Last Monday we took the Sherwood to South Beach for a swim and breakfast. The drive was a bit longer than going to City Beach, but we felt like a change. The maximum that day was about 35C, but down at the beach it didn’t get above 25C.

The water was calm and clear, just as well as there seemed to be a lot of elderly folk like us and we could really swim rather than just bouncing around in the waves. Although the water looked clear, especially at the edge, when I put the GoPro underwater it was murky.

The toilets and showers at South Beach are under renovation, but there were outdoor showers with little wooden huts for changing in privacy. Near the cafe they have put some portable toilets and we found them clean.

After our swim we had a leisurely breakfast. I had a shower and changed in the Sherwood, then had a second cup of coffee. It was hard to leave as the weather was so lovely, but eventually we were bored with just sitting, so decided to drive home.

On Wednesday I dropped the Sherwood off at Eco Amigo in Wangarra. I got there at about 8.15 a.m. I thought it would take longer, but somehow I managed to avoid a lot of the traffic. Eduardo drove me to the Whitfords Train Station and I caught a train pretty quickly back to the city. It was still fairly cool. I had a coffee, then caught the 960 home.

On Friday Matt had an appointment with his GP for his annual review. I went with him, taking the ramp we use at home because the clinic doesn’t have one. Matt was thoroughly assessed by the GP according to a format supplied by AbilityWA. We have things to follow up on. Mainly age related checkups, no problems noted in the appointment. As there is a pathology clinic in the building we went there to have blood taken. Matt is very stoic and Eli said he just watched the blood flowing into the tube. I have to shut my eyes.

Afterwards we went to Dog Swamp where Matt had a drink. I enjoyed a breakfast roll and eyed off the beautiful cakes which were amazingly cheap. It is an Asian bakery, with just one outdoor table where we sat.

Then, we went back to Villa 3 so I could let staff know about the weekend. Matt and Eli went off to the studio to find a good printer to scan all of the documentation we had collected.

Then I drove up to Wangarra to pick up the Sherwood. Wow! Cleaned, polished and with a new ceramic coating it looks so good, shiny and silky smooth to the touch. We hope it doesn’t get dirty again too soon, but everything left outside at our place gets very dirty, so it may not take long. The reason for the ceramic coating is that we plan to do lots more exploring on gravel roads and it should provide protection. It’s also good to see just how clean it can get.

When we eventually want to sell it we will have it cleaned and polished first. In fact, I had to park on the street whilst waiting for Stephen (he caught trains and buses to Wangara to pick up the car) someone driving by slowed down and asked if he could buy it. I said it wasn’t for sale.

Of course the photos don’t really do it justice. They were sent to me by Eduardo.