Day 17 - Collie WA
Monday, June 11, 2012 at 08:33AM Ok time for a whinge, I’ve been good so far but today I feel like having a good old fashioned get it off your chest moment or two.
Now you all know that I get around a little different to most of you (Except you Rodney) and you also know that I don’t really make too much of a fuss over it. I cope as best I can & I don’t expect any special treatment or attention.
But having said that I also expect that if you say you can provide something for me then you should be able to deliver!
Here is what I am talking about, when we decided to do this trip Ness spent a fair amount of time looking at logistics, where we would be, when we would be there & options as to where we could stay. So she spent quite a lot of time on the net & on the phone to caravan parks making sure they had suitable facilities (Wheelchair access to shower & toilet) although we don’t really require it as the van has a shower & a toilet that I can use. But it is always our preference to use theirs.
So Ness rang this caravan park in Collie WA not just once but twice & asked about their facilities. Both times they said “Yes no problem, we have showers and toilets that are huge & you can get a wheelchair in no problem”
So we arrived in the pouring rain, Ness checked in & paid for the time we are meant to be here & we headed down to the site. It was bucketing down so no point in three of us getting wet so I said to Ness “Take Annie into the van & I’ll set up out here” So I hooked up the power, water, levelled the van, chocked the van all the normal stuff which only takes a short time now & then the rain had eased so Ness suggested we go check out the bathrooms.
Well the first problem we had was that the whole bathroom/laundry complex had a gutter around it, there was no ramp at all, so Ness had to give me a shove up the gutter. The next issue was a step at the door of the bathroom, I can get up one step as long as there is something to pull myself up with, but once we were inside the bathroom there was a trough to pee in, but it had a huge step at the front of it. And then I went to the shower & toilet cubicles…..the doorway’s were very narrow! Now my chair is only 59cm wide & it easily fits through most doorways, but these were super narrow! No way would I get into either the shower or the toilet.
Ok so going back to what I said before, I can use the van shower & loo…. But that is not the point! If you don’t know that something will fit then don’t bloody say it will! For those of you that work in hospitality or travel….. Have a think about it, don’t say that you have something unless you have actually checked it yourself!
Needless to say we are moving tomorrow, we were going to base ourselves here for 2 weeks….. but not anymore!
Hey did you see the storms on TV that have been happening in WA? Today we left Albany & drove to Collie, we were amazed to see the number of trees that have just been blown over or snapped off, there was debris everywhere, some parts of the road were almost blocked due to trees across the road.
Apparently there is another storm brewing for tomorrow evening, glad the Trakmaster is a hefty big lump & won’t blow away easily. But having said that driving to Collie was quite daunting. I’d like to think that I am semi experienced as a tow driver, this is my second caravan so have done a bit of towing over the years, but the van was “blowin in the wind” during the drive down today!
Ness has a gripe, she reckons I have an issue with remembering where I am. Some days I ask her “Where are we?”or “where did we stay last night?”
Ok my response to this is “Yes….I do” you have to keep in mind that I travel constantly for work, it is not unusual for me in one month to be in 4 or 5 different states! I can remember one week this year when Ness sent me to SA, QLD, NSW & a job in Victoria all in the same week! So is it any wonder that I don’t really recall where I am or where I have been? So darling if I occasionally…..and I do mean occasionally, forget where we are or were …..Tough! Deal with it!!! Or stop sending me to too many places!
Somedays….more like every day you say to me, Where are we tonight? Where were we last night? Then you tell people we are in a completely different location/name to where we actually are? Cracks me up every time…I am dealing with it and love it.
Our GPS is trying to kill us!... I’m sure most of you have one or have used a GPS at some stage, has it ever taken you a weird way to get somewhere? Ours has, and even worse, I think it knows we have 3 tonne of caravan on the back and deliberately takes us to places that no caravan should ever go! Tight narrow streets, streets that you can’t “turn around when possible” like she tells us to! I seriously think that ours is programmed with an “Evil” chip, one that is possessed and is trying to get us into situations with the van that we can’t escape.
But I’m smarter than it, I’ll fight with it to the end, I’ll ignore stupid instructions if I think it is wrong, if it is a fight she wants she has come to the right place! We’ll see who wins out in the end!
Reader’s comments
Meredith said that Nathan is on dry land but not home in NZ yet, see if you can get him interested in another sport M, I hear chess is pretty safe?
Arama told us that Whale world is depressing? Huh…how could going somewhere where they used to kill magnificent beautiful whales be depressing A?.....Glad we didn’t go now. Actually when I told Dan that we were going to go his reply was “Great place to take Annie, Dad!” (in his sarcastic tone)
Annie’s Blog
Today I knew we were going somewhere, because this morning mum started packing up stuff inside the box on wheels & Dad was outside doing hoses & stuff. So that means that the box on wheels is going to follow us to another place.
When we were driving today Dad kept saying Nan’s favourite word Shit…. Shit…. Shit…. He was looking at all the trees that blowed over with the big winds. But I’m a little confused…. How can Shit make trees blow over? Can’t wait till I get older and understand some things.
I’m a bit annoyed with Mum & Dad…. When its dinner time they give me my dinner & then they put me on the floor or on the bed while they sit down & have dinner together. Don’t they know that after dinner I just want to play…. I’ve tried everything, pulling mums pants, making grunting noises, pulling myself up on dad’s chair…. But they just eat their dinner! Not fair Mum & Dad!!!
I want to say a special hello to my grandparents tonight, I’ve been gone for over 2 weeks now and I miss you all, I spoke to granny on the phone today and I spoke to Nan & Pop on Friday. I’m a big girl now and I can’t wait for you all to see me when I get home to Saltbush.
Love from
AnnieInAVan…XXX
Reader Comments (10)
You make me late leaving for work nearly every morning as you blog is up and I stop and ready it while I have breakfast. Great reading. Have to laugh at your comment about the GPS. Whenever we use ours (and the same for the one we drove 6,500 km around America) John kept going different ways to the GPS as it was WRONG (well according to him it was). Keep having fun and enjoy your Annieinavan tour. xxx
you know what James? I say ditch the bloody GPS. They are a dangerous tool. (I'm serious here). People rely on them as gospel, and I can tell you the only (idiots) who get lost coming to our B&B are the dolts who leave behind the map I send them, and slavishly follow Ms GPS. They. Get. Lost. Maps. Are. Better. (Then they complain that they hit the 4WD hill over the way ~ you know the one ~ and somehow it's my fault.)
I am sorry (really) that you've hit a bit of a wall but in all honesty, it was bound to happen .... and being able to get it off the chest is a damn good thing. Weather makes things tough ... and you are doing it double time tough. Once you head north it'll be different, you know that anyway. As for not knowing where you were yesterday or the day before, I completely understand that !!! (getting back to B&B comparisons, I find it hard to remember who came to stay the weekend before, if not the day before. Some parts of our brains don't need overload !!)
Sending AireWaves times a thousand .... Sue & Bill and the woolly mob xxxxxx
James
In regards to the crap bathroom, you should have taken the manager for a tour, explained the difficulties (complete with demonstrations) and then charged him a fee for your expertise.
Hope you got a full refund. Did you have to travel far to the next caravan site?
Update on Nathan - he is almost home - he should get in sometime tomorrow. They sound like they are surviving quite nicely - smoked chicken and asparagus wraps for their lunch today and a freshly caught tuna is in the oven for happy hour snacks. Bear Grylls would be impressed. It's apparently extremely cold up on deck at the moment with another Southerly roaring up the country bringing snow and all sorts of yuck to many parts of the country- Nathan has requested STEAK for his first real dinner in days and a long soak in the bath. Simple things huh!
What's for dinner tonight Annie?
Travel safely.
can you tell dad thats i was looking through the photos of week 2 and i was looking at the photos of him and the whales.
tell him that his orange jumper is the most good looking thing i have ever seen him wear ever........ not
Hey James
I have been reading your blog with great interest, but travelling the SW at this time of year is defiantly going to see you having to wear a woolly jumper or two especially in Collie bbrrrr. When I woke this morning it to was cold at about 15c and its is predicted to be a cold day only making it to 27c ! They tell me it is cold because there is no clouds in the sky to keep the warmth in, that’s the dry season in the Kimberly for you!!
Are you still coming through Kununurra? I can guarantee the pool, bathroom and all other facilities at “Shato Coon” are accessible. if you have had enough of caravan parks there is plenty of room at our place in Kununurra.
Dan
Hi to you all, Ness and Annie we missed you on Friday at Mum's Group! The kids are really starting to move and "talk" to each other!
Jack top tooth cracked the surface found it this morning.... the hard way! Don't know if this breast feeding thing is going to last til 12 months!!
Jack's started to grunt / growl too it pretty funny. I hope the weather clears up for you, its been freezing in the mornings and beautiful days here in Yarra Glen, there was even a hot air balloon out yesterday afternoon. We went to the Alexandra Truck Show on Sunday and it was nice up there too! Rick said in 10 years he'd like to travel with a van and let Jack do school while we travel! Sounds good to me! Hope your still travelling about in 10 years so we can do the AnnieInAVan tour too! T
Annie, SHIT is an amazing thing you'll find it doesn't just knock over trees it can be HOT, it can be on a HEAD, it cam even be LITTLE! But my brother and sister think its cool to say Sugar Honey Ice Tea instead of the real word cause then mum cant tell them off!! I hope I'm cool like them soon! xx Jack
That town of Collie sounds like another problem you have, collingwood.
Sydney has had crap weather too, 2 days of rain, at least we were freezing our buts off in Dubbo and no rain.
When you are in a market next, try and find a bumbo for Annie so she doesn't have to slum it elsewhere, it's a tight fitting rubber chair, non slip that is really supportive for her.
Have you guys got a smoker for food, highly recommend it, Simon did wicked smoked salmon on it at the weekend.
These 2 purchases instead of more shoes will benefit everyone.
Watch out for flying dropbears over there in the wind.
Kunanurra? you better catch a barramundi!
you sound like Bert about the GPS throw it away he,d say.To Annie by the time you learn to say the word shit you will be told you are not allowedto say that word.It was good to hear from you even if you were only heavy breathing I have to tell you your funny cousin says he saw the kangarootrying to get in your caravanand thought it was funny , he will come and see you when you get home and see his mate your dad Lots of love and kisses from Granny and Sam