• 

• 

• 

We awoke, refreshed and looking forward to our day ahead. We had no choice but to leave the hotel today, checkout was at 10:00am. We took our time getting ready with loads of continued laughter, sometimes turning into shrieks that we were worried might bring the hotel staff knocking on the door, and headed downstairs for breakfast. We enquired about the cost, and when we were informed it was $38 per person, we handed back the menus and politely retreated. We left the hotel (finally) in search of breakfast. Along the way we encountered a group of kangaroos on the pavement. Breakfast was in London Court, a replica facade Tudor style with a cuckoo clock which chimes on the hour. It is quite a tourist attraction and a must see on the list of places to visit in Perth City. It reminded Emma of Diagon Alley as described in the Harry Potter novel. I agreed, the shops were quaint and quirky. Emma even spotted someone with the same outfit on as her, what great taste! She snuck up beside her and we took a photo whilst trying not to split our sides laughing.

We decided this was a good place for breakfast and I seriously doubted our ability to venture much further without proper sustenance. We enjoyed our breakfast on the sidewalk (at a table) and watched the world and tourists go by.
We spent the next couple of hours wandering around the shops, soaking up the relaxed atmosphere in Perth City. Judy was reminded of the Winners and Losers television show when the reunited friends bought a tattslotto ticket the morning after their reunion and then won millions. We thought we had better do the same, so off to the tattslotto shop we went. A little dreaming about what we would each do “when” we won, then we grabbed a Boost Juice and headed home. Judy cranked up Michael Bolton and we all joined in the singing, complete with actions and soulful facial expressions.
We arrived back at Lake Clifton to numerous hugs and kisses from Caleb. He had missed me.
There was no time to sit and chat, Ray and I had an exquisite gift from Judy to enjoy and we were late for it.
Judy had insisted that we both spent a night away from the van together while she kept an eye on things at Camp Siggy. We were in awe, we were so appreciative, we were really excited and eager to leave!
I readjusted my overnight bag and waved goodbye again. (My second night away- I was certainly reaping the benefits). Ray had booked us into the Pinjarra Hotel and we were more than keen to get there. It was only 35km away so we envisaged a late afternoon jacuzzi before a romantic dinner and um… Early night !?!
It didn’t actually turn out like that though …
Firstly, in our haste to get there, we drove right past the hotel and out the other side of town. The fact that I put the wrong address into the GPS may have assisted, but there we were, sitting outside an Eco Village resembling an Amish community. We guessed something had gone wrong. After a U turn and some correct Googling we arrived.
Reception was deserted, as was the whole site. A sign said ” Welcome” and gave a mobile phone number to call. We did. A female voice named “Kylie” informed us that she would “come down”. In the course of our ensuing conversation we found out that she was just looking after the hotel while the owner “popped out”. He left sometime around lunchtime…”should be back soon”.
Ray had booked the jacuzzi suite knowing how much I had missed my baths while we had been travelling and showed “Kylie” the email conversation booking it. She grabbed a few keys because she just wasn’t sure which room was ours and we followed her in the car. As she knocked on each door then inserted the keys in the locks, I started to get worried. Each room was unmade and not fit for new guests. She asked for 1/2 hour to rectify the situation and we agreed. I felt sorry for her. It wasn’t her problem to fix, but what business owner books a room for a night then leaves the premises, leaving ALL his previously booked rooms unmade? What if a group of travellers stopped by to stay?
We headed to the local Muffin Break for a coffee. Our disappointment mounted as we saw that it looked closed. The young manager confirmed it without moving her eyes from her iPhone. We wondered why, considering it was 4:14pm, but hey, it was a Saturday afternoon.
We headed to Dome. A popular restaurant in WA, much like Victoria’s old – now defunct “Keg” restaurants but a little classier. We enjoyed a Devonshire tea and wondered with the waitress why there were over 100 Dome restaurants in 7 countries (including Tasmania) yet none in Melbourne. Hmm…
We received a text informing us that our room was ready, so we headed back. Heaven! We unpacked, pushed the cover off the bed, checked for extra pillows (there weren’t any) and settled back on the bed contemplating when to start the jacuzzi. Ray grabbed the remote and looked for the obligatory hotel information book which we assumed would inform us how to tune the TV (there wasn’t any) so we tried everything we could to get any kind of picture, to no avail.
We rang reception, no answer, so Ray text back poor Kylie. She said she’d look into it for us. Momentarily she turned up at the door clutching another key. She offered us two rooms, one across the carpark and the one we were in. We could flit from one to the other all night as the TVs on this side of the complex weren’t working. I wasn’t too happy as the owner had admitted to knowing this when he sold us the room. Kylie apologized for our “Fawlty Towers” -esque experience. I explained that for what we had paid, it really wasn’t good enough. Kylie told us how the hotel had recently been sold, in part, and how over the last 2 years it had really gone downhill. She had just returned to “help out” and was actually at work in the restaurant next door when we called her. She wasn’t supposed to be working at all, the owner taking advantage of her kind nature. She suggested she give us a refund and that we drive to Mandurah and stay in the Comfort Inn there. What annoyed me the most was the attitude of the owner. He booked a room out when he knew all facilities we had paid for weren’t working and left, not even ensuring it was ready for our arrival. I felt sure the Comfort Inn franchise might like some feedback about it and promised to do that later. Not happy that I was missing my bath, dinner and “alone ” time, but I was really toey so we decided to leave.
Mandurah had one room left, we took it. Too late now for dinner out, we grabbed Chinese takeaway and sat on the KING sized bed eating it and watching TV.
We spent a very pleasant evening together, loving our alone time and more than once we looked at each other and admitted, “Gee, we love Judy, so much”. She is more than a great friend, she is a very generous individual who enriches our lives and has done for many, many years. (Aaron even started to call her Auntie Judy, although Caleb just can’t manage anything other than “Mrs G”). Bless!