Our time spent in Canberra is the stuff of excruciatingly dull blog posts so I shall try and keep this brief. The facts man, just the facts.
Hempy, whose name is Dave, had a mate named Dave over when we arrived so it is a good job we call him Hempy. Dave left and we decided to head out for ice cream at the Kingston shops. Plan A was to walk, but the distance and heat saw us jump in the car. I susepct Hempy will get used to this when his little 'un arrives in June. We got to the shops and cafes at around 4pm and spent a little time finding one that wasn't closing. A cafe-come-bike-shop named Velo Republic Cafe/Cyclery fit the bill. Dave and I tried to have a coffe while AJ made several bids for freedom. We picked up a couple of DVDs on the way back, Four Lions and The Expendables. Dinner was sausage veg and mash, which AJ got into before heading to bed spot on time.
Bed was in the second bedroom on her fold-out lounge. At home Sal has put up curtains that would have done well in the blitz and AJ called out "lights off! lights off!" as the blinds left the room comparatively light. I explained that the lights were off and she crashed out with very little arsing about. We settled in to watch Four Lions (very funny) and I bailed after about15mins of the Expendables. Hempy didn't last much longer. Although there was a very comfortable looking bed in the second room I opted to sleep on the floor. I can sleep pretty well anywhere, and although I was confident I'd wake up if AJ decided to get up and go for a nocturnal wander, I figured that if I was asleep in the doorway and didn't wake up at the noise then the kick would wake me. As it happens she slept pretty much through until 5am when she woke and would not get back to sleep, despite me trying to convince her it was still the middle of the night; it was certainly dark and quiet enough, but her internal clock was firing on all cylinders. I put the light on at about 5.30 and we played about and read and then at a little after 6 we headed out to fail to find any kangaroos around the random-choice roads I drove along. Cap and babycinno o clock rolled around and, sticking with what I knew, we went back to Velo Republic where the monkey was more manageable than she had been on Saturday afternoon.
AJ has been a little off her food recently. Not today, which is combination good/bad news. Good to see her hammer through the vegemite toast and banana bread, not so good that the leftovers I usually feast upon where scarce. Ah well, I'm not burning many calories at the moment, so no biggy. Hempy joined us for breakfast, driving over in his 1963 Morris min 850cc. Fairly sure the straw AJ used to drink her water was fatter than the pipe on the back of his car. We took a couple of little-and-large pics of the mini and the bus and then headed back drop off his car, load ours and then head for brunch at Black mountain where we could look once again for roos. This was all very exciting for AJ, who had been telling me we were off to see the kangeroos and kept asking where they were.
AJ fell asleep as soon as we got in the car. At Black Mountain she was in a deep sleep so I dropped Hempy off and we headed home. Good to be on the road early, shame we didn't get an opportunity to explore, would have loved to spend far more time with Hempy. With the kid on the way he may stay on the same continent as me for a while, so I’m sure we’ll catch up again soon. Might even get back in the water. I really must do a Hempy-and-the-other-divers post. Anyway, back to the diary-style entry.
Not keeping this very brief am I? Nearly done.
The drive back from Canberra to Sydney is precisely as dull as the drive to Canberra. Maybe even more dull as you pass Lake George early on. In the mist and drizzle the lake had a nice atmosphereric look to it. We drove past and then I went onto auto pilot. The only thing of note from the journey home was nutrition fail. I managed to blast past a small huddle of roadside eateries before Sutton Forest, where I knew there was also a stop. Alas this stop was McDonalds only. Bollocks. I made the best of a bad job, giving AJ a few fries, the bun from a chicken supreme (didn't look at all supreme to me) and the chicken that I removed the coating from. A couple of spoons of sundae and then a Rafferty's, which probably had more nutrition than the rest combined. Still, she's young and this was a rarity. It broke my “No Maccas” run that must be around 8yrs. I suspect the next streak will last 20yrs. The very worst thing about the experience was seeing that shit food in front of my daughter. She had a play on the play-park-thing, got cornered by a bigger kid who chastised her for picking her nose and pulled her finger from her nose and made her cry (that was challenging for me; I didn't enjoy it one bit, but she recovered and kept running and climbing and sliding) and then we fled.
Last bit. Back home. Outside temp - 24 degrees. Inside temp - 31.5 degrees. We dodged a very hot Saturday-Sunday bullet in Sydney. All windows and doors open and the temp dropped quick enough. Dinner. Bath. Bed. Glass of cheap wine to congratulate myself for a better-than-average parenting performance.
Showing posts with label canberra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label canberra. Show all posts
Monday, February 07, 2011
Sunday, February 06, 2011
the nation's capital
Had Sydney not been heading towards a day and night time temperature normally associated with planets far closer to the sun I may have gone camping with little lady, taking advantage of the freedom afforded me when Sal is away. As it happens I decided upon going to Canberra to catch up with Hempy, who I have not seen for bloody ages. Mind you, that is mainly his fault, what with him having spells in Iraq, PNG and Bougenville in recent years.
So, up at the usual silly o clock and then the shorter, weekday walk done and dusted early with me daags, giving the boys plenty of time to stake claims to their cool spots in the garden. In a rare moment of common sense I went shopping after feeding the hounds, making sure I'd not have to shop after we got back on Sunday. Shopping stowed, car overpacked - an advantage of driving a small bus - we hit the road.
Other than forgetting to get the etag out of the Subaru the journey was uneventful enough. Hardly surprising on what must rate as one of the dullest roads I have ever driven. Mostly straight, dual carriageway there is a stretch of around 170km that seems to be the same kilometer repeated 170 times. It is not a bad kilometer when looked at in isolation, but a couple of hours of it just send you to sleep. No hills, lights, roundabouts. Nothing much at all. If I had cruise control in the bus I'd have put it on and popped into the back row to teach AJ how to play Top Trumps, or have a kip.
There is one spot where the relentless dullness lifts and that is Lake George. The GPS shows a large blue area that the road skirts, which is far more interesting than accurate as Lake George contains a couple of puddles and is mostly a large, dead-flat grass-flat. Funny when you consider that Queenslnd has floods the size of France and Germany combined. It is still quite spectacular. Proper flat with a nice distant rang of hills. Once again I am blogging via flickr, hence no links, but I shall endeavor to find out where the water went and then add a link; or you can go google 'lake george nsw' and then tell me what happened. Not sure the distant wind-farm was there when I last drove past, though that was a fair few years ago.
So, up at the usual silly o clock and then the shorter, weekday walk done and dusted early with me daags, giving the boys plenty of time to stake claims to their cool spots in the garden. In a rare moment of common sense I went shopping after feeding the hounds, making sure I'd not have to shop after we got back on Sunday. Shopping stowed, car overpacked - an advantage of driving a small bus - we hit the road.
Other than forgetting to get the etag out of the Subaru the journey was uneventful enough. Hardly surprising on what must rate as one of the dullest roads I have ever driven. Mostly straight, dual carriageway there is a stretch of around 170km that seems to be the same kilometer repeated 170 times. It is not a bad kilometer when looked at in isolation, but a couple of hours of it just send you to sleep. No hills, lights, roundabouts. Nothing much at all. If I had cruise control in the bus I'd have put it on and popped into the back row to teach AJ how to play Top Trumps, or have a kip.
There is one spot where the relentless dullness lifts and that is Lake George. The GPS shows a large blue area that the road skirts, which is far more interesting than accurate as Lake George contains a couple of puddles and is mostly a large, dead-flat grass-flat. Funny when you consider that Queenslnd has floods the size of France and Germany combined. It is still quite spectacular. Proper flat with a nice distant rang of hills. Once again I am blogging via flickr, hence no links, but I shall endeavor to find out where the water went and then add a link; or you can go google 'lake george nsw' and then tell me what happened. Not sure the distant wind-farm was there when I last drove past, though that was a fair few years ago.
...later edit...seems is os shallow as hell these days and simply evaporates. So there. Or rather, here.
The other thing to mention about the drive is that it is called 'The Rememberence Driveway' which has a creepily Orwellian ring, what with it being so forgettable. Maybe it refers to the hours you get to lose yourself in introspetive contemplation while attempting to stay awake? Again, I'll jog-off and google why it is I'm supposed to remember. War, I suppose.
The other thing to mention about the drive is that it is called 'The Rememberence Driveway' which has a creepily Orwellian ring, what with it being so forgettable. Maybe it refers to the hours you get to lose yourself in introspetive contemplation while attempting to stay awake? Again, I'll jog-off and google why it is I'm supposed to remember. War, I suppose.
...later edit...yep, wars. But only WWII and since, which seems a little peculiar to me.
The Remembrance Driveway is a tribute from those who remember yesterday and have faith in tomorrow. It commemorates those who served in the Australian Defence Forces in World War II and subsequent wars or since then in operational theatres around the world.
Arriving in Canberra has the architectural impact of arriving at an airport. Straight roads radiate and ring roads ring. Low, utilitarian buildings that seem to be mix of public housing, hotels, nondescript offices and, well, other stuff that all looks the same. Even the Parliament Building looks like an airport terminal and the lake, while nice, is unspectacular. I think this is the Canberra of most people who don't live there. I know there is great running and cycling, that the locals love it and I guess it must therefore be a decent enough place to live, a couple of hours from the snow in winter, a couple of hours from the ocean.. But by fuck, it doesn't half look dull. And the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) does itself no favours by dropping the speed limit from 110 to 100 at the border. The last thing I want to do is spend more time that I need to on THAT road.
Ably assisted from space I navigate to Hempy's place, which is a nice enough suburb that could be in any largish Australian City, Griffith. He looks suitably shocked at my bus while I almost piss myself when I see that he now has a 1963 Morris Mini with the clunking great 850cc motor and an exhaust smaller than the straw AJ had in her milk this morning. I, of course, took the piss. I, of course, love his car.
More to follow, I need to go pay some tolls before I forget.
Arriving in Canberra has the architectural impact of arriving at an airport. Straight roads radiate and ring roads ring. Low, utilitarian buildings that seem to be mix of public housing, hotels, nondescript offices and, well, other stuff that all looks the same. Even the Parliament Building looks like an airport terminal and the lake, while nice, is unspectacular. I think this is the Canberra of most people who don't live there. I know there is great running and cycling, that the locals love it and I guess it must therefore be a decent enough place to live, a couple of hours from the snow in winter, a couple of hours from the ocean.. But by fuck, it doesn't half look dull. And the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) does itself no favours by dropping the speed limit from 110 to 100 at the border. The last thing I want to do is spend more time that I need to on THAT road.
Ably assisted from space I navigate to Hempy's place, which is a nice enough suburb that could be in any largish Australian City, Griffith. He looks suitably shocked at my bus while I almost piss myself when I see that he now has a 1963 Morris Mini with the clunking great 850cc motor and an exhaust smaller than the straw AJ had in her milk this morning. I, of course, took the piss. I, of course, love his car.
More to follow, I need to go pay some tolls before I forget.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)