Back Roads and Beaches

Upon my return from my trip to the states, Jamie decided we needed to take a vacation.  He's been working so hard and with my being gone he had extra duties around the house that I'm sure were a bit overwhelming.  So even though I had technically been on vacation for just under two months, I unpacked and re-packed for a trip to Augusta. 
Augusta is the most south-westerly tip of Australia.  I heard a tour guide say that it was the closest we would get to Antarctica from this side of the country which I found pretty cool.  I know what you're thinking though; it must be cold since it's winter over here.  The weather was fantastic and other than a bit of rain here and there it was pretty ideal for a vacation.  We were on the coast obviously so it was still a bit too cool to actually play in the water, but as surprising as it may seem the Southern Ocean is pretty warm year round.  That statement might be a bit contradictory; I guess what I'm trying to say is even at it's coldest the Southern Ocean is not as cold as the Pacific in the middle of July.
On a side note, we stayed in the Best Western.  I thought it was kinda funny that we were staying in an American chain hotel, but then again hotels are a lot different over here.  Yes, there are typical three story or sky rise hotels, but mostly when you show up for the weekend, a hotel is more of a motel.  It's more like a small apartment really instead of the typical American, Best Western, complete with continental breakfast.  By the way, free continental breakfasts are just that, continental.  You have to pay for everything in Australia, and while you don't have to tip anyone, it's added into the outrageous prices.  I can't complain too much though since I noticed that the economy here is doing much better than what I saw back home.
Anyways, back to the beach; we had a lovely time touring all over Augusta, and Jamie took me to see a lighthouse.  It's the tallest building in Western Australia and I think someone said it was the first lighthouse on the west coast.  Either way, it was pretty cool that it's still standing and used today.  We got stuck on a tour with two 70-year-old couples from Melbourne, and while I don't mind be patient for elders, it took us about ten times as long to climb the stairs as it would have normally.  It was pretty cute though because the two little old men were carrying the purses for their spouses and very politely pushing their back-sides up the next flight of stairs.  Needless to say, Jamie insisted I stop giggling at all their funny antics.
We also got to go on the cave tours.  There are over 300 caves on the west coast, and three of them are world-renowned.  The first cave we saw, Jewel Cave, has the longest "straw"(pencil-like stalactite) which Jamie took about a million pictures of.  (I'm so glad digital cameras have delete buttons.)  Then on to Lake Cave and Mammoth Cave.  There were are pretty spectacular in their own way, but of the three I've got to say that Lake Cave was the most memorable.  We climbed over 300 stairs to get down there, and surprise, you have to climb them all the way back up.  Jamie and I decided that rather than pausing at each level with all the middle-aged couples, we would just take it all in one jaunt.  Guess who felt like a 90 year-old woman the next day?!  All of a sudden the two little women at the lighthouse had a new level of respect in my book.  It's funny how it all comes back to bite you in the face.
We took cereal and sandwich goods with us so that we could splurge a little bit for eating out at dinnertime.  The first night was Italian which we both love and just to switch things up since we were on vacation I decided to try something new.  With all the cooking I've been doing recently, I've been a bit more brave in the things I try to eat knowing that Jamie has been my guinea pig lately.  I had seafood risotto for dinner and just as I was explaining how it tasted too fishy I realized there were three squid in my bowl.  Explanation:  I love calamari; but this was not calamari.  They were still purple complete with heads and tentacles.  I did not eat anymore seafood risotto and instead finished my water and watched Jamie eat his mouth-watering lamb shank.
I've saved the best story for last.  If you've read this far then I know you'll love this.  On the second evening of our vacation, we took a stroll down the beach to the point where Margaret River meets the ocean.  It was already a pretty awe-inspiring picture with the sun setting and the salty sea breeze when a dolphin jumped out of the water way out on the horizon.  Within five minutes there were three dolphins and they were headed in land as if they were herding some fish for dinner.  Between my squealing and tugging on his arm like a child, Jamie's first four attempts at a video were hopeless.  It really was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.  We ran as fast as we could in the direction that the dolphins were herding and by the time we were stopped and out of breath, they were so close we could have touched them.  I was still in shock and wonder when we turned to go back to the car and realized our shoes were soaked since we ran straight through the marshes of seaweed.  Gross. 
Our trip home was lovely.  We took the back roads and got to see some of the farms and country towns we live close too.  The flowers and forests were in full bloom and made for a perfect ending to our weekend.  I can't wait to take all my friends and family to see all these places when they come to visit someday.