It Ain't Necessarily So

Where would you expect to buy tickets to go on a train? Did you say, 'At a railway station'? That's what I thought. On our first day in Sydney, I allowed plenty of time at the Richmond station to buy tickets or cards or whatever travellers needed. The ticket windows were unattended. This was't a problem because a sign in each window informed me that tickets were not sold from the windows anyhow.  Then I tried the machine and was told that I couldn't buy an Opal card from the machine but could only top one up. With nobody official looking bustling around, I finally asked a maintenance worker who was tending the garden. He told me I had to go to Woolworths or Coles or a newsagent. After a ten minute walk to Woolies, I was able to buy a youth's card for Hudson and an adult one for me. I could have got a concession card instead of an adult one, but I could only do that online and have it posted to me.

Today at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, I really wanted to just have a cable car ride.  Was that possible? No, I had to spend $60 which would take me on all the rides - the cable car, the sky rail and the world's steepest railway. I guess I could have just had an expensive cable car ride but I had an adventurous Hudson eager to do the lot. I was happy to do the cable car and the sky ride on a gondola but a certain grandson called me a wuss - the same grandson who wouldn't pat a little chicken last week.And yes, I survived the railway.

PHOTOS TO COME

MORE TO FOLLOW

Sydney or Bust

Hudson and I are getting along very well. Apart from a melt-down at Annie's one night he is coping well being away from home. He has almost got into the swing of life on the road. I still remind him occasionally that we are travelling companions and he has to do things without reminders. He has got good at putting up the screens at night and taking them down next day. Together we make his bed and fold it up every day (unless we are staying put for the next night). Screen time is the one bone of contention. I have set a time limit but he conveniently forgets how long he has been on his devices.

We have had a relaxed trip so far, with an overnight at Pittsworth with Father Tom, four nights with Annie and Les, and one night in a caravan park because it was miserably cold and wet. The rest has been free or minimal cost camping at Woodenbong, Bellingen, Buttai and now Richmond in Sydney.

Hudson with Father Thomas

We stayed with Annie and Les  but managed to see Tracie and Darryl for a couple of hours

It's hard to believe that Tracie and I were team teaching in 1985 at Humpybong.
She looks as young, slim and lovely as she was then.

Les and Hudson, colour matched koalas

Even the birds feel welcome

Hudson got brave enough to throw the ball for Dean,
For a very old dog, he still loves to play.

Almost dark but you can still appreciate the beautiful grounds and the river

Wow! A catfish caught in a couple of minutes and another two next day

50 metres from home, Les and Hudson fished from the bridge

Buttai was interesting as we had a MSO - a Member Stop Over. Frank has a farm and really wanted to introduce Hudson to country life. He was afraid of the puppy because it was young and yappy and wanted to play and jump. He wasn't game to hold a chicken or even pat it when Frank held it. It was lucky that the little rooster attacked my legs rather than his or that would totally have been the end of him.  Frank keeps bees and generously gave us some honey and lovely fresh eggs. I had a jar of blueberry jam to give him and I forgot in my hurry to leave. I relived my childhood, eating mulberries straight from the tree. When I was in primary school, there was a mulberry tree in the corner of the school grounds were we climbed the fence to get to school.

Frank showing Hudson how to safely touch an electric fence.
You would think Hudson was being led to the electric chair.

Hudson almost patted a chicken

Heading South

I have spent the past couple of months marking time and getting ready to leave. I've been on the medical merry-go-round being flicked from one specialist to another - heart, lungs, respiratory specialists. You name it I have had almost every part of my body scanned and poked and medicated. I finally got the all  clear last week, with reminders about follow-up visits. I will ignore the 3 month recommendations as I really don't expect to return by then.

We had a couple of family events to see me on my way. It was my baby sister Karen's 50th birthday last month and her trip to Brisbane coincided with brother Tony's birthday. In typical O'Rourke fashion, a mob of us met at Tony and Lyndall's place and sent out for seafood and chips to be eaten on the verandah - lovely! Lyndall had two birthday cakes prepared and, as she has now got used to our family's penchant for sweet and creamy food, followed this with pavlovas (plural!) Tony took on his usual barista role and made dozens of cappuccinos and lattes to finish the evening.

The following day we had our annual family get-together in the park. This tradition began after Mum's death when we no longer had our huge Christmas gathering at Mum and Dad's. As most of us have kids and grandkids, we tend to spend Christmas with them. By meeting on the long weekend in October, we make the effort to stay in touch. I suppose we had about 50 there this year. (PHOTOS) I don't think that we would lose touch as we are constantly connecting with each other, either in small or large groups.

Finally I was able to hit the road. I have eight-year old Hudson with me for a few weeks. Cory travelled with me last year so Hudson felt it was his turn. His parents thought it might be more sensible to send him for the last term of the year rather than the beginning of next year when it is important to settle into a new class with new friends. I did wonder for a couple of days how it was going to work out but he has settled in and realises that we are travelling companions and he has to do his share of the work. He is gradually getting some jobs under control.

Although we were heading south, our first stop was west of Brisbane. We spent the night at Pittsworth visiting Father Thomas Areekuzhy whom I had got to know well when he first arrived in Australia and was working in the Toowoomba area. We spent a fair bit of time talking although, as Parish Priest, he had constant visitors and phone calls.

Our next major stop was with friends Annie and Les in Maclean. The highlight for Hudson was going fishing with Les. He caught a catfish within minutes of tossing his line in and another couple the next day. (Check out his blog through the link on mine or at hudss100.blogspot.com. He loves to get comments - as I do!) It is always hard to leave Annie and Les as they make us so welcome. Their place is peaceful and their pace of life is relaxed. (Well, Annie may not see it quite that way as she is working, finishing a law degree, running an airbnb and tending to her garden. However, it looks like a lovely life. With a large property, Les is always busy with maintenance but always has time to talk. He and Umar would get on well as they are both passionate about life and current events.) Tea and biscuits feature prominently in my visits.

Tonight we are free camping at Bellingen, nice spot with about 10 neighbours but rather close to the road so it may be a rather noisy night.