Hurrah for a southerly change

When I turned on the computer this afternoon, it was 38 degrees outside. The air was so dry it felt like it was burning, and the sky was that strange, flat, almost-grey that you get during bushfires.

Now it's very pleasant outside, with a cool breeze (I hope some of it is blowing into the bedroom). I wish summer would be more like this - hot dry days, and cool nights......although definitely less of the bushfires.

I've been meaning to write stuff about my adventures over the last couple of weeks, but it kind of hasn't been happening. I need more spare time - why can't I get paid for not working???? No fair. But none of this is talking about adventures, is it? We went to Tassie, mostly for a holiday, but also for November Crown. Started out in Hobart - wandered around, just aimlessly, really. Picked out somewhere to have dinner (I wanted seafood), looked in an antique store, left the antique store after realising that the cheapest thing in there was a teaspoon for $55 (the most expensive thing appeared to be a very plain, rectangular table, fairly modern in appearance, made of huon pine, for the bargain basement price of $15,000. Yes, I did get the number of 0s right.....). I gave R a choice of tours that we could do - Cadbury's or Cascade. You'd think most husbands would pick the beer, right?

The second day saw us carting about 5kg of chocolate back to the car after going beserk in the factory shop, and then heading off to Launceston. We wandered off down to the gorge - gotta love daylight saving - where I took way more photos of peacocks than I needed to. And then we stayed there for dinner, which was the best idea anyone has ever had - the food was fabulous. Not cheap, but well worth it.

The next day added Baggy Trousers to our road trip. She looked so sparkly and vivacious when she got off the plane........."I'm still drunk" she muttered, "can I go to sleep now?" We hit Port Sorrell, watched a bunch of boofy blokes hitting each other with sticks, had a feast in a great hall with the most awesome chandelliers, someone fed me tequila, I didn't fall over! It was all good.

Sunday was Cradle Mountain day - we checked in to our accommodation (cabins on stilts) and went for a bushwalk (in the rain), marvelled at the quiet (you don't realise just how much man-made sounds intrude into everyday life until you can't hear any of them...) and slept the sleep of those who have driven too far and had pancakes for lunch.

Moday - St Marys. Nothing there, nothing at all. I think it was actually a public holiday. But the lodge was gorgeous. Eco-tourism - the cabins were solar powered, the view was all the way down the hill to the coast, the air was fresh, there were some kind of wallaby thing lurking around looking cute, it was quiet.

Tuesday had to get us back to Hobart and our flight home. We thought we'd check out Port Arthur, until we got there (70km down the road, thank you very much) and they wanted to charge us $25 each to get in. "But I just want to walk around the grounds!" I wailed. "I don't want your stupid harbour cruise or introductory tour! I just want to walk around the grounds!" It really shat me. I have no objection to paying for things, but I abhor being ripped off, and this just smacked of "Fleece the Tourists!". Up yours, Port Arthur Visitors Centre!

That, in a nutshell, was our Great Tasmanian Adventure! Tune in next week when we her Miss Piggy say............oops, I mean, for the Great Canberra Road Trip! and then there's the I Went to Cat Empire and I Bits Are Still Hurting!

Gosh, I have been busy lately, haven't I? That must be why I'm so tired.....

Good night!