Mixture of good/ bad feelings on the last morning.
Good to get home, see kids, dogs etc.; bad finishing this great trip.
Easy drive except for passing through Melbourne. On the way out, we used the Monash Freeway and the Western Highway. On the way back we used the Calder Highway and the Monash. On all of Melbourne's freeways, there wouldn't be one 10 km. section that's not under repair. In 1974, the first bit of the Monash was opened around Wellington Road. The speed limit was 100 km. per hour and had just been converted to the metric.
Thirty five years later it's 80 km. per hour.
I suspect all of the road works will suddenly be completed just prior to the next state election. (I look forward to my father-in-law's comments on that theory.)
Out of Melbourne we sailed up the Princes Highway, got off at Moe, drove the familiar road past 'W' Station, through Yallourn North and arrived home.
The dogs greeted us after careful nasal confirmation of our identities.The grass is partially cut, the remainder about a meter high, approximately double the level of the water in the water tanks. A mysterious disease has struck Pam's plants on the back verandah. Can plants get swine flu? Ours appear to. The mower obviously stopped working. (So did the brush cutter, reports Kevin.) The TV no longer responds to the control. I can't find a cup. I can't find the coffee. There's a tonne of mail. Pam's credit card's been mysteriously cancelled. etc. etc.
None of this matters in the least. Elizabeth arrives home. Geoff arrives home. We've left phone messages for Kevin and are confident he'll respond soon. We have a nice meal in our kitchen: rissoles, noodles and broccoli. We watch the Brownlow Count until sleep beckons.
We've travelled 17,704 km. in 82 days, through some of the most beautiful places in the world. (Mysteriously, during the same period Pam's car clocked up 18,500 km. while parked in the garage, under our son Geoff's care.)
We used 2688 liters of petrol at a total cost of $3914.55. The average cost was $1.46 per liter and we averaged 15.18 liters per 100 km.
We've met heaps of really, really nice people and just enough arseholes to make it interesting. We've gotten some understanding of the vastness of this place and deep respect for the brave souls who settled the place with sailing ships and camels.
Pam and I still get along and, in fact, are more comfortable in each other's company than ever. I still can't believe Pam could stand 82 days in a car and caravan with me. It sounds like a sentence:
"For your insidious crime, you will spend 82 days with Pat Lane in a Paramount caravan and Holden Commodore. And may God have mercy on your soul."
The prisoner is led off screaming. An immediate appeal is lodged. "Cruel and unusual punishment" the grounds.
All in all, it's good to go and it's good to be home.
Wilkomen nach hause!
ReplyDeleteThe Chas Brownlow Trophy — better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the regular season (i.e., not including finals matches) as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game. It is the most prestigious award for individual players in the AFL. It is also widely acknowledged as the highest individual honour in the sport of Australian rules football. The medal was first awarded by the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1924. It was created and named in honour of Charles Brownlow, the Geelong footballer (in Geelong's pre-VFL days in the VFA), long-time Geelong Club secretary (1885-1923), and VFL president (1918-1919), who had died in January 1924 after an extended illness. Although the award is generally spoken of the "best and fairest", the award's specific criterion is "fairest and best", reflecting an emphasis on sportsmanship and fair play (which also explains the decision to have the votes cast by the umpires)....wikipedia
ReplyDeleteGood to do and good to home -- well said.
good to go...
ReplyDelete