Our weekend adventure....

 I have so much to share with you and I'm so behind on my blogging, so I'll start way back at last weekend.  We had a public holiday last Thursday and Jake's school was closed on Friday.  I took a day's leave and we headed off to Sedgefield, along the gorgeous Garden Route, for a long weekend with Gareth & Rose.  We left quite late on Wednesday evening and only arrived in Sedgefield a little before midnight.  It was great to wake up in a new place, knowing there were lots of new adventures in store for us.  The weather was great, so after a lazy start to our morning, Jake and I headed by foot down to the lagoon to do some fishing.  We found this super cool old car along the way and Jake asked me to take a photo to show Pa (my dad).

Jake was on the hunt for bait and managed to catch quite a few little crabs and dug out some white muscles...

 My boy?  He was HAPPY...

Try as he might though, he did not catch any fish with his net.  The babies are too fast...

 There were loads of hermit crabs around, all colours, shapes and sizes.  They freak me out a little, because they can hide beneath the sand, but Jake is scared of nothing...

After a while, Gareth picked us up on their little boat and took us to a sandbank in the middle of the lagoon.  It was beautiful...

 Gorgeous houses on the hillside...

Jake went on a bait finding mission and managed to find a guy with a prawn pump, who was willing to let him watch...

 The guy gave him a couple of mud prawns, so Jake thought he was the bees knees...

 Gareth's pretty good with the cast net.  He didn't catch anything though...

 As the tide moved, they made their way closer to the beach in the hopes of catching something with the cast net there...

 Jake made friends with the guy in the back ground too.  He grew up in Sedgefield and told us of how he used to bunk school to go fishing.  He knows his stuff.  He gave Jake a couple of little fish...

 The lagoon was busy and these guys were showing off their stuff with their high speed boats.  I have no idea how they managed not to flip them, but I guess that's the point...

 And Jake sat quietly and waited...

 Hi my beautiful, big boy - I love you XXX

 Jake's patience soon paid off and he pulled in his very first leervis.  It was still a baby though, but still, he caught it on his rod and that's all that matters...

 The spines on the leerie's back were prickly though and Jake needed a bit of help getting the hook out of its mouth...

 Proud of his efforts and ready to say goodbye to his catch...

 Waiting for fish to bite is often boring - well, for me it is anyway.  Fortunately there were lots of other things to keep me amused.  I took this gull picture especially for my friend, Lee...

 All of a sudden though, Jake had another bite and it was great excitement.  Unfortunately the line broke and the fish got away.  Must've been a huuuuuge...

 Did you know that you can pull a hermit crab out of it's shell?  I didn't and I won't be doing it myself anytime soon, but look how funny they look when they're out...

 And when they find a suitable shell, they just stuff themselves back inside...

 And are ready to go again.  Freaky...

 Back on the boat, it was time to head home.  We'd missed lunch and all that fresh sea air had left us STARVING...

 Hilux also came on holiday with us.  He sat in the backseat of Rose & Gareth's hatchback with Jake and I.  He was also tired from all the fresh air...

 The next morning, we went down to the beach for a walk.  The views en route are stunning...

 Pretty mosaics...

 Jake had tons of fun at the beach.  It made me feel terribly guilty about not taking him to our local beaches more often...

 He didn't catch that one - it was a dead catfish he found on the beach and was threatening to throw it at me...

 Uncle Gareth wanted to show him the cave on the beach where his dad had made a fire with Gareth's brother as a kid...

 The cave's been taken over by the homeless now, so it's smelly and littered, but Jake didn't care - it was just cool that his dad had been there before...

 Pretty shells back on the beach...

 Crystal clear waters...

 Hilux couldn't resist a swim...

 Jake love having someone to dig holes in the sand with him...

 Do I have something on my nose??

 This is one of my favourite pictures from the weekend!  I know it's not technically a great photo, but it makes me laugh every time I look at it.  Hilux is just so happy to be on the beach!  And no, he didn't trip on his lead...

 After trying to keep the water out of his holes that he was digging with Hilux, Jake decided to make a gully instead...

 

Running through the waves on our way back to the car...

 This is the back yard at the house in Sedgefield.  And the braai.  We used that every night and Jake loved building his own little fires in it during the day...

 Later on day 2, Jake and Gareth decided to go fishing down on the old railway bridge.  You can't say they don't try!!  The train line used to run between George and Knysna, but was damaged a while back by floods and is no longer used.  The train that used to travel these tracks was an old steam train, called the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe.  I did the trip with Jacques and some good friends from Austria once and it really was stunning...

 The new fishing spot.  By the way - I learnt how to cast here.  I've decided that since I'm always with Jake on his fishing trips, I may as well learn how to enjoy the sport too...

 The bridge is a bit difficult for Jake to walk on, so we just fished next to it...

 While his rod was in the water, Jake kept trying to catch the little guys...

 There was rain on the way and the sky was just beautiful...

 The guys who were fishing on the bridge caught a massive crab that had all the kids fascinated...

 The other side of the railway tracks - so much water...

 Silhouette...

 Dramatic clouds at dusk, bringing the cool evening air and sending us home to the fireside...

 On Saturday morning, Jake and I were disappointed to wake up to rain.  We waited for a gap and headed to yet a different spot in the lagoon, with frozen sardines for bait...

 Jake getting his things ready...

 No sooner had he put his line in the water than he had a bite.  It was another little fish, a steenbras this time, but he was thrilled...

 Super excited...

 This one he could manage to get the hook out of by himself...

 Within a little more than an hour, he'd caught 3 fish and was beyond excited.  He was adamant that he was taking them home to braai, but I managed to explain sustainable fishing to him and he let these babies go...

 This is possibly my favourite photo from the weekend.  Just look at that smile!!  He looks JUST like his dad...

 We packed up early on Sunday morning, to try get back in time to see Paul and TJ finish the Epic - a quick stop just outside Sedgefield for a photo of Dolphin point.  The eye hole is the tunnel from the Outeniqua train line...

 Thanks for the wonderful weekend away Rosie and Gareth!  Thanks for all the fishing excitement, Jake - you're getting really good at this game!!  Now you just need to catch something big enough to eat!!

  Paul and TJ finished the Epic 4 minutes before we got there.  I haven't seen either of them to congratulate them, but I am SO proud of them!!  What an achievement.  Just under 800km, done in 56 hours through some of the toughest riding grounds you can imagine.  It was such fun to follow their journey, but it's really good to have them home safe and sound! Thanks to my dad for these pics...

 The medal that awards them the status of "Real Men"...

 Happy family, well, besides Bi...

 And that's about it!  I'll give you the full run down on our medical "dramas" this week, as soon as I find the extra moments to do so.

Wishing you all the blessings and love of Easter, may you have the most wonderful weekend with all those nearest and dearest to you.  Hoping to have at least 1 day at home in my PJs all day!  Hope the bunny leaves you something nice.

Sending lots of love,

Sue XXX