Hey guys, this week has been blog overload, and yet I’m still nowhere near caught up.

Without further ado, let’s get to it.

Salmon Gums → Esperance

Still none the wiser as to the false claims of Salmon having gums I made my way to Esperance.

Normally this is where I would regale you with countless tales and pictures of jetties and beaches. However, between these two places was the square route of fugg all.

Wait, there was a small town called Grass Patch. I tried in vain but could not locate said patch.

However the lightbulb saga continues.

Episode 3: Return of the ‘A’ Mech¹

Recap: A long, long time ago in a town not so far, far away a daylight running bulb stopped working, Two and a half bulbs later, a missing side light bulb and the worst advice ever, off I went in search of a new hope.

While in Salmon “don’t have” gums, I spotted another garage. Perhaps they might be more amenable. 

Here, at least, the mechanic actually looked at the problem. Then, proceeded to tell me how much he would enjoy the chance to work with me, but he just didn’t have the capacity at that time.

It was at this point I realised, in order to retrieve two and a half bulbs and locate a missing bulb, I was going to have to take the headlight out.

Worse than that, I was going to have to do it myself.

¹ An ‘A’ Mech is the term given to a god-like mechanic, with a stature far superior to a Jedi. Someone whose engineering skills are second to none and has no equal. Legend has it they can also stand to pee.

Esperance Bay Holiday Park

Having stopped to purchase some tools: a trim kit and some Torx screwdrivers, I arrived at the campsite feeling a sense of dread about what I knew was to come.

I have heard stories of cars where the headlight retaining screws are easily accessible and the headlight just comes out.

VW California is not one of them.

This task requires the bumper to be removed, or at the very least in part loosened to allow access.

I could write in detail the steps I took to remove my headlight, but damn, that’s some boring stuff. Instead, here’s the YouTube video I followed if you’re interested.

https://youtu.be/WkAQKCjPCgI?si=WQp4Jaw1cJK_8nEt

Haha, who am I kidding? About an hour and a half later, not only had I retrieved my runaway bulbs, located and refitted the sidelight bulb, but had put everything back together without incident.

Et voilà, everything was working, and the dreaded warning light had finally turned off.

Esperance

I didn’t know it at the time of arrival, but this town and its people are the second place I’ve been so far that made me think, “This place could be home.”.

ANZAC Day

A public holiday on April 25th, similar in tone to Remembrance Sunday in the UK, is a day to commemorate members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who have served and died in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.

A service is held at dawn to commemorate the date and time of the Gallipoli landings in 1915.

As a veteran I felt that I should and so of course I did attend the local service. 

This year’s service was dedicated to women who had served and so it seemed rather fitting to be stood there alongside fellow veterans.

Over the years of my military service, I have been to many similar services and can hand on heart say that I have never seen one go to plan. It is always the bugler. Always!

Swim Club

As I walked back to the campsite, along the beach of course, I spotted a group of people loitering around the swimming area.

Another wonderful area complete with shark deterrent  fencing, pontoons and swim lanes. And…

A sauna cube!

Anyhoo this is where I met Sue and the wonderful Maadi. I soon learned that they swam there most days at around 0630hrs. Not having my kit with me, I promised I would see them the next day and the next day see me they did..

What I didn’t realise was: this wasn’t just a bit of fun, it’s fugg early and freezing – let’s dip in and out, it was a proper swim sesh.

Sue with the soul of a Sergeant Major, proceeded to drill into me the exact route we would be swimming and where I should position myself in the water.

Sue being a slightly older lady, insisted she would be slower and that she would swim at the rear.

Not wishing to go to swim club jail, I did as I was told.

At some point I was fooling around under the water and swam straight into the shark net. I’m still not convinced it could keep a shark out but it did keep me in.

Maadi at some point turned to see if I was doing ok and that’s when a fast friendship was formed.

We both switched to breaststroke and chatted the entire way back. At some point Sue swam past us with a definite taste of disdain in the air.

Maadi and I, excited by each other’s madness, decided to walk one of the pontoons and cannonball.

Always a good idea until you are on the pontoon and suddenly things look a little higher than you thought. I held my hand out, she grabbed it, and we jumped for our lives.

It was at this moment that I thought, just maybe, here I could find my people.

Jetties And Other Things

All that’s left of my Esper-iance is to show you the things I liked the most, starting with of course…

And of course no trip could be complete without a lighthouse.

A lighthouse? In a bay? What madness is this?

Jackson blurry loved it.

Daysleeper (REM – 1998)

Not sure if anyone cares but REM is my favourite band of all time and so today’s post is a double feature.

Long story short: I am tired. Dog-tired. Bone-tired. All of the tired!

I decided to get a blood test to check the Graves’ disease situation.

Firstly, I am still a bit flabbergasted as to how easy it was. I went online picked the tests I wanted, paid and boom lab form was in my inbox ready to take to a local blood collection centre. All for the bargain price of 65 AUD.

Secondly, the results were rapid and delivered to my email 48 hours later.

Turns out I’m just tired 🤣🤣

But seriously, I’m living with Graves’ disease. It’s not in remission; it’s always on. The results just let me know everything is the same as always.

I have to remember, or at least listen when I’m being reminded, that as I am always hyper, there are going to be days where I am tired and to blurry well rest!

Too tired to try the Vegemite. Maybe next time 👀

Goodnight XOXO