Dwarfed

This photo shows my van parked at Clybucca during the night next to a huge truck. I didn't realise how large those rigs really are.  I couldn't capture the half dozen rigs in a row with my Little Lucy (Toyota Lucida) at one end and a couple of campers and caravans at the other. However, it was fairly noisy as most of the trucks left at midnight. I assume their travel times are calculated on a full day's driving. I stayed at a service station rest stop and appreciated a long hot shower this morning. By then it was 9am so I got my usual night's sleep.

Once again I only travelled about three hours in total yesterday, most of it at 80kmh. I shouted myself to some lovely fresh prawns which I had for dinner last night - ten beautiful large tiger prawns for $4 - and some brie to go with bikkies for lunch today. I've had to turn on the fridge for the first time. I probably won't use it all the time unless I am somewhere with power. It seems very noisy at night and I'm sure it has to be draining the battery when the car is not running.

I have done my usual stop at Macca's to write up my blog. I won't stay long as I can't plug in to power. I asked one of the young workers for a power point and he told me that they don't let customers use power. That was how he worded it. I asked him to speak to a manager who still didn't give me power because of health and safety issues - that Maccas might be responsible if I electrocuted myself! It is so good that they are protecting me from myself. How did I ever survive for more than sixty years plugging into electricity grids all around the world?

Nature Arrgh!

I knew it was too good to last. Last night I stopped at a campground in a National Park - Woody Head near Iluka. I tried to do the right thing and appreciate the natural environment. I walked on the beach, well down to the beach! Really, I would have walked on the beach but the tide was in for a very long time! Then I found a shady table and sat there, having no trouble with the birds and the scrub turkeys and the kangaroos in the background but when a couple of furry grubs landed on my arm, I went back to the van and sat quietly at my own table and chair and did some knitting. Nature is so much better in the abstract!

I don't think I've ever seen or heard so many kookaburras all together at the same time. I can understand how the early explorers thought they were being mocked. I'm sure they laughed at me every time something fell from a tree onto the van. In fact, I wouldn't discount them pelting me with seeds and sticks just for the fun of it.

During the night I had the moon roof open. What a brilliant sky! I even got out my iPad at about midnight to use Sky Walk and identify some of the stars. The next time I opened my eyes it was drizzling with rain and I had put my little annex (back door privacy screen) up. By the time I got it down, it was damp so it is rolled up in the back until I can get a good clear day to get it dry.

There aren't many good things about getting old but I found one! National Parks NSW give free membership and day entry to all parks just for registering a government pension card. I saved $7 just last night. Just one problem, they have to post the card to the address on my concession card to ensure it goes to the right person. Maybe I will have it in time to drive back through NSW if I can find an address to have it redirected to.

Tonight I am staying with Tracie and Darryl and their young adult kids Jaz and Gy. I've been told that the first rule of camping is, Never turn down a good bed and a hot shower. Far be it from me to break the rules, especially the very first one. I worked with Tracie at Humpybong, including team teaching for two years. I have brought several photos from that time which I will leave with her.  Tracie and I talked non-stop for about 6 hours. We went through some old school photos and reminisced about our teaching together. We spent ages identifying former colleagues and relating events which have stuck in our minds. I had a pile of snaps and we had fun recreating the events and working through some of the kids where one of us knew their histories. It doesn't seem possible that this all happened twenty years ago. We were thoroughly compatible as teachers, and as friends it has been wonderful just to sit and take ourselves back to those days. She is still teaching as she was newly graduated as a teacher when we shared classes. We will have to be more regularly in contact from now on.

Busy Spot

Last night I got to Ocean Shores. It was quite a pleasant trip with a bit of rain to cool everything down. I went in to a few little towns along the way and then I stayed at a rest area called Yelgun - a busy little place. It is very well set up with a top parking area for big trucks and a lower area for smaller vehicles.

Where I parked were several covered areas and a couple of bbqs and a toilet area - unfortunately no showers. There were half a dozen campers there when I arrived and I parked between a woman from Adelaide and an almost-local couple returning from north Queensland. After dinner, the four of us got together for a cuppa. Later two young French women in their early twenties arrived and provided most of the excitment of the evening when they locked their keys in their van.

By the time we had decided that none of us could help, it was raining. We waited for the NRMA to arrive from Brunswick Heads. Apparently a Ford Transit van is quite difficult to get into and the mechanic, with six of us giving advice and holding torches, took more than half an hour to get the van open. At that stage we had become friends, sharing stories of our own disasters on the road. This all suited me well because it made for a late night (11pm) so it wasn't too much of a shock to my system. I was a bit concerned that travellers go to bed early and also leave early. That did happen, of course. there were twelve vans there last night and only three when I woke this morning.

I'm only planning to do two or three hours driving today. I guess I can't expect that every evening stop will be as interesting as last night so it will take things as they come.

On the Road at Last

In a few minutes I'll be out of Queensland - not something I am usually keen to do. But I am heading for a place called Ocean Shores in northern New South Wales. Yesterday I didn't get far. I hadn't planned to. I wanted to spend the night with my best friend, my cousin Carmel in Ipswich. And that meant probably my last really comfortable bed for a while.

Some people take pets. This little fellow hitched a ride to Ipswich.

This has been the first test of my packing. So far nothing has come adrift or started flying around the van so that part is good. Over the next few days I know I'll find things that should be better located. In fact, I know already that the little space where I usually put my handbag isn't easily accessible but I haven't worked out what to do about it yet. I really want to have everything close but of course that is impossible. With the multi-charger, at least I have the phone, the iPad and the GPS all within reach - and charged.

I had forgotten about Daylight Saving in the southern states though I'm not sure whether I have just lost or gained an hour - not that it matters when I don't have any time constraints. Maybe in a couple of days I'll be ready to jettison my watch and just go by the Lord's time.  In the meantime, I'll hit the road again and decide where to stop tonight.

Minor Delays

I hope delays will be minor. Yesterday, I was all ready to load the final bits and pieces into the van and it wouldn't start. My new large, expensive, heavy duty 4WD battery was flat! And the alternator wasn't working. I know - better to have it happen in my driveway than a few hours or days along the road, but it is a nuisance. The van has spent the day at the auto electricians. With a bit of luck, it will be ready this evening and I'll be on my way.

I don't want to put a hex on my trip but I do wonder what more could possibly need to be done.  What else is going to fall apart or fall out? The car must be almost new. I am sure there is nothing left that hasn't been replaced. I have had a total replacement of the automatic transmission. The fan for the airconditioner had  to be replaced and I have put in the battery just mentioned. Wheel rotations and alignments have been done and a major service. To comply with NSW legislation I have installed a smoke detector and fire extinguisher, although I can't imagine that I would need both. If I don't hear the smoke detector, it will be too late for the fire extinguisher. If I need the fire extinguisher and I'm not in the car, I'm unlikely to venture close enough to use it.

Being stuck at home, I decided to do a follow-up trip to the doctor as I had had blood tests done early this month. Good news! Everything was fine, every condition (those symptoms of old age!) under control. But my GP decided to do a biopsy on a spot on my shoulder. I told him he had done that twice before but he thinks a biopsy is better than an autopsy. He'll have the results tomorrow. I don't expect to hear from his surgery before I leave as I am sure all will be well.

If I don't leave tomorrow, I think I will have to hide out in a cave somewhere. I have said my farewells, several times to some people. Nobody wants to see me again till the middle of the year. Leave-taking should be quick, not drawn out like this! Let me go!

Drive Safely

Drive safely! That's the message everyone gives me. And I plan to, of course. I don't intend to spend my holiday time waiting to have the van repaired. I certainly can't afford to write it off.

But there are five particularly good reasons to drive safely.

First there is Timothy. Tim is almost nine. He goes to school in Mackay and this is his back-to-school photo for 2012. He is going into Year 4. His out-of-school activities are pretty important. Because the family has a pool, he is in the water at every opportunity. He's like a little seal, totally confident in, on and under the water. He also plays golf (fairly well from what I've been told) and is about to sign up for the rugby league season - though he is careful not to get too close to the action!

Cory is six and is going into Year 1. He is a Thomas the Tank Engine fan and seems to have almost every engine and carriage available. Since he was about 18 months old, he has been playing trains and makes very intricate rail layouts with the many metres of track he has accumulated. Construction and strategic games are also his favourites on the computer. He'd rather be inside than out, although he has become a bit of a dare devil at tree climbing.

Hudson is the wild child. He has been a climber since he first managed to struggle to his feet and sees every vertical surface as a challenge. One look at his face and you know he is up to mischief. Yet, he is surprisingly reticent when he is out with strangers. This year at pre-school will be good for him. All he did last year was Kinder Gym to work off some of his excess energy and three year olds have plenty of energy.

Equally energetic is Cooper. At three months younger than his cousin, he is a bundle of mischief. He is very social and affectionate and loves his days at child care. He is a real chatterbox and speaks very clearly (and constantly). I think he is going to be a really sporty kid as he seems to have very good coordination and he loves being out doing things.

My youngest reason to drive safely is Oscar. At six months old, he is just a happy chappy and this makes him the centre of attention. He's at the stage of being up on his knees and about to take off. He sits up and surveys his world. I don't think he ever cries unless he is tired, hungry or hurt. I love the way he goes to bed quite happily. He clutches his little giraffe, then rolls over and closes his eyes - wonderful!

With five little grandsons, why would I be anything but careful and safe on the roads!

Making Lists and Getting Organised

 I know I am not heading off into the wilds of Africa or even the heart of Australia but there is a lot to do for about 6 months away. Well, the six months will be no more than 5 months as I have an appointment at the end of January. I want to be back now by the last week in June as my elder son turns 40 that week and I'll help him celebrate. At the same time his little son, my youngest grandchild, will be having his first birthday. What better reason to get home!

For Winter (which could be now, in Tasmania) I have a small neat zipped up bag and a similar one for Summer. The Summer bag will have to be cut right back. It is hard to imagine needing warm clothes when the weather is as hot as it is this week. I am being ruthless, packing enough to give me variety and still only enough to fill the space allotted. I am also very careful to make sure that there is nothing that will ever need ironing, no matter how it is squashed into a bag. I hope to get to Toastmasters meetings and meetings of the Red Hat Society and possibly the VIEW club so I do have to have some respectable outfits. And you never know, I might get an invitation to dinner sometime in those few months.

I don't consider food very important but have stocked up on crackers and dips, and cereals and long life milk. This trip I am definitely going to have hot food occasionally so I've bought some instant meals and some of those 'just add hot water and it will cook' packets. Tinned tuna will make me feel I've had some protein. A few packets of nuts and dried fruit, and my pantry is ready to be packed. At the moment it is all sitting in grocery bags behind my lounge chair. (Having only a small one-bedroom cottage means there is not much storage space.) Besides, it is very important to support the small towns that I'll be travelling through and there will be plenty of opportunities to replenish perishables.

The thing that has driven me crazy on previous trips is managing cords when machines are being charged through the cigarette lighter. I now have a multi-unit charger which I think charges four items at once. I've been experimenting with a container which will separate each item and keep the cords from tangling. I might have solved that, with help from my mechanically minded daughter. However, I won't be too proud to say the storage hasn't worked and toss it out if I get frustrated with it.

Sometime before I leave I also have to find out something about the inverter. I'm not really sure what it is and what it does, how many things I can run from it and for how long. That's my homework for the next little while. Any advice on this will be gratefully received.

I have been surfing the Grey Nomad sites (though of course I'm a Silver Gypsy, not a grey nomad) and have got together a collection of reference and travel books that have been recommended. A few games and some cards should keep me out of mischief and have something to share with fellow travellers.  I've also put some useful looking apps on my iPad and subscribed to a few podcasts which look as though they may help.  I've stocked up on audio books and downloaded a lot of reading matter. On this trip I've decided to start knitting again and have some nice simple patterns and a few balls of wool. When I'm not driving (and even when I am, with audio books) I should be able to keep myself entertained. And of course I'll have at least one camera. I'll have to make a decision on that. How serious do I want to be?

Over the next fortnight I'll be finishing off a few things. I'll go to my tap dance lessons next week and the following week just to get into the swing of exercise again and to arrange to have lessons videotaped (is that the word for it these days?) and sent to me along the way so that I can slot in again when I get home without being too klutzy. I want to do a few lunches with friends and will be flying to Mackay for about 10 days to see the kids before I leave.  I'll see Mum as often as I can, though I'm not sure whether she will realise that I'm going away.  None of my other clubs and activities will have restarted before I go, so it will be a leisurely preparation.