Alphabet Adventures

I took the girls to Boddington over the weekend to have dinner with their dad for the Little One's birthday. If anyone else is in the position of doing the same longish drive (it takes us just over an hour) on a regular basis, you will know that sometimes it can be fun to do something a bit different on the way.

We decided to do our own scavenger hunt, taking a picture which represented each letter of the alphabet. Total success! The girls all joined in and their dad got into the spirit too when we go to him (see if you can guess which ones his contributions were!). Not only did they have fun, the girls want to do the same thing when we are in Bali. That was something I hadn't been expecting.

Pictures below are in alphabetical order, but if you check out #alphabetadventures you will see the pictures in chronological order on Instagram or Twitter, or use #krisangels if you want to see our other travel or adventuring type pictures.



A is for art

B is for Boddington

C is for centrepiece

D is for Daddy and daughters

E is for engine

F is for food

G is for grub (as in "pub grub")

H is for horse

I is for icecream

J is for Jack Daniel's

K is for kangaroo

L is for lollies

M is for minesite

N is for nachos

O is for orange

P is for playground

Q is for Quindanning

R is for rum

S is for Sprite

T is for truck of trees

U is for unicorn (our car mascot, so totally counts)

V is for vague

W is for windmill

X is for best ex ever


Y is for Yaris



Z is for zig-zag

The road to happiness

Road trip 1 of 4 has happened. (In case you were worried after my last post, I have called the other people I am planning on visiting over the next few weekends. Our planned trips have the last official green light!)

This trip was just me. I drove out to Dalwallinu: a tiny town in the wheat belt of Western Australia.

I have a confession to make. I actually don't like driving particularly, although I do like going places, I don't love the actual part where I have to be behind the wheel. If I have the choice I am happy to be the passenger.

This weekend just gone was just what I needed though. It was a 6 hour 'round trip. The scenery was beautiful. The traffic conditions were perfect (by perfect I mean virtually no traffic, just enough random cars to reassure you that if something does go wrong that you will be found).

I watched the growing rain clouds.

Rain on the horizon: very important in farming land.

I took photos of random things (check out @philosophy_minors on Instagram or @PhilosophyMinor on Twitter or #krisangels).

Dragon? Dinosaur? Lizard?

I stopped for so-bad-its-good roadhouse food.

Chicken cheese sausage, and a crab still. 

I enjoyed my accidental detours to Northam on the way there and Toodyay on the way back.

Northam Town Hall

I listed to an audiobook.

The picture just doesn't do the colour justice.

I recharged my soul.


I also thought of some tips to share with you (ok they pretty obvious ones, but worth thinking about):

• Fill up on fuel before you leave. 
• Keep an eye on the fuel gauge; nothing spoils the serenity of driving a country road like anxiously watching the fuel gauge and hoping you'll make it to the next stop.
• You may not get mobile reception.
• Stop. Stretch. 
• Make sure you have water with you.
• Let people know your ETA. 

I learned new lessons this weekend:

• Multi-tasking is great, but buying a mirror at the beginning of a road trip may not be the best idea. 
• If you listen to an audio book with Scottish accents for over six hours, you may begin to hear Scottish accents in your dreams.

The next two trips will be with the girls. I am not expecting the same level of serenity, but I am expecting them to be fun! I actually have a photo challenge for the girls to try next weekend on the way to Boddington, I will let you know how that goes.

Happy adventuring!

Cath xx

Ticking the boxes

Just a note to touch base with you all!

Life has been plodding along the last few weeks, but some significant steps have been taken. And in case you are wondering what "plodding along" means in our universe it is really code for everyday chaos and being insanely busy. You know, the normal lives of busy women.

But as there have been achievements in terms of travel plans, I thought I would share them with you:

• The second last payment for my girls' trip to the Girl Guide Jamboree in Queensland has been paid.
• Accommodation for my family trip to Bali has been booked.
• Paris the Yaris has new tyres all set for four country adventures I have planned over the next month.

I am so excited about it all. There are a few things left that I need to do quite quickly though. One of these being actually letting some of my country friends know that I am planning on visiting them. Three out of the five people know, the others I will call this week.

I also need to book return trips home for the girls from Queensland. I have been trying to work out if I can afford for DD1 (aka Buglet if you read my personal blog) to join the little two in Queensland to visit my extended family after the Jamboree. I really don't think I can, but it really feels like too good an opportunity to miss. I will let you know how this all goes. 

My car mascot; meet Hilton.

Perhaps the most exciting thing is that Lela and I have decided where we will be heading on our next adventure after New Zealand. I am not telling you then though. I will add "talk to Lela about a big reveal" to the list of things to do this week ... so stay tuned. 

Happy adventuring!

Cath xxx

Eyes, and ears, and mouth, and tummy

Road tripping to a few of the country towns within a couple of hours of Perth is something I do on a regular basis, thanks to being lucky enough to have three of my closest friends in country destinations.

Road trips, even short ones, require some thought though.

For me the essentials are ....

Drinks

Water is always a good idea. For starters it really annoys me when I forget water and I then have to buy it. Caffeine is a must for me. Driving makes me sleepy, even though I am very conscious about taking regular wake-up stops.

Entertainment

When the girls are with me they like to listen to music. However for me road trips mean a good chance to listen to an audio book, or a radio dramatisation. My family has done this since we were tiny. When we were little audio versions of "Faulty Towers" was a family favourite.

A friend

You don't need to have someone with you, but good bush sense says let someone know when you are leaving, when you expect to arrive, and the route you are planning on taking. Some of the country roads can be pretty isolated, and there are lots of spots without mobile reception. I suggest a telling friend who can talk rather than of the stuffed toy variety (sorry Kris!).

Finally, don't forget to check that you have enough petrol to get to your planned destination, and that you monitor your fuel on the way. One of my favourite parts of road trips is getting totally un-nutritious but oh-so-yummy fried food from a roadhouse. However the food does not taste as good when you've been anxiously watching the fuel gauge and desperately hoping that you make it to an open petrol station. 

What are your best road tripping tips?

Cath xx

Road trippin'

My daughters and I went on a mini-road trip this weekend. Orginally we were just going to go to Bridgetown to visit Lela and her tribe, but we ended up detouring via Boddington to visit the girls' dad at work (Miss 14 is currently in Singapore, and he wanted to see her before she went. Plus her camera was in his car).

Boddington is not on the way to Bridgetown, so it meant that we got to travel some new roads and see some new things. Unfortunately this time we had time constraints, but it was still fun.

I had been intending on writing about how we amuse ourselves on long car trips, but this time Miss 15 stayed at home to babysit for a friend, and Miss 11 had been at a sleepover the night before so she slept most of the time. When she woke up, we fed her and she went back to sleep. Miss 14 and I had a great time with Car-e-oke (aka she played songs and we both sang along).

A favourite place to stop on the Albany is the roadhouse at Bannister (there is also one at North Bannister, don't get confused). We like the Bannister Roadhouse because of the alpacas. There is seating so you can have a coffee while the kids stretch their legs, and for a few dollars you can buy food to feed the alpacas.

From our first visit to the alpacas. Four years ago, and we still love visiting.

Lunch was at the Boddington Hotel. For $20 I got a massive chicken bacon schnitzel. Miss (Starving) 14 couldn't finish her massive meal. Warning. Very limited option for vegetarians, as Miss 11 found out, but her $8 serving of chips was massive.

On the road between Boddington and Bridgetown, via Collie (thanks googlemaps), we saw lots of churches and cemeteries. We also saw a castle in a "moat", which is on our list to visit next time as we didn't want to wake the sleeping tiger (I mean pre-teen), a dam which was so blue we are still discussing it, and lots of wildflowers, sheep and cows. It was a really lovely drive.

Travel tips

• I love having a roadhouse meal when traveling, but nothing beats McDonald's for a $1 frozen coke and a $1 waffle cone to soothe grumpy travellers.
• It is very hard to get lost in South West WA. I suggest knowing which towns you need to travel through, and then follow the signs. I am pretty sure I didn't actually go on the roads I was planning on using, but we found our way no problems.

Interesting side note, I have worked out I judge the size of a town by if there is a fastfood chain. I automatically decided Collie was big when there was a McDonald's. There is not logical or reason behind this; it is my own prejudices.

We are planning our next South-West adventure in two weeks, so stay tuned. Happy travelling everyone.

Cath xx