Saturday 15th February, 2025
We took our time yesterday morning as there is no requirement to leave at 10.00 a.m. We bypassed Mt Barker to do our shopping in Albany. The drive took about ½ an hour longer than it should because of a delay due to roadworks. It was such a relief to get moving again.
We did make a short stop at Gilberts Winery to buy some of the wine we liked so much last time we were in Albany.
By the time we reached Albany it was lunch time. After shopping at Woollies we shared a plate of chicken and noodles at Jin’s Chinese Takeway. As it was getting late by then, about 2.00 p.m. we didn’t want to have too much food as we were going out to dinner with Stephen’s choir in the evening.
We are staying at the Tasman Caravan Park on Albany Highway. It is fairly central to Albany and we are staying here two nights so that Stephen has the best conditions for getting ready for the concert tonight. We will be driving out to the ampitheatre at about 3.30 as there is a sound check, followed by a rehearsal starting at 4.30 p.m.
We drove down to the Rustlers Steakhouse for the meal. There were about 60 of us, plus the restaurant was busy with other customers. I’ve never had such a good experience of catering for a large group. We have a short menu to choose from with garlic bread and bread dip as starters, and shared bowls of salad to go with our mains. The staff were incredibly efficient at managing the orders, with food arriving at the same time at each table. I would highly recommend them if you are going out with a group. We could also each pay individually, which was helpful as drinks and desert were charged separately.
We headed home at about 9.30 p.m. when most of the others were leaving or had left. It was a good social event for the choir, allowing them to connect with people in a way that they can’t when focussing on singing.
I’ve been a bit lazy about taking photos, so am relying on a few from Stephen for this blog. I’m hoping we had a good sunset tonight which might inspire me to take the camera out.