to a museum.  It was interesting to see, and Spencer and I managed to learn a few things while chasing the boys around.

The boys' favourite parts were turning the old laundry ringers and running around the exercise yard.  The museum was well done, though perhaps with one too many creepy mannequins scattered about.  The boys wandered freely in and out of the cells and I stepped into one to find Peter face to face with a strange figure reclining in a hammock.  I almost wonder if they bring in a little extra cash doubling as a haunted house after dark.

After lunch and naps we took an Epic Walk up a bluff over-looking the ocean.

Eliot proved himself quite a hearty little walker.  He just kept going and going.

Peter was a little more stop and go.  He enjoyed running along the trail, but stopped often to take a closer look at things and toss rocks into the bushes.  The best was when he tried throwing a leaf into the wind.

It was a great little trip and the first real family trip we'd made since moving to Australia.  It was so much fun watching the boys have so much fun.