My stay at Lorne, Victoria….

Well I have been a bit slack in getting around to posting about Lorne lol… Alex and I finally landed in a place where he could have the kind of fun he is not only used to but so deserves. When it comes to a travelling companion, I could not really ask for a more harmonious one 🙂

Anyway back to our time there and please forgive me if I repeat anything, my last post is a little foggy in my mind, having been replaced already by so very much new awe inspiring times; I feel so surreal living this journey. How did I get so blessed? ….

Ok so I got myself a powered campsite at Lorne, thinking it would be good to spend a night where I did not have to think about generators etc and so could just vegetate and blog… little did I realise how much I would love this place! The caravan park is lovely; busy but still manages to have a gentle, laid back feel.. and oh the town! I have a lot of pics now to peruse whenever I wish to revisit this funky place.. so much history and so much fun to be seen and had here. I did not even begin to touch on it all so have an excuse to come back one day.. Lorne, for me would be a dream place to live if I were to live in Victoria.. at least as far as I have seen on my travels it has is my number one preference.. things may change; I have a lot of discovering yet left to do lol….

As soon as I got in, I went and had a shower.. heaven! I was so sweaty from the long hot drive that I felt rather jaded; not in the least interested in doing anything. The first thing that happened there was I met a lovely woman who directed me to the amenities and told me what I needed to know re the mundane things like washing etc lol… well I had already done that while I was travelling. One of the handy tricks I had been told was to buy a bucket with a lid on, put in the things you need to wash, some detergent and enough water to cover and let the movement of the motorhome as you travel be their agitator! Works like a charm. All I had to do was rinse them and get out my trusty little mobile clothes hoist to put them on and let them dry while Alex and I explored!

The next thing was to find the shops to get some supplies I was running short of. A little walk from the caravan park (less than ten minutes if you walk slowly LOL) over a lovely little bridge and we were there! On the way I noticed some funky shops that I promised myself I would look at on the morrow before I left town and ohhhhh a couple of hippy (yes they had real hips LOl) sculptures on the corner of a bed and breakfast type place! I just loved them. I reckon I had a grin from ear to ear as I began to fall in love with this place I had only chosen because I wanted Alex to be welcome on the beach etc lol… Thank you darling Alex, you led me to a place literally filled with colour and fun.

After I had deposited the groceries in my motorhome I decided to put on a pair of skorts over my bikini and take my boy to the beach… I no sooner had the ball in my bag than he was trying to nick it lol.. oh boy what a long journey down to the beach! Not because it was a long way but because Alex was worrying the life out of me, getting in my way and jumping high in the air in excitement tinged with his youthful impatience LOl…ahh well, I could understand how he was feeling. Poor baby had been without his favourite way of expending his energy and recharging his ‘happiness’ batteries for too long! I had the ball tosser with me too and of course he donged his head repeatedly on it, causing me to grin at his antics and the hardness of his head for he did not seem to even notice as he did it again and again LOLOL…eventually we both made it to the beach itself in one peace.. whew! We spent the next three quarters of an hour just playing… I had my bag done firmly up so there could be no repeat of the loss of my keys lol…I love that he is so devoted to his ball for more reasons than one; not only is it a cheap and easily given source of pleasure and exercise for my oh so energetic boy, but it also has his full focus so that even when there are other dogs on the beach he doesn’t take off or cause any form of hassle.. just as long as they do not try to nick his ball 😛

Eventually we wandered back to the motorhome. It was almost sundown now and  both of us needed to replenish our energy.. yayyy dinner! Hmmm I did not feel like cooking and though I had some salad, I fancied some cooked fish to go wiht it! We headed off up the street after a drink of water for us both and waited patiently for the fish to be prepared..well I waited patiently lol; Alex spent the time trying to win over every single person who happened to walk past. I have to say that as usual his success rate was pretty impressive!

That evening, feeling replete and gazing at a tired out and very contented Alex, I decided it would not hurt to stay another day. Sure it costs a bit but why not? This is after all a long cherished dream I am living and to see my Alex so happy, not to mention the sense of belonging I felt here, was worth the money. The next morning I paid for another night after we came off the beach and continued to explore this place. I did so love all the shops. I found they were not too badly priced either though for now I was happy to window shop lol…I took lots of pics, not only of the beach and those two fantastic sculptures but also the caravan park; the little bridge; some of the funky shops; the vivid colours painted on some of the homes and so much more! I could quite happily have spent lots more time there; the only small annoyance was we were camped on dirt and it was a nightmare with Alex coming and going lol. Never mind, holidays are meant to be messy weren’t they? hehehe

We got lots of play in, Alex and I; not all on the beach either. There was this lovely grassed area diagonally across from where I was camped that had a large enough space that I could throw that ball of his a long way, laughing as he leapt high into the air trying to catch it before it hit the ground. There was another watcher that morning as we played.. a lovely sulphur crested cockatoo .. I grinned at him and bid him good morning before going back to playing with the boy lol. The cockatoo stayed on, appearing most interested in what we were doing … he even politely waited until I took a picture of him and put Alex back on the leash to go before he also left. I was reminded of a childhood cocky we had in the foster home who was not only fun to be around but intelligent to boot. On the beach it was a young duck who joined us; he joined us in a totally different and unexpected way though, chasing the ball every time I threw it lol. I still reckon the poor little mite thought I was tossing food. He did not get it ever; Alex was way too swift though he did not appear to mind the duck joining in lol…

That night I packed up what I could do without, made sure the water tank was full and the toilet cassette empty and relaxed for the night. I did not get much sleep; for some reason I was restless lol.. no reason to be except maybe the fact that I had been told the next part of my journey would be a bit umm challenging .. evening out again after Warnambool…..