Eden: The Unintended Garden

Eden 237 km to go?!

Room 237 from the movie version of 'The Shining'

The main reason I chose to stay for two nights in the town of Eden on my way back from Melbourne on my last road-trip was for some rest and relaxation and to check out the killer whale museum, not for Eden's Biblical botanical beauty that one would hope to find in a town so named.
Road Trip #2

This was my first glimpse of Eden,
as it was night by the time I arrived

But to my surprise there was an "unintended garden" in Eden that was quite stunning.

This garden is probably the most "East of Eden" you could get incidentally.

In this garden of Eden though there is a memorial to men of the town who lost their lives at sea. 

Click to make bigger to be able to read

Notice how the memorial seems to be a place beyond the pines?-)
Mt Thompson: The Place Beyond the Pines?
Which in hindsight hits home, since my father was cremated at Mt. Thompson last Friday.

It certainly is worth a stroll out to the east of Eden to contemplate life and the unintended garden that awaits you there.

But it was the killer whale museum I had come to here to see, not the unintended garden of Eden.

Because I had just seen the Chris Hemsworth movie, 'In The Heart of the Sea' when my ex-wife had sent the divorce papers to me through from her lawyer, so I bought a bottle of 'Devil's Corner' sparkling wine to celebrate the unshackling of the chains, since it was the year 2015 and the number 15 tarot card is "The Devil" card.

When I was drinking the "Devil's Corner" wine I thought to myself that next year (2016) I will have to visit Tasmania, which is exactly what I did, and how I ended up in Eden. 
Ironically Chris Hemsworth owns a house on the same coastline as Eden, only his place is right up near the top of NSW.
I found Chris's movie about whaling enlightening, as shipwrecked is the only way you can end up when chasing the great white whale of your youth;-) 

Notice the life preserver on the wall?-)

Cheers and more about the killer whale museum of Eden in an upcoming post -
The Killers and Whales of the New South Wales Coast

Going With the Flow in Devonport on My Last Day in Tasmania

I found a mirror dory on the wall of the killer whale museum in Eden, as well;-)

UPDATE: September 2023

I came across a paperback version of 'East of Eden' while sorting through donations in an Op shop recently and remembered mentioning the book in this old post.

I never really had any intention of reading the novel before, but as this copy while readable to my standards of what a secondhand book was, the management wouldn't have approved the condition of wear and tear this copy had been through and would have binned it in the cardboard recycling bin, so I rescued the copy from being binned by offering the store a $1 donation for the copy and now it sits in my to read pile of books on top of my bedroom chest of draws.