If everything comes your way, you are in the wrong lane. ~Author Unknown
When I agreed to drive Liddy back to the farm after a weekend at home I was well. When the time came to do the driving I was anything but well. Star, who has been coughing & spluttering for a week, was anything but happy to be dragged along for the ride.
Liddy who hates packing [I think it is a form of denial myself ☺] was still packing as she walked out the door & even then left her toothbrush & tooth paste behind. I am not driving 6 hours just to give her her toothbrush! We missed one boat & only didn't miss the second because the deckie is a friend & was prepared to make 50 other passenger wait while my harum scarum child hurtled down the road having had to run back to the car for her wallet!!!
This put us well after lunch when I should have been napping, not zooming along highways. The alpacas, who have all been recently shorn, were looking rather like baby giraffes ~ all long, long necks & big doey eyes. Sile gave me a much needed caffeine hit & homemade slice before sending us on our way. We started well ~ until the bottom of the hill where, for some strange reason we turned left instead of right, or right instead of left. Whatever. It meant we found ourselves driving straight towards a mountain & I was cluey enough to realise that couldn't possibly be right.
Anyone who has driven an Australian country backroads knows it is half a lane wide with no verge & nowhere to overtake or turn. We drove for some way before we found a farm driveway I could turn into so we could go back the way we'd come. Star was perfectly happy. As she pointed out it was a really pretty drive & there were lots & lots of little grey & white wallabies along the side of the road. The wallabies were worrying me as they have an awful habit of committing hari kari in front of oncoming traffic.
Back we went & happily found our way to the Mt Lindsey Highway. We were a little behind time but with the lengthening days nothing to overly stress about & I don't mind this part of the drive. It is almost always fairly traffic free, the roads are fairly straight & we can go fairly fast ~ all of which I like. Trouble invariably arises when I have to negotiate the rabbit warren that is Brisbane.
I've tried 2 different exits from this highway & neither has taken me where I've wanted to go. Worse they land me places I don't know at all with no signpostings to anywhere we do know. This means pulling out the refedex, pulling over & arguing with Star about where we are & how we are going to get to where we want to be.
Yesterday this happened right on dusk. My eyes couldn't possibly handle the refedex so I was completely reliant on Star. She did really well. She showed me where we were on the map. She showed me where we needed to be. She confidently asserted she knew how to get us home from where we were. Ok.
The panadol had worn off so my temperature was going up. My eyes felt as if they were full of grit & we'd gone through so many tissues we were singly handedly responsible for the demolition of a small forest. I really, really wanted to get home as soon as possible. There are no prizes for guessing this didn't happen. To start with Star had us running parallel to the highway. Not what we wanted. When she finally got us on it she was heading me straight into Brisbane & out to the Sunshine Coast. I turned of without consultation & headed back the other way despite Star's protests of, "But we need to go north!" No daughter, dear; we need to go south. *sigh*
Obviously we got home eventually, a little frayed around the edges & completely exhausted but it is a beautiful morning this morning & I am going to enjoy every last ounce of it!
11 comments:
Oh my goodness! You poor things! Sounds like a chill-out day may be needed. (((hugs)))
I felt frazzled for just reading this lol. What a loving Mummy you are for seeing your girl home with the alpacas. And seeing wallabies!! Oh my, I never tire of that! They worry me too, and I see far too many dead ones beside the road for my liking. We have lots of them around here (wallabies) and I feel sorry for them that we have invaded their space. Oh well, we have to live somewhere right?!
There is no place like home when you don't feel well... glad you made it back eventually.
Ember: A chill out day is definitely in order. I am worried about the girl's schooling but too sick to care.
Amanda: It was very frazzle~making. I actually don't mind driving on the highways but Brisbane sends me round the twist. I hate that place with a passion ~ & that from a Sydney girl!
The wallabies were gorgeous. We get a few on the island. They swim over from the big one but usually end up as road kill so much as I love them I'd rather not see them round. People aren't expecting them.
You love me and can't help it! I must say I was curios to know what went wrong, now I have a fairly good picture :p
Ooo So knowing how angry I was... I had a present waiting in my room... My companion bought a kite, which made me happy but she also bought anckle socks and I now feel loved!!!
I re-read some e-mails this morning and could not help but laugh... :)
Lobstar: ♥ I definitely wasn't highly functional & Star was so spaced out she never even noticed! lol And that was Before the highway!
I have decided I have no idea where I need to turn off the highway.
Now you know why I have such a bent sense of humour. Saves on the anger. One kite, no wind?
Ganeida, while I deem you way more intelligent than myself, you have my complete sympathy. Brisbane is a rat race. Maps are unfathomable. I am so pleased you got home safely. Now do as I tell you and get to bed. You and Star. ♥
Ruby: I have been in bed most of today. ☺ My intelligence only works along history & literature lines. For all practical purposes I am a complete Ditz! I've learned to live with it & not stress. As my Star says, "Breathe, mother. Just breathe".
What an adventurous trip! I hope you will be feeling better soon.
Ganeida, every driving trip with you is a real adventure! I almost want to get lost with you...that is, when you are actually well.
Foxglove Spires: I'd have enjoyed our first detour very much if I'd been weller. ☺
Seeking: There is an awful little song that hit our pop charts some time back that goes, " Oh Lord it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect i every way..." I have decided my directionless brain is meant to keep me properly humble.;D
Not sure how you are able to continue blogging and functioning while so sick. I know it must be hard to leave home that way-hope all are on the mend. I get my undergarments a bit twisted worrying about missed school days here, but it all always seems to work out by the end of the year some how....what's weirder is even on our standardized test results!
My oldest daughter is now obsessed with Australia. I feel like sending her your way...yes a homeschool trip or exchange. She has got down a bit of an accent lately and I've been wondering who is at my dinner table. I must admit, if I could travel, I would love to see Australia too. :)
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