We left Tony and Liz’s on Saturday morning for a drive back to Alex and Gloria’s for the night before our return to Rylstone. We had an uneventful trip for the most part, but we had a bit of a scare when Christine left her bag at an eatery in a rest area. She realized it about 10 minutes later while we were going over a bridge. Lou had to work hard to figure out how to make a U-turn on the highway and get back to the rest stop. He managed and Christine and I rushed into the eatery. We first looked where she thought she left the bag, in the ladies room, but it wasn’t there. Fortunately, some good Samaritan had taken it to the counter and we were able to retrieve the bag. What a relief that was!
On the way out of the rest stop, Lou misread the signage and we ended up on the old two-lane highway that had been the main thoroughfare for traveling up and down the coast. Now the Pacific Coast Highway is the highway used. The old road was quite rough and we bumped along for about 30kms until we were able to get back on the highway. I don’t mind the secondary roads because you can see so much more of the beautiful countryside, but it is certainly slower.
We arrived at Gloria and Alex’s in the late afternoon where we found Warwick working on the lift preparation. He had done quite a lot of work to cut the underside of the hole and to remove the walls of the utility room on the second floor where the elevator will terminate. The lift is due to arrive week after next which will make things easier for Alex and Gloria.
One of the reasons for going back to the central coast was for Louis to pick up some furniture that he had loaned his friend Margaret Contini. We were going to get it Sunday morning, but Lou decided to get it just after we arrived. We hooked up the trailer and headed over to Margaret’s flat. We had some difficulty getting in because the realtor’s lock box was open and the key was gone. Margaret called the agent, who fortunately came over and let us in. We loaded up the trailer with a bed and side tables and returned to Gloria and Alex’s.
Reservations had been made for dinner in Ettalong at a place called Beef and Barramundi, a very nice steakhouse. Alex has always been very, very generous treating us to many meals during our visits. This was an especially fine meal. Christine and I thoroughly enjoyed our beef Bourguignon. It was delicious. Then, to my surprise, the owner of the restaurant, Trevor D’mello got up on a little stage and started singing. He had a music machine that probably had a thousand accompaniments to songs. He also played the saxophone and guitar. He was really good and we enjoyed him. Alex went over to him and said he had cousins visiting from New York in America and could he sing something for us. Naturally, Trevor belted out New York New York and we hooted and hollered and sang along. Christine asked for You are the Sunshine of My Life. Alex made another request and the song Trevor sang, which we weren’t familiar with, made Gloria cry. We’ll have to ask about that the next time we see her just before we leave. It was a very nice evening, dinner and a show! Thank you, Alex, for a wonderful evening.

Early the next morning there were 3 kookaburras in a tree right outside our bedroom. They were making a big ruckus with their laughing songs. I hadn’t realized how large they are, or how noisy they are.


After breakfast, we packed up for our drive back over the mountains to Rylstone. Alex made sure that Lou had the trailer load securely tied down.

We had some lovely views going through Gosford. This is Lou’s old stomping grounds.


It was an uneventful drive back to Rylstone. Lou took us on a bit different route and we went on the Westconnex motorway, a new 33km highway that includes a 7km tunnel. It was an amazing tunnel, all bright and well-lit, and then a part of the tunnel turned into a spaceship-like feeling. It was very cool!

We got back to Rylstone in good shape, unloaded everything, and then returned the trailer to Margaret. She was taking care of Lou’s dog Banjo while we were gone. He was ecstatic to see Lou. He’s a really sweet dog, a dog that even Christine loves.


So after a wonderful 8 days away, we’re back home in Rylstone and looking forward to several days of resting. We don’t have anything planned for the week, so it should be low-key.
that tunnel certainly is cool