Running with Rosedawn Designs has gone on holiday... There'll still be a few running stories, as we've got a plan to get to run 3 times a week and visit 9 different parkruns whilst we're away, but there'll be lots of travel adventures too. We've been talking about 'going away for a bit' for the last few years and the time has finally come. We left home on a damp and cold Thursday and about 24 hours later, landed in a warm and sunny Australia. From the airport, we headed via bus and train to the seaside location of Rockingham.
We've now been in Australia for just over 48 hours and we already seem to have packed a lot in, most of which are likely to be recurring themes of our holiday...
- We've treated ourselves to a little bit of luxury for our first weekend... No shared bathrooms at the Anchorage Guest House. In fact, I picked this room when booking four months ago because I liked the look of the bathroom (not disappointed at all). We've been spoiled with delicious breakfasts and entertaining stories from our friendly hosts too. If you ever find yourself in Rockingham, this is the place to stay.
- We ate ice cream at the Baskin Robbins cafe - double scoops of course. Chocolate/peanut and caramel for me, strawberry cheese cake and toffee crunch for Jon.
- Jon wore his Stoke City shirt and got spotted by a fellow Stokie. The discussion very quickly moved on from football to school history ('Anley 'igh) and favourite oatcake fillings (bacon and cheese). It very quickly emerged that there were friends in common and even a connection with Hanley parkrun.
- We found a great cafe by the beach (Sullys) with comfy sofas and a perfect position for waiting for the sunset. We found another great cafe for tasty smoothies and iced coffees - even better news is that are branches of Dome all over Western Australia.
- We went for an 'exploring' type of walk at my insistence and got ever so slightly lost (after Jon lost the map). We thought we'd found the lake we were aiming for, but found a different but much smaller lake instead. Eventually made it to Lake Richmond this afternoon... after we picked up another map!
- We went to Rockingham parkrun - where they set an attendance record of 331 - and I found company for a chatty run with the Event Director Claudia whilst Jon set out to run a jet lag PB... He was quietly happy with his time of 25:11. We got a very warm welcome during the run briefing as visitors from the UK and a sample of cakes for a runner celebrating 50 runs... I'm glad that's a tradition that translates. A parkrun by the sea on a cloudless sunny morning was certainly a lovely way to start the day. The post-run sea front cafe was pretty impressive too (but there were no oatcakes).
- We went for a walk along the beach and a paddle in the ocean - aiming for a swim tomorrow.
- We found a shady spot to sit and read for an hour or two... I'm working my way through 'Perfect' by Rachel Joyce... and it may have turned into a cheeky afternoon nap.
- Jon found a little museum with an exhibit on WW1 and would have been there for hours if they hadn't been closing and chucked us out.
- We went in search of wildlife and found penguins - we were on Penguin Island so it wasn't too hard. We watched the rescue penguins being fed and then explored the island and spotted a solitary penguin hiding under the boardwalk. We've seen a few signs warning us of snakes but haven't found any of those yet (thankfully).
The next few days are likely to be a lot quieter... The only thing we've got planned is Sing-a-long-a Grease at an outdoor cinema in Perth!
Happy running (and travelling)
Liz T
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