Time travel

I feel like I've been back and forward in time over the past day. Time travel really wasn't on the agenda for a short break away, but as usual in my life, my agenda never quite balances with reality.

So, heading in to the sun, down the western highway we went. It was hot enough in the car, and I had no enthusiasm for being outside during our breaks. Initially I thought I was hallucinating in my half drowsy state (this is why I don't do the long drives!) when up popped a stormtrooper! In the middle of desert-like outback, he was quite at home, pushing along his provisions in the heat. I kept expecting to see more pop up in some kind of pre-Australia day takeover of our nation, but my husband brought me back to reality and explained that he was doing it for charity. Turns out he is doing a troopertrek from Perth to Sydney to raise money for the starlight foundation. He's hoping to get to $50 000 and is nearly at his goal with quite a lot more walking to do, so stop by his site if you feel like donating to a fabulous cause.

So now, backwards.....

I promise I'm not referring to Adelaide, or South Australia, both of which I quite like! We did have to go back in time half an hour to get here, but the thought of having half an hour less on Saturday kind of tempers my excitement about the day suddenly having more time in it.

It is more that all my first memories of South Australia are as an eight year old when we came to visit family, and so in a similar way that staying at home with my parents makes me revert to behaving like a teenager, I revert back to wanting to be a child (or possibly behaving like one). I had a pastie with sauce and an egg custard tart from a country bakery (please don't count my calories - the equations will hurt you) and had to have a banana milk to go with them 'cause that is what we did'. I bounced on a see-saw at the playground and will admit to asking more than once "are we nearly there?" - so much more grown up than "are we there yet?" - I promise!

Our motel room took me back in time to the pre-smoking ban as it appears that the room has held on to the aromas of that past endeavour, but in true 60's glam style, it has its own muzak stereo system (I haven't checked to see if it plays "the girl from ipanema"), and it was set up with its own bar, not a mini-bar, but a high bench bar that you felt you should be sipping martinis at. I would have been happier with a low bar and high door handles as Hamster the escape artist saw a chance at freedom and ran for it....

I think the best thing about having kids is the fact that occasionally, (or really quite often, but I was pretending to have some decorum), you get to behave like a child. Uninhibited joy and excitement is underrated in adult life. So today, my plans involve playing on the Milo lawn at the cricket, jumping up and down with anticipation at the zoo (in a quiet restrained manner so as not to scare the animals) and possibly a quiet glass of something cold as the day draws to a close. Ok, so that last activity may not be from my childhood, but being a kid (and a parent) is exhausting and rest is essential!

Happy Australia Day everyone!