When it comes to fancy restaurants with water views, Steph and I aren’t really bothered; there’s other things we’d rather spend our money on. But when it comes to a nice meal in the van at the beach, we are all over it.

With our second wedding anniversary approaching, I suggested to Steph that we spend the day at the beach and make sushi. She thought it was perfect.

With Willow and all our supplies packed, we drove to Cremorne.

This little seaside village is just a 30 minute drive from our cottage, and one of my favourite places to get some beach time. What appeals the most about this place is that we can drive down onto the beach and along the spit on the lagoon side. There we parked up and watched the yachts bobbing around, and the boats launching by the jetty.

Willow was quick to jump up onto the dashboard to get a view of everything that was going on. Soon she settled on the drivers seat for her mid to late morning nap.

We had prepared most of the ingredients for our sushi rolls at the cottage, so it didn’t take long to start assembling everything. We used mushrooms, chicken, trout, omelette, avocado, cucumber, and grated carrot.

We made this timelapse video for you to see.

As soon as we opened the trout Willow abandoned her nap plans and hung around patiently waiting for morsel.

Of course, she received.

Soon, we had assembled all the rolls and it was time to eat with wasabi and mayo. Willow inspected the finished product for quality, and gave us two non-opposable thumbs up.

How nice it is to prepare food in this little kitchen I built for us. It really feels good.

Outside, the sun so desperately tried to come out. The temperature was about 13c, with those warm summer swims a distant memory. But inside the van we were toasty. With our newly installed diesel heater it was lovely and warm in our van.

The water was icy but Steph and I had talked each other into it. We were going to go for a swim!

We sheepishly approached the water and put our feet in. I could have kept my jumper on and chickened out, but we were determined. I’ve always admired people who can embrace the cold water. I want to be one of those people. The only thing left to do was to get in.

Steph was the first, then I followed. The feel of the water on my skin was intense. I put my goggles on and looked under the water. Seaweed. A fish darted away. Stillness.

The cold water was so peaceful and all-consuming, calming.

But, after 5 minutes, I had to get out. We jumped into our towels and scuttled back to the warmth of the van, and wondered where the rest of the afternoon would take us on our second wedding anniversary.

When we got back to the van, Willow had fallen asleep on the drivers seat again, and when it was time to get going she wouldn’t budge. Though, she was happy to let me cradle her in my lap. As soon as I started the engine she rolled over, jumped up onto the bed, and nosed under the blankets. There she stayed until we arrived home.

* * *

Thanks for joining us on this special day. Looks like we are having leftover sushi for lunches this week! I can’t believe it’s been two years since Steph and I got married on our paddle board at Enoggera Reservoir in Brisbane – and nearly 6 years since Willow and I first found Steph in Perth.

In march next year, we will return to the mainland in the van with Willow, the three of us. Who knows what we will discover!