Today was market day in Avalon – the once a year market held here. So, with various roads in the area closed, it seemed easiest to just go to the market! The range and selection was huge, but after a while we just went cross-eyed with choice, so headed for a coffee on Avalon Beach.
A notable resident of Avalon is apparently Yahoo Serious. You may not be surprised to learn that he wasn’t christened this (he was originally known as Greg Gomez Pead), but changed his name by deed poll in 1980. In fact he even tried to sue the search engine Yahoo in 2000 for trademark infringement, but he lost as he couldn’t prove that he sold anything under the name Yahoo! He became famous (or infamous?) after writing, producing and directing the film Young Einstein. This portrays Eninstein as a young apple farmer in Tasmania who derives his famous formula E=mc² while trying to discover a means of creating beer bubbles. Experimenting in his shed with a hammer and chisel he manages to split the beer atom (is this sounding very Australian …?). As a result he leaves Tasmania to head for Sydney to patent his discovery. Not content to have split the atom with a chisel though, he goes on to develop rock music and surfing, has a romance with Marie Curie, and saves Paris from an atomic bomb. Possibly not a documentary ……
In the afternoon we went for a walk around Avalon nearly across to the Pittwater on the other side and back through the Angophora Reserve. The reserve was set up originally to preserve a giant Angophora Red Gum tree,which is estimated to be 1,000 years old. The tree is still standing today but is now sadly dead. The Angophora gum (Angophora costata) is also known by various names including smooth-barked apple, rose gum, rose apple and Sydney red gum. It particularly thrives on sandstone soils on headlands, plateaus or other relatively high areas. A costata differs from the most other “gum trees” in that it is not a true Eucalyptus, but a closely related genus.
In the evening we headed down to Manly and had supper with Fiona and her Mum at the Pantry on the beach at Manly. We then walked a bit round the head at Manly looking for penguins, but they didn’t come out to play despite it being dusk – apparently the best time to see them.