When we started the process of moving to Australia, we received LOTS of advice from LOTS of people. As with everything, some of the advice was worthwhile and some would have been better left unsaid.
One piece of advice really stuck in our minds, and at the time seemed a bit odd. But in retrospect was truly excellent advice and we are glad to took it! What was the advice? To go on vacation.... Now I know that this seems like silly advice, because everyone goes on vacation no matter where you live. But the REASONING behind the advice for us, was what was brilliant.
Think back to when you are on vacation...no matter how long or how far the vacation, towards the end, where are you ready to go???? HOME. Up until this point, we have still been referring to "home" as Texas. We never refer to 11 Birrigon Loop as "home". It was always "let's go back to the house", "I am on my way back to the house"...never " I am on the way home".
So the theory behind going on vacation was to help us start referring to Perth as "home". Oddly it seemed to work. Now don't get me wrong, I will always think of Texas as my true home and where our roots are, but it does help to create a sense of belonging and routine here in Perth.
Busselton is a 3 hour drive from Perth and after referring to the maps, not difficult to find. However Dustin and I did come to the conclusion that I am not a natural at reading maps or being a navigator, and it is not easy for Dustin to drive AND navigate at the same time! Thank goodness for Navigation on my phone.
The goal of this trip was not to make ourselves crazy by trying to cram tons of things into one weekend, but instead to relax....and that is exactly what we did! We did visit, The Busselton Jetty, The Lighthouse, Simmon Creamery, Wise Winery, and a fabulous restaurant!
I posted the pictures on Facebook, but here are some of the highlights:
The Busselton Jetty is the 2nd longest Jetty in the world. (Jetty is another name for pier). You can ride a train to the end of the jetty where there is an underwater observatory. You can go down three levels and see a different part of the ocean each time. The final level is the ocean floor. It was amazing to see how different each level was and the marine life on that level. Because the observatory is under a pier, all creatures are animals, not plants. AMAZING! Morgan and Addie had a ball looking at the fish and seeing them in their natural habitat. To finish off our trip, each girl got a mood ring.
The Lighthouse is still functioning and was built in 1903. At that time, 3 families lived at the lighthouse and the men would rotate shifts in manning the lighthouse. Nowadays the lighthouse is manned by a dimmer switch to turn on and off the light. We were able to go up all the way to the top and walk outside of the lighthouse.....the view was breathtaking! Morgan did not join us, because she apparently does not like heights. I thought she had outgrown this....so she sat at the bottom and waited patiently. With the spiders ;)
Wise Winery...let's just say we will save the Winery tours for a time when Dustin and I are in Margaret River by ourselves. Not much there for the girls, and we really did not get to enjoy the time there. I did get to have a sample of several wines and was able to find several to take home. Could not make it wasted trip could I?
The rest of our trip was rather simple and relaxing. It was nice to do nothing for a weekend...including cooking and cleaning ;)
On Monday we packed up and head "home". Not only did we learn to call Perth "home", but I realized that home is not where your things are, or where your house is, but where you are in the moment...where you feel comfortable. They say home is where the heart is, and that is true....but that also means that my "home" is Double Oak, Biloxi, Tomball, AND Perth =)
Hugs and Kisses to all!
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