The ugly open road

Okay, finally caught up with my posts, so everyone will be up to speed after this. Starting the day off right with a fine breakfast (don't worry Tisha, I'm eating plenty), I went to the whale museum Now, this wasn't about whales themselves so to speak. No...it was more about the industry of whaling. The museum itself was the last whaling station in Austraila to go out of business. So this little old lady lead us around the station, showing us what happened after the whale was killed and brought up on shore. Very gross, but interesting. Can't say I didn't learn anything while I was here. We even watched a couple of movied in the whale oil holding tanks. I think the smell is still in my shirt, and I didn't even touch the walls. Did you know that whale oil was used for transmission oil, for fine watches, and the textile industry? Sorry, all this new found knowledge just needed to be shared with someone.
The beaches of Albany are also excellent. A mixture of white sand beaches, and huge granite cliffs, I couldn't have been more pleased with the views. Got to check out some blowholes, not whale related. They're cracks in the rocks, where, when a waves crashes on the cliff wall, the force pushes air and mist up through the crack higher up on the rocks. The warning sign said a few people had died from standing too close when larger waves were about, but you see alot of stuff like that here. Also stopped at a natural rock bridge. Bigger cliffs, more danger don't go any farther signs, very cool views, with waves breaking on cliffs, and beaches and islands in the distance.
Then the driving. Not a pretty trip today. 500km of crusty looking shrubs, vast areas of dried up wheat fields, and some more shrubs. The drive eventually got me to the town of Esprence. A smallish town, but they are apparently known for rediculously nice beaches and something like 100 islands off the coast. My bed for the night is about 100 yards from the water and a great view...if not for the trees in my way. Whew...that was a lot of work. And no John, I'm not getting all my driving done in 2 days. But I'm still looking at 1600km in 3 days of serious driving. So I'm pacing myself. Lots of stops and detours, which breaks up the time in the car nicely. Which reminds me. So yesterday, while driving the last part to Albany, I planned my route to go thru a national park. So I go down to the road and bam! The road I want is a dirt road, and there's a sign saying its closed a bit down the way. So I figure, what the heck, I'll have a look. So I start down the road, and it turns on to this half sand, half dirt road. And there's a sign at the head of this saying danger, of course, engage 4wd, and proceed with caution. So I think about it for a second...and keep going. About 2km down this new road, it was closed sadly, but it didn't say why. I was disappointed. I was sure the car would have made it, but I guess I'll have to try something else.