Fri, 30th October, 2015 Linda & David’s, Annangrove to Pete and Marion’s, Camden

18 degrees and sunny. Betty Taylor rang as Dianne had messaged her to contact me. Dianne is an Amsterdam but will be back on the weekend so hopefully we will catch up with her next week. Betty said she had her brother and sister and sister-in-law coming up to stay the night so we arranged to meet up in Campbelltown tomorrow. Will take my phone and get Mum on the line for a chat too. Told Linda and rang Jenny to see if they wanted to join us too. Will see if Pete and Marion and Wally are free too.

Packed up the van. After a cuppa with Linda we waved bye and thanked her for her hospitality. Back down the Freeway towards Camden. Stopped at the rest area just before Camden for lunch. Charlie Windle returned my call so we had a great chat and I gave him Mum’s phone number too. He lives at Bowral so we will call in and see him when we head south.

Back the van into the side driveway at Pete and Marion’s and set ourselves up. So wonderful to see them and Natalie and Caitlin again. Tim is slumming it at Hamilton Island!!

The house is covered in beautiful flowers from Marion’s mum’s funeral. A friend dropped in and gave her a rosebush called Mother and Daughter which has beautiful yellow rose.

Lovely afternoon and evening catching up and sharing lots of family stories and laughter.

NO PHOTOS TODAY

Thurs, 29th October, 2015 Linda & David’s, Annangrove, Sydney

Sky clearing so should be warmer today.

Steve pottered about while Linda and I worked on our ancestor’s Facebook page. Linda created a great photo of Fred and Adeline and their 7 children – hopefully the others will get on board and post wedding photos etc of Fred and Adeline’s descendants.

David’s toy – a Burfori Madison which is based off a VW Beetle chassis and running gear with a fibreglass top shell. Custom made to suite the driver’s height. So cute.

Collected some mulberries and ended up with purple fingers.

Dinner at Castle Hill RSL Club with David, Linda and Judy. So wonderful to see her again. Said bye to David as he heads off to work at 5am and we won’t be up to say goodbye then!!

Wed, 28th October, 2015 Linda & David’s, Annangrove, Sydney

17 degrees at 8am, overcast. Worked on my blog then read some of Linda’s book – very interesting and should be a must for all couples thinking of having children.

Quiet day as it is cold!! Who can figure out this weather!!

Jenny rang to arrange getting together when we get down to Camden.

Skies are clearing though it hasn’t warmed up at all today.

Linda created a Facebook page of our ancestor, Great grandfather, Frederick William Windle, so that we can share photos etc. Might have to do that for my other ancestors!!

Another wonderful dinner with Linda, David and Nick.

Clear sky with a big moon tonight and the temperature is quite cool.

Tues, 27th October, 2015 Linda & David’s, Annangrove, Sydney (Camden, Palm Beach then visit Andrea & Steve, Wahroonga)

Rain during the night. Slept ok with the cotton sheets and the big blanket off though still in long PJs. 20 degrees this morning with heavy sky and drizzle.

My camera is being replaced and David offered to pick it up for me from Canterbury as he will be working nearby.

Headed to Camden to attend Marion’s mother’s funeral, Acushla Reilly, at 1.30pm at St Paul’s Catholic Church. Sat beside Uncle Wal with all the family. Lovely service. Will catch up with the family on Friday.

Programmed ‘girlie’ to head north to Andrea & Steve’s at Wahroonga. Light traffic on freeways so decided to detour to Palm Beach. On our honeymoon we met Margaret who lived at Whale Beach which is just before Palm Beach.

Stopped at Newport Beach. Bleak day at the beach though with the wild wind and heavy sky.

Rang Mum to tell her about the funeral.

Malcolm rang to say he won’t be coming over for the last race meeting as they haven’t had enough rain and he is working 24/7 on irrigating. Getting up at 2am to move the irrigator – the life of a farmer.

Further along the coast then onto the Pittwater side of the point where lots of boats are moored.

Past the golf course and a park then onto the ocean side at Palm Beach into Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park.

Looking at Barrenjoey Head with the lighthouse on top. Around the point is Broken Bay that we were looking over when we did our Hawkesbury River boat trip on Saturday.

Down to Observation Point on the Pittwater.

Someone has a nice pontoon.

Map of where we are.

Palm Beach not looking to tropical with the bleak weather.

Back along the high ridge over Bilgola Beach, looking back to Newport Beach.

Spotted a flash temple – Baha’i Temple at Ingleside.

Traffic was good and we got back to Wahroonga at 6.30pm for dinner with Steve’s cousin, Andrea and family - Steve, Sam, Emma and Meg. So great to catch up with them all again.

A lot of driving for Steve but we timed it well with the traffic and Steve is so patient and confident it was all ok.

Mon, 26th October, 2015 Linda & David’s, Annangrove, Sydney

Warmer night. David and Linda went off to work and Nick headed off to Uni.

Heavy clouds this morning but they don’t seem to get hit with the rain storms here. Stripped the flannelette sheets off the bed and got washing under way – nice to have a big washing machine to use. We have declared it warm enough to go back to cotton sheets.

Steve used David’s ladder to check out the top of the van. We had water come in through the fan vent when we had the very heavy rain at Lake Wallace, so he wanted to check and seal everything again.

Had a wander down to the pond and had a feed of mulberries and collected some oranges from the fruit-ladened tree.

Watched the V8 Supercars race at the Gold Coast (so glad we can record with our TV). There were also the utes that were more like a demolition derby and Stadium Super Trucks – certainly spectacular as they jump over ramps while racing.

The sky has gotten darker and now the wind has picked up as a storm makes it way over us. Only a splattering of drops with just a little rumble in the distance.

I cooked tea tonight for Linda and David.

A bit of rain and lots more wind as we head into the van to watch the rest of the V8s racing at the Gold Coast.

NO PHOTOS TODAY

Sun, 25th October, 2015 Linda & David’s, Annangrove, Sydney (visiting Dennis & Rhonda, Lavender Bay)

Lovely morning though there are few more clouds coming in. Got ‘girlie’ plugged in and headed towards the Harbour Bridge to visit Dennis & Rhonda at Lavender Bay (just up the road from Luna Park). Unfortunately as we were coming down the freeway towards the bridge we missed the exit and headed into the Tunnel under Sydney Harbour. Then we had to work out where to exit and try and turn around. Eventually on the road to Bondi we found somewhere to turn around and then we headed back over the Bridge.

Now we know where to turn off!!

Dennis guided us into a park at the back of their building. So wonderful to see them both and to see Rhonda looking well considering all she has been through since being diagnosed with Lymphona cancer. She still has a lot to get through but she is healthy and fit and has Dennis supporting her all the way. Their friends were down from Townsville too. Forgot to take a photo of the view from their apartment overlooking Lavender Bay and Sydney Harbour – took lots last year.

After lots of chatting we decided to join them for a drive down to Smiths Fish Shop at Blakehurst just before the bridge over to Sylvania Waters (where the first reality family TV show was filmed). Followed Dennis in his car over the Harbour Bridge, looking at the City Centre.

Over Circular Quay with views of the Opera House and back to the Harbour Bridge.

Through another Tunnel – have done a few of these today!!

Spotted a little truck for kids shop – so cute.

Down onto The Grand Parade at Brighton-Le-Sands. Lots of people on Botany Bay and the beach.

Looking towards Port Botany and out through Botany Bay heads.

Got our fish and chips. Found a spot at Tom Uglys Point to sit beside the water watching all the yachts, jetskies etc zooming around on Georges River. My grandfather (Mum’s dad), Sydney Windle was born near here. The Georges River flows down from Casula where Mum was born. Over the bridge is Sylvania Waters.

Steve couldn’t stand all the rubbish on the ground so cleaned up.

Looking over to Captain Cook Bridge.

Said bye to Dennis and Rhonda and their friends (who are going to Fleetwood Mac tonight – should have got Stephen a ticket as he loves them and it is all the old band). We headed back up Georges Road past Rookwood Cemetery where a few more of my ancestors are buried. We found their graves etc when Steve and I were here a few years ago. Lovely blooms everywhere.

Onto the Western Motorway then meandered our way back up to Annangrove. Another great night with a BBQ dinner. Clear sky with the moon nearly full.

Sat, 24th October, 2015 Linda & David’s, Annangrove, Sydney (Hawkesbury River cruising)

Lovely sunny morning though still a bit chilly as it was only 12 degrees in the van at 7am. Programmed the TV to record the V8 Supercars telecast today from the Gold Coast. Got ready and headed off to Berowra Creek to put in the boat and then cruise the Hawkesbury River and waterways.

The road also goes across to the other side by a barge – which is free to use. Bit of narrow steep road down and then up again the other side but ok for the truck – just don’t take the van.

Lots of lovely homes, old and new along the edge of the ‘creek’. How they call it a creek when it is so big, I don’t know. They only have access by boat. Must have been a builder’s nightmare. It was cool as we whizzed along but it didn’t take long to warm up.

Stopped at Bar Island where there was a church and cottage there from 1875 to 1915.

There is nothing left of the cottage and only the chimney from the church.

Some graves had big tombstones and others just rocks around their grave. Someone has been clearing the area as Linda said there are a lot more grave sites visible than previous times.

Further up the hill is a memorial to two young men who drowned near here.

Into the Hawkesbury river and past Peal Island that used to be an asylum. It is all boarded up now but there is talk of it being sold off for units.

Under the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway at Mooney Mooney Point – looking to Kangaroo Point.

The old bridge had big archways and then there were the pylons of an even older bridge.

On the other end of the bridge is Kangaroo Point where a restaurant and marina is. Unfortunately they don’t have ‘casual parking’ for those who want to pop on for lunch!! This boat is solar powered.

Followed the river past Dangar Island checking out all the homes and beach spots along the way. Didn’t realise the river was so big.

Stopped at Gunyah Beach for brunch. It is part of the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park.

Looking out past Little Wobby – Juno Point into Broken Bay, just north of Palm Beach.

Linda and David do this all the time – what a great life. Nice to be out in the sunshine and warm.

A houseboat and another boat pulling skiers shared out little bay.

After a yummy brunch we headed back as the wind was coming up and getting cool again.

Drove around Dangar Island checking out all the different homes. Some have flying foxes to get their belongings up to their homes and others are right on the water.

Lots of oyster farms line Berowra Creek.

Back to the boat ramp and then home again. Got out my computer and got Linda set up with Legacy family tree program so I could give her all my Windle information. Linda has written a children’s book about teaching children business practices and is in the process of another one about raising children from a business point of view – very interesting and true.

She ordered some pizzas for dinner but when David went to collect there was a mix up about payment and he ended up with twice as many pizzas – so we had lots to choose from.

Nice clear night – a lot chillier outside than in the house.