Day 74 Back in Newman
Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 02:14AM Well after yesterday’s adventure in the bush, it was back in the caravan at Newman last night & today we are planning the next leg of the journey. We actually have to backtrack South 700K’s or so back down to the goldfields. So we are looking at alternative routes as we want to see as much as we can on this trip.
This morning Ness went for a bike ride, and I stayed at the caravan and rode my bike on the rollers, Why you might ask? Well on the rollers I can exercise more consistently, if I went out on the road I would have to stop and start, up hill & down, so for me it is better to ride on the rollers, some days Ness & I go out for a ride together, but when it is for exercise it is better just to do it on the rollers.
It also gives me time to think, you would be amazed at some of the things you think about while sitting stationary on an exercise bike!
Today I was thinking about the trip so far & decided that I would write Ness a letter which I will share with you all.
Hey Ness,
Today is our 74th day on the road, and apart from the time you went back to Melbourne to pick up the new car, we have been together 24hrs a day 7 days a week. When I think about this I reckon we are two of the few people that ever get to do this. I mean most couples get married, have a honeymoon that lasts for a week or two, but then get back to their lives where one or both of them work apart & spend very little time together. Sure they might have dinner, watch some TV, go to bed..... but very few couples I know spend so much time together. So I reckon we are lucky.
But the thing about it is that we actually enjoy it, when we are on the road, we have our conversations about anything & everything, puzzles, talking books, you do crosswords, and we do trivia. Not to mention the things we see, places we visit & people we meet (good & bad).
When we work, we do most of it together & you have your roles, I have mine & we have shared jobs too, setting up & packing up the van is always a fun thing, never a chore! And planning our next journey is always exciting!
One of the things that makes the trip so easy is that we have a lot of people around us that are helping, Sandy & David have been excellent in looking after Saltbush while we were are away, they take care of our mail, water plants, do our odd jobs, drive the old Discovery home for us, work in the C&B Safe Distribution Ctr, my Mum & Bert since they got back from Scotland have also been out at Saltbush daily, pottering around and making sure the garden is not out of control when we get home, looking after Panda & also making sure that Bradley & Daniel do not turn feral!
The great thing about Sandy, David, Mum & Bert is that we can rely on them for any of the things we need while we are away, and that allows us to concentrate what we have to do on our journey.
The Blog has helped us too, without it we would be doing this trip alone, but with the blog we have all of our family & friends with us. You have to take credit for this because you suggested I start to write about our trip. My 4 sisters are a constant source of amusement, all of them have been keeping us informed of their opinions on what we are doing. My brother in law Brad has been excellent in providing me with things to write about! The blog has also allowed people to get to know me. Not sure if this is a good thing or not! Arama from NZ is with us always, Meredith I have not met but I feel I know her, Rob is in Vietnam but he is also always with us, Marg & Norm are on their own journey but they are with us too, Nikki is in Sydney but she is in the Pilbara as well, Granny reads the blog daily and usually gives us her two bobs worth, Lorraine & Michael, Katrina & Anika, (we all know Matt reads it he just doesn’t tell anyone!) The Appleby’s, Susanne & Tim, Angie, Bonnie & Egg, Flick, Mark & Christopher, Box & Lou, Karen & Campbell, Marc & Sandy, Liz & John, Mel & Tom Cruze, Sarah F..... all of them are on our trip and many more of our family & friends that read but choose to enjoy our journey in silence!
So Ness we have another month on the road, it has been so cool & I am sure it has given us many things to share with Brad, Dan & any other kids that we can bore with our stories. It has been the bestest way to start our married life together and I am sure that the way we have survived the last 74 days will help us to survive the next 45 or so years together.
Here’s to the first of many adventures that we will share with each other, our families & our friends.
With love from James.
Ok that is my letter to Ness, don’t tell her you read it!
Heather asked last night if I got the car rust proofed before I went into the water, Well Heather did you know that Land Rover actually use aluminium panels, that is why there are so many old Land Rovers around, they just don’t rust out!
Meredith, you girls don’t have to “Get it” you just have to tolerate us “Doing it”.
Sarah, Whats wrong with Hey Hey? If you don’t take it seriously and enjoy it for what it is along with the nostalgia value it can while the night away in downtown Newman, we did! And as for the problem with the aboriginal people, it seems that you & my two sisters have the answers to their problems, you three should get together and come up with a solution! Bring plenty of deodorant with you though!
Lesley I have sent you photos of me in the water with the car, bit strange though, you have a husband that works in I.T. and you are the only ones in Australia that can’t see our photo’s? What the....!!!!
Mum/Granny..... you always told us it is the thought that counts! You have no idea how hard it is to find tea towels on our travels! But we have traipsed through souvenir shops all over Australia to find them for you. But you might have to build an extension if you are going to hang them all on the walls!
And lastly to Anika..... it was really nice to see you today on the computer, hope your dancing was fun.
James
Reader Comments (8)
ahhhh, that's lovely James. What a beautiful letter!! And you are so right, it has been a wonderful way to get to know you.
xxxx
ps. I am with Sarah.... Hey Hey sucks.
And it is not even on a Saturday? Hey hey its Saturday on a Wednesday.... what the????
Did you know that Brad and I spent 14 years working and living together, what is really funny, is that after spending so much time together I can finish his sentences and read his mind,
when he goes away, I always tell him that I will have a great time without him, but what actually happens is that I spend all the time not being able to sleep and talking to him as if he is there. LOL! it is very boring as well because he is a constant source of entertainment with his antics and opinions and I never get bored when he is around.
PS: that was a nice letter to vanessa and I like it when you show you have a sensitive side, it makes up for your past insensitivity LOL!
PSS: why are you four wheel driving with a aluminium car?
Here is today's example of Brads antics, he is about to vacumn the tennis court turf with my dyson vacumn cleaner to get rid of the sand
looks like he is up for buying me a new vacumn
Ahhh, you do have a heart!
Have to say, we are all amazed that not only have you found someone that you can be around 24/7 but that someone can be around you 24/7!! You deserve a medal Ness!!
Thanks from all of us for the photos. You're right James, so our administrator/ network technician has been given the boot. We can't work out why we can't access the photos from home either. We do have really crap access though but Andrew assures me it's not that.
Love the car photos. Even I thought it looked fun.
PS- I agree about hey hey being on Wednesday. It's just not right at all.
So sweet James!
Nice to see you on Skype today...
How about a map update Nessie?
xxx
I continue to watch Hey Hey for nostalgic reasons, despite the jokes of Daryl now resembling those of Bert Newton (cringe). At least it's one show that if ever we're reminiscing about something we remember seeing on the show as kids, our own kids know the show we're talking about. Not like when their Dad mentions Thunderbirds, or The Monkeys or something weird like that - impossible to explain to today's kids.
I think that the last few blogs have shown some interesting opinions. Next time you get harrassed for a beer, or smell someone offensive, pass them Heather's contact details and tell them "Mate, you stink, but I know somewhere you can go for a great holiday. She'll even give you a beer!"
georgia gets the star today take her advice and give us an update. I would thank everyone who commented on you know what when asked not to for your first big fight possibly a divorce
Like your letter to Ness, James (sorry Ness, I did read it!!!) - one of the best things about our travels is the time Marg and I have together. After about 20 years together and 8-9 years on the road, we still enjoy each other's company. Sure we love each other but the strengthening friendship is one of the best things.
Another great thing, as your lives progress together, the bank of shared memories grows. Inevitably, at first, you memoies are of things you have done with other people. As your relaonship grows, you build your shared memories. Marg and I were only talking about that recently.
All the very best with your travels together.
Love from us both,
Norm & Marg
(PS. Katie presented Dave with a healthy baby boy at 9:30pm, Sat 23rd April - Mason Harry Chealuck, about 4 kg and 53 cm.)