The one where I ripped a goofy-footed tasty curl

We drank and surfed and were merry.

We drove down to wine country. The Margaret River area has a winery every couple of hundred metres. Some tours (like Wine For Dudes™) hit six or seven in one day, though we weren't quite ready for that.

Stopped at the Wine Info Centre in the town of Margaret River to make some plans for the evening and grab lunch. We decided to go to the Leeuwin Estate ('cause Doug and Kyle liked the label best--is there a better way?) and then head over to the beach. We tried eight wines--started at the dry whites (Riesling) and worked our way to the Cabernet/Merlot. They had a Chardonnay that sells for $85/bottle that was pretty good, but I think you'd have to appreciate it a bunch more than I did to pay that. My favourite was the Sauvignon Blanc--the berry really lingered.

We stayed at Margaret's Beach Resort. Checked into our two-bedroom condo, rented some surfboards (and wetsuits) and headed to the river mouth at Prevelly Beach. In two shifts--we had three surfboards, but only two would fit in the car at the same time so Doug had to drive carpool for us kiddies.

We, uh, fell a lot. Dinner back at the condo--Doug grilled some steaks and chicken, whilst we ferried out gin and tonics.

Early to bed--we had to catch the waves at first light.

Late to rise--we watched cricket on tv, trying to determine if it's really like a baseball game where each inning lasts a couple of days. We eventually headed back to the beach for another try.

It was really windy and we had to fight like hell to get out to the waves. We moved over a bit and were able to sorta walk out far enough to get started. After a number of tries, I was finally able to stand on the board. It might not have counted in rodeo, but it was at least a couple of seconds. I immediately headed to shore, done for the day (or "ever").

We returned our stuff and headed back up to Perth for the night, stopping at Valle Felix winery (taste 8 more (the Sauv/Semillon was my favourite yet) and call mom for her birthday), the Bootleg Brewery for lunch, and the Margaret River Chocolate Company for a free samples dessert.

Margaret River pictures...

ta,
sg