But things have been a little rough lately and we decided that a couple of nights away would do us the world of good.
I suggested that we head down to Busselton, which is where we spent our honeymoon but Christian didn't really want to go that far away. Since we were dropping Molly off for a sleepover at my Mum's place which is already half way to York, we figured we'd give it a go. York is very small and fairly old (over fifty years!) so we knew there wouldn't be a hell of a lot to do while there but since the aim of the weekend was to relax, that was fine by us. I booked us in to the York Heritage Hotel and we were set to have a well earned break!
We arrived about midday and since we couldn't check in until 2pm, we went for a wander about and found our way down to the river. While it was very pretty to look at...
...you really wouldn't want to go swimming in in...
It was a rather overcast day and the river had lots of pretty reflections in it that looked amazing with the poles and ruins of old jetties.
One of the main attractions of the town is their swing bridge. Although the original was pulled down some years ago due to safety concerns (apparently bridges made in 1853 by convicts are deemed 'unsafe' by today's standards...) the new one stands at approximately the same site.This is Christian looking utterly overwhelmed by the sheer excitement of being on the swing bridge.
After crossing the bridge we went for a wander down the track along the river. Lucky for us we had packed several changes of underwear because we were scared shitless by these terrifying beasts!
After lunch we checked into the hotel room and later that afternoon continued with our survey of the town. Many moons ago I did a post that included photos of some of the humorous signs that can be found in and around York. Yet again we came across some amusing ones...I thought this was the best name for a junk shop.
In small country towns one must be flexible and adapt if one is to survive. This is especially true of small businesses. This shop sold lawnmowers, remote control cars and...
According to a newspaper writeup on the bulletin board of the town hall, this building is being developed into a collection of six small shops. The name generated much controversy and may explain why they still haven't opened yet despite passing the expected opening date.
Yes, the dog is pissing on the old man's shoes. For closeups of this sign and others for The Dog's Bollocks Emporium, see my FB album.Times are tough at the moment in York. There was a crazy high percentage of homes and businesses up for sale; the bad economic climate has obviously had a hard effect on such a small community. Therefore one must do whatever one can to lure in a potential customer...
No exceptions!
When I had told people I was going away to York, everyone I spoke to told me I really must visit the new markets that have opened at the old mill. Apparently they used to have a market one day a month but now they have a permanent market every weekend. We thought we'd mosy over and check it out.Turns out it's rather crap. Sorry York, I loved you and all but to draw in a crowd, you need more to tempt shoppers with than five dusty stalls in a leaky shed next to the mill that sell hand made tea cosies.
The mill building itself was much more interesting. The bottom floor contained a couple of furniture and giftware shops and Christian and I oohed and ahhed over a table that was made out of one piece of jarrah that would seat at least twenty people. It cost $25000 but really, what put us off buying it was because it just wouldn't fit in our dining room...ok...that's our story and we're sticking with it!
The next two floors held art galleries and we wandered about there for a bit but to be honest I was more interested in the wrought iron designs on the stair railings.
This is the mill from the outside. It looks rather rickety and that's because it is. Afterall, it is old (over fifty years!).
We had taken up the telescope so we could take advantage of the clear skies in such a rural location but alas, the Saturday was too overcast. We did scout for a good location though so the following night we would know exactly where would be a good spot to set up. It wasn't hard to decide upon Mt Brown. It's vantage point and open spaces were pros. However it was very cold...
That night we had an amazing dinner at the hotel restaurant (if you're ever in York you have to try the rosemary and sea salt potatoes at The York) and then we just chilled out in the room, watching telly and reading. We did discover the cons to staying at a hotel however when the noise from the bar downstairs got rather loud. Coupled with a rather rednecky rendition of 'Working Class Man' at 1am by a few drunk locals stumbling home, it was a bit of a disrupted night.The following day we went to Gwambygine Park and did a small bush walk there and then spent the rest of the day antiquing and having a mosey around the rest of town. We had saved the Sock Factory for today so as not to over excite ourselves on the Saturday...
I was very tempted to buy a blue heeler hand puppet but Christian wouldn't let me so instead I bought two pairs of socks.That night the skies cleared and we headed back up to Mt Brown to play with the telescope. We didn't stay for long because it was fecking freezing but we did stay long enough to find Saturn and her rings. We don't have the best lenses as yet so it wasn't exactly like looking through an observatory telescope but still, it was clearly recognisable as Saturn.
Oh, and Christian took a photo of the moon...
The following day we packed up and headed home, picking up Molly along the way. She had enjoyed herself at Mum's, a little too much. Mum is not immune to Molly's doggy wiles and played ball with her the entire weekend. Molly had trouble walking the next day...
We had a lovely weekend though and I'm hoping we can do it again soon :)
ETA - Blogger is being a bitch and isn't letting any of my links work :(
I shall come back tomorrow and try to fix them then. Apologies.
