At the seaside

It is so lovely to be living close to the seaside, and we never tire of the fantastic views from the cliffs not far from Darren's house

Scott at the Victory Hotel, about to eat his favourite food, salt and pepper squid.    This is my favourite dish too, when in Australia.   The squid is thinly sliced, lightly battered, and deep fried.  Delicious!  As the hotel is on the side of a hill there is also a fantastic view of the bay below, and an even better view of the very red sunset after a hot and clear day.    The Victory Hotel has an amazing wine cellar, ideal for the wine buffs.   Walter can only look of course, no drinking of the red stuff for him. 

A drive to our old beach, Henley Beach, where we once lived, a long time ago.    On this occasion it was catch up time with Karen and Sue, as well as enjoy the lovely view and eat fresh fish, cooked to perfection.

We also visited the show homes at Aldinga Beach, an activity we always enjoy when in Australia.   The houses are always open planned, and very bright and airy, and the price looks appealing too, until you check and find out that you need to double the price if you want to build a similar house.   Typical.

A walk on Aldinga Beach, early on a Sunday morning, with only a few people around.   So deserted.   Karen is concentrating on getting a perfect photograph of the waves.

And there are a few waves too, rolling in perfect symmetry towards the sand.

And later on, we went to a busier seaside suburb, Glenelg, where there was a junior surf life saving carnival taking place.  In the photograph below, the girls line up on the sand, in readiness for their race, to see who was first to collect the marker from the sand.    A trip down memory lane as as we remembered spending many  Sundays at different beaches, when Aaron, Donna, Darren and Emma took part in different carnivals.    A certain way of ruining the skin in those days.   Although, it would appear that might be still the case, as the children appeared to be wearing skimpy swimwear.  What happened to the current 'sun safety' programme?.    

Glenelg certainly has had a face lift, with smart restaurants and cafes, palms and brick paving.   Plus a very large sign warning people that anti social behaviour will not be tolerated.   The sign did spoil the ambiance somewhat, but anti social behaviour was obviously a problem in Glenelg.   Sad really.

Definitely a scene from the Cote d'Azur, but perhaps not quite St Tropez.  

A view along the beach, the north side of Glenelg, where the sand gets washed away and deposited further up the gulf, due to the building of sea walls to protect the harbour, which shelters pleasure boats.  Progress versus nature.

The seaside in Adelaide, is mostly white beaches and very clear water.   And enough sunshine to make swimming possible.    Perfect.