It was that time of the year again – the last Saturday of September, when the Big Dance of the AFL takes place. Last year, we went to San Remo, just off Phillip Island, where we watched Geelong decimate the Swans and it was a foregone conclusion from pretty early on. This year, Tress and I were at Portarlington. We headed there late Friday morning, after dropping off the older fella at Heather’s. We took the younger one with us and as usual, he was a bit stressed and strung out, even though it was a relatively short trip. The traffic was busy however, and we were caught up in a crawl from as early as the Westgate.
Portarlington is a beautiful little town on the Bellarine Peninsula. It is well known for its mussels. We stayed in a neat and tidy little AirBnB place with a bit of a waterview so it was very restful. On Friday, we wandered around town, had lunch in a local bakery, then checked into our lodging. We then took the little guy for a walk around the block, before getting back into town, just a couple of clicks away, for a wonderful dinner in a “The Little Mussel Cafe”.
On Saturday morning, we slept in a touch, and then took a walk with the little guy that eventually became a longish walk into the township. It was a beautiful morning, and the walk, the pier, and the town was a touch busy, with holiday makers making the most of the Grand Final Parade long weekend, getting ready before the game started at 2.30pm. It was a very warm day, with a high of 30 deg expected, and it was feeling that way. On the way back, we stopped at a local fresh seafood shoo and bought some fresh oysters and cooked prawns, all set up for the game.
What a game it turned out to be. We were thoroughly glued, and many later said it was one of the best GF ever, and I had to agree. Coming off a very lopsided and therefore uninteresting GF the year before, The Pies and the Lions exchanged leads numerous times, with the game never more than separated by 2 goals. The 100,000 plus crowd, mainly of the Pies persuasion, didn’t seem to faze the Lions and it went down the wire, with the Lions kicking the last goal to bridge the gap to 4 points, but the Pies held out to wing 90-86. As a neutral, it was quite a game for yours truly. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Helped a little of course, by the very good oysters and prawns, washed down with an ok bottle of zero sparkling rose that had been chilled from the day before.
We went back to the mussel cafe for dinner, walked through the town a little, before heading back to chill and wind down. I had been plagued by a continuing coughing fit and a swollen ankle that looked and felt like a gout episode for about a week, but the downtime appeared to have helped, as I felt both ailments abating through the long weekend.
We got home early Sunday arvo, and headed to lunch in Donvale, where we again bumped into Ronald, Cat and Andrew and Winnie, our longtime friends from our church in Klang. We chatted a little, had lunch and then headed home for some housekeeping chores. Our neighbour’s ornamental pear trees are beautiful, but they leave a lot to clean up. Tress and I picked up the older guy from Heather’s and then went about enjoying the warm conditions as we tidied up, before taking the little guy for a walk at the oval. He seemed more at ease and much less tensed to be in familiar surroundings and that made me feel heaps better.
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We have been enjoying pics and video clips of little Abby doing numerous things, including at the Floriade festival. It has been immensely joyful for me to see her growing so well. I’m so grateful Kiddo and Mic have been such great parents, and I have been praying that they will both continue to stay well and build this beautiful family. I hope they look after themselves well too, as little Abby is going to want both parents healthy and fighting fit for the next couple of decades. It is going to be so important, in my mind, that they both prioritise their own wellness so as to be primed to give Abby their best.
Ante 