Back in the fold

I visited my parents in South Australia from Thursday through to Tuesday.

Thursday
The flight from Brisbane was uneventful, even to the extent of not having a meal or a feature film. We did get some small biscuits or a cupcake and a few TV shows. The plane was a 737 with a single aisle and fairly full as well. At least the flight was quite short – under 3 hours. We left about 45 minutes late so it was nearly 7 by the time we arrived. Mum and Dad had already eaten, so we stopped briefly at a shopping centre where I picked up some fish and chips and then headed South.

They live in Goolwa which is on the lake at the mouth of the Murray River and have been there for 2 to 3 years. They are in a retirement village in a 2 bedroom house. The second bedroom is also the office and sewing room so it’s quite crowded. There is a minimum front garden – only a metre or so wide and just enough for some flowers and maybe a strip of lawn. The back yard is a bit wider, by default with a path and shrubs and covered with wood chips. Mum and Dad have a bit of a vegetable patch there, partly looked after by their neighbour. They have a lot of beans coming up – enough to feed the neighbourhood – and some peas which were ready for picking. I raided these a few times while I was there and we had them with our roast the last night. They have a deck area off the living room and we usually eat breakfast and lunch out there.

Dad headed off to bed pretty much as soon as we got home but Mum and I talked and she also looked at my photos from this trip and New Zealand. It was nearly 1 am when we went to bed.

Friday
We didn’t get up too early for some reason but by about 10 we were ready and Dad went to do some bowls practice, Mum to the shops and I was dropped at the library which is the one place I can get on the net. Unfortunately, although I can get emails in Thunderbird, it is not possible to sent emails through the program and I had to use a web browser, which is a bit tedious. There were a surprising number of emails in just over a day and it was quite late before I’d finished answering them, updated the blog and so forth.

We had lunch and then headed to Victor Harbour, which is not that far away, but on the ocean rather than the lake. We stopped at the local golf course where I enquired about a game Monday and once again looked for an FTi driver. They had an 11deg one there at the cheapest price I’ve seen but not the one I’m after.

At Victor, Mum bought a waterproof jacket for bowls, Dad washed the car and we also picked up some seedlings for the garden. Victor is a bit of a holiday spot with a nearby island joined by a jetty. Mum and Dad first met on that island, many years ago.

There is also a house being built on the road between the 2 towns which we think is deliberately askew, or perhaps it’s just falling apart.

We went to the Bowls club for dinner. This is a regular Friday night event and last night it was a choice of roast pork, which we all had, or fisherman’s basket followed by lemon meringue pie for $10 each. We sat with one of the men from the club who was a bit of an entertaining character, so it was quite enjoyable. We were still home not much after 8 and Dad headed to bed while mum went to sleep in front of the TV.

Saturday
The temperature was predicted to reach 33deg today and there was a nasty wind blowing as well. It was 9-30 before we got up and about 11 I headed to the library to check on e mails and follow up with some net related jobs I hadn’t finished from yesterday.

Dad had to play pennants further in land and wasn’t looking forward to the heat. After lunch Mum and I made about 35 pasties, which will be dinner tonight. There have been a couple of brief visits from neighbours but mostly we’ve just stayed inside since it’s coolest here, done some crosswords and a bit of reading.

Dad came back from bowls and told us it had been very unpleasant out and that his team had a draw but the other 2 had lost. Once again he retired early. Mum watched a bit of TV and then we looked at my photos from the US and Thailand trips. WE also cleaned out the freezer and I used Dad’s paint stripper to melt the accumulated ice. Much more efficient than a hair dryer and it was finished in a short time.

Sunday
A dramatic change in the weather today. Down from mid thirties to under 20. There was even a bit of rain in the morning. This helped us make our decision between a picnic and a meal at a pub. We headed over to Wellington on the Murray River. More or less the last town before it reaches the lakes. There’s a ferry there that runs 24 hours and seems to take about 10 minutes per round trip. There were also 100’s of white parrots flying around and perching in the nearby trees.

The town was 83km from Goolwa so it was a long driver for a meal but, surprisingly, I had never been there before. I had the soup and lamb shanks special. After we finished we sat in the outside area for a while watching the ferry and the river and soaking up the afternoon sun. The landscape varied considerably over that distance, with farmland, salt lakes and vineyards. On the way back we stopped in Strathalbyn for a bit of shopping.

After that, we went to the lookout above Middleton’s Beach, which gives a view over Goolwa, the lakes and the sea. Usual story however – the sky was still hazy and the pictures are not very clear. Once back in Goolwa we went to the beach and saw a guy making the most of the windy condition with his kite surfer.

Once home, I read the paper and then lay down on the bed to do the crossword and fell asleep. Just like being back in Perth. I woke up for dinner and we watched some TV. Dad went to bed at 8-30 and Mum after the show on TV. I watched the episode of Heroes from a few days ago and then went to bed myself.

Monday
I had arranged to play golf with Peter, a retired academic from Adelaide Uni and member of the Grange golf club. Since I couldn’t drive to Adelaide, he came here, picked me up and we played a McCracken Country Club in Victor Harbour. This is a very picturesque course with lots of water, hills and sand traps.

Peter had a 2 for 1 card so it was only $15 each and he lent me his old set of sticks. I managed to break 100, hitting the ball reasonably well but putting fairly badly. The greens were good but very fast and the pin placings were quite difficult, still unchanged from the weekend. It was very windy, sometimes requiring 2 or even 3 clubs longer than normal when hitting into the breeze but it was sunny without being hot. We made quite good time, not needing to wait for anyone for the whole round and matching the time taken by a single player who hit off on the opposite 9, so it was very pleasant. Peter had an 80, slightly better than his handicap. He had to get back for an appointment so we headed to Port Elliot and had lunch at the bakery before he dropped me home.

I had only been back a few minutes when some friends of Mum and Dad arrived. I had met them about 9 years ago but didn’t really remember them. We sat out on the decking and I did the crossword and then fell asleep while they were talking. I woke up and said I needed to go to the library which closed at 5. I managed to get an hour on the net before it closed and seemed to again have a large number of emails to get through. I also contacted the Tasmanian state sec, who confirmed she will meet me at the airport tomorrow.

We had a roast for dinner. Somehow nobody makes it like your mother. Mine never seem to taste the same anyway. I have mostly packed with an ETA from here at 10 to get to the airport with 90 minutes or so to go and for Dad to get back for a doctor’s appointment.

Tuesday
We were all ready to go by 9-30 but we faffed around until after 10 before actually leaving and it was just after 11-30 when we got to the airport. Long enough to check in and read the paper in the departure lounge before boarding. This is the shortest flight I’ve been on in the last 6 months, only an hour in the air. I didn’t bother with the entertainment at all and did most of the crosswords in the paper instead. There was an empty middle seat and I was in an exit row so there was a bit more space than on the previous flights. Despite the short flight, we did get a sandwich and an apple as well as a drink. The bags came out fairly quickly. I think most people just had carry on luggage. I had to collect it and the re-check in for Jetstar. It was not a big queue and I am again in an exit row. This flight to Hobart is also only an hour. However, I have 2 hours wait before it takes off, so I’ll spend more time in the airports than in the air.