Sunday adventuring

This morning, we decided to use the beautiful weather as a good excuse to get out of Dodge. We were up so early (we're always up so early!) that we opted to head to Rockingham to visit Penguin Island. We had only been there once before and it was lovely... but very very hot in summer and an hour's drive away, so we hadn't been back. Today seemed the perfect day to go, so go we did!
It's too bad, really, that we didn't call first to be sure they were running the ferry. Penguin Island is closed to visitors until mid-September. Alas. We did enjoy a nice stroll along the beach, looking at it across the bay.






What else can we do when we're already an hour away from Perth? Next, we headed over to the Serpentine Dam in Jarrahdale for a bit of nature walking and exploration.





We stopped at the General Store in Jarrahdale for lunch. The bulk of the menu was burgers, so Markus and I both selected one. One patty of mystery meat each. Ew. We recommend Ellie's lunch of toast with jam instead. After that, we were too afraid to try desserts there, so we headed to the Millbrook Winery nearby for a treat in their patio cafe. We had seen it when we'd visited for lunch, so we hoped they'd have desserts as well as coffees and teas. They actually serve a very light lunch menu out there (too bad we hadn't known before the mystery meat!), so we may have to visit that again. Snacks were good, as was spotting kangaroos lounging in the vineyard.



Stephanie was very distressed when I wouldn't let her pet them. Her tears were heart-breaking. Poor girl. She loves animals so much, and she just cannot grasp that some of them don't need to be loved up close.

We finished the day playing at the playground and strolling near the Swan River in Peppermint Grove close to home. What a beautiful day!
Happy 4th of July, American folks!