Last Days in Margs

Last weekend was pretty fun mixed with the uneasy shakiness of leaving very soon. I had spent most of the week changing my mind, looking at hostels and flights, trying to decide if I wanted to sell or keep my car, go far away or stay nearby…a rollercoaster. First I was set on going to Darwin because it seemed exotic and cool but I would have had to sell my car and book a last minute flight, staying in Margaret River crossed my mind but I was kind of over it, then I had an epiphany…live in Fremantle for awhile, no rush to sell my car, no flights involved, cool town and close to Margaret River if I still wanted to visit. The more I though about it the more I liked it and here I am.

My last weekend was fun but sad though, I am getting tired of leaving. Friday I went on a Wine for Dudes bus tour of some wineries which was fun. The tourguide was good friends with my friend Drew so that made it cool. We started at Palandri which was a modern airport looking building with decent, factory quality wine. Then we visited Hay Shed Hill where I had been before, I really like their wines and it is in a more rustic artsy location with some cool local art and a big black Labrador. Juniper was next, one of the older wineries in the area with a tiny tasting room inside a dimly lit exposed wood room with low ceilings, the wine was nice as well. On to the Chocolate Factory (been there) and Bootleg Brewery (been there) before a buzzed bus ride back to Margs. It was a fun day except I thought we would have more say in which places we visited and apparently I had already had some good tourguides who brought me to all the cool places. I sat in my car and took a nap for about an hour, waiting for the wine to wear off. As I was driving back toward Busselton I saw Drew and Adam at our usual hangout as of late....the picnic table/personal bar outside the Carbunup Petrol Station/Bottle Shop. I pulled over to say hello and have a beer and noticed they had already finished off quite a few of Adam's homebrews over the past two hours, haha. We sat in the dark at the picnic table and talked for at least another hour. Drew was the only one still working at Naturaliste since Adam quit to work in the mines the week before and I had just lost my job, we felt sorry for Drew.

Saturday afternoon I drove down to Margaret River and stopped to take photos of some places I had been. I visited Vasse Felix, a gourmet food shop called Providore and a few other places. I stoppedin Margaret River town to walk around since I had really not seen much of it. It is a small town really, just a strip of shops where you can see from one end to the other. Lots of suft wear stores, hemp clothing and some cool organic groceries. I walked past the fudge shop but quickly doubled back for a few samples. I had to check out the cool food of course so I wandered around in a tiny little shop packed with beans and dried fruit in glass jars, natural remedies and even some organic food brands I know from home. I was tempted to buy a tempeh burger but decided to just have some juice (beet, apple, ginger, carrot) and I had to try chocolate covered spirulina (reminds me of a foodscience project I attempted once, tasted much better than mine). [FYI: Tempeh is made of fermented grains, similar to tofu but nuttier tasting and so good! Spirulina is bluegreen algae with a very strong seaweed taste if it isn't camouflaged well]. It was a really nice afternoon and I was happy with my day as I drove home, kind of wishing for more time but knowing I can only walk down the same little streets so many times without going crazy. Drew came over later and we went for dinner at Alby's Pub in Busso then to watch Kick Ass and eat mixed up M&M's (such a great idea to put all the kinds of M&M's in one bag, why doesn't America do this?).The movie was pretty funny in a crazy violent sort of way, kid superheroes with purple and red hair that giggle about gouging out eyes and slicing up the bad guys. I just couldn't comprehend that I only had one day left, it is hard to leave people and places and I have left so so many in the past few months, let alone years. I wasn't going far though and that made me feel a little better, just in case I wanted to go back to visit.

I woke up early Sunday morning to watch the sunrise at the beach but unfortunately I forgot that the sun sets at the beach so I just glimpsed the afterglow over the city before grabbing some breakfast. Drew promised to go for one last tour with me since we always hung out and drove around on Sundays lately. We drove south and took a few detours at some gorgeous beaches including Gracetown and a few without names that we knew of. We did some awesome 4 wheel driving over the roughest dirt road I have ever been on, my whole body vibrated as we bounced along to finally end up at a beautiful secluded little beach with apparently some great fishing. I wished I had brought my swim suit since we had been beach hopping all day and it was very hot compared to the past week.Drew made a double attempt to get Suzi up a ridiculously steep, narrow trail with huge dug out pits but couldn't make it in the end, I stared at the roots and dirt out my window as he slowly backed out. I wanted to see a few more wineries so we visited Voyager (http://www.voyagerestate.com.au/splash.html) and Leeuwin, (http://www.leeuwinestate.com.au/) both excellent and very well know for Margaret River. Voyager was definitely the most beautiful winery I've seen with vine covered archways, a sunken brick rose garden and immaculate shaped shrubbery and lawn to keep the eight full time gardeners busy. The gardens and white stone estate reminded me of a Victorian style mansion in South Carolina or Georgia. I tried the entire range of wines from sparkling to shiraz and enjoyed every one, the Tom Price 2004 Cabernet was amazing though. As the friendly tasting room attendant talked about each wine he really made me want his job somewhere someday. Leeuwin was right across the road and was beautiful but even seemed a little rustic compared to Voyager. I really enjoyed the wines at Leeuwin though and was happy to try the Art Series Chardonnay they are so famous for, the iconic Margaret River wine. I loved all their wines but went for something on the lower end of the price range and ended up buying a Dry Riesling, the white blend was also really really good especially for $17. I was happy and chatty from wine on the drive back to Busselton. Drew wanted to look at a car then we were heading to Caves house for Sunday session with Melia. Caves was pretty chill and the band was cool, playing drums, acoustic guitar, and electric double bass with a soulful singer. The thought of leaving keep jolting my brain. We sat at a big wooden picknic table facing the band and as I ate a delicious fish curry the mosquitoes feasted on my feet and whatever skin they could nibble through my jeans and shirt. After hanging out with Melia and her friends for awhile, we moved to a more raucous table full of Drew's kiwi buddies and I didn't stop laughing until we left. Crazy stories and teasing, waving hand gestures and huge smiles, very fun people. I climbed in the car and I could feel the sadness creeping through my faltering smile. I felt strange. I was really sad to say goodbye to Drew but I'm pretty sure I'll be back to visit and he wants to come check out Freo.