"ON THE ROAD"

My favourite sort of holiday is the one where you get to just drive a little bit here and there and stop a few times at places that take your fancy before you are 'on the road' again!
I remember we did this when Sian was 10 and Jake was 9. We went up through the middle of New South Wales to the Gold Coast and then we took our time coming home via the coast. It was a fantastic holiday!! We all loved it!
We have some great memories from that holiday, too!
I remember we were all taught how to throw a boomerang when we were in Dubbo. The kids had made their own and burnt patterns into them before we were all lead out on to a field to practise our throws. The kids were SO good at it and had tears rolling down their faces at my efforts. I think I managed to kill a nearby power pole and that was it...and my boomerang didn't come back. It just killed the pole and then sat there on the ground at the foot of the pole like a stunned mullet.
Jake and Sian had their first 'driving' experience at the Dubbo zoo where they had little golf buggies to tour the zoo in.
At The Entrance on the way home we arrived just as the paralympics torch runners were going through the town. The town had celebratory fireworks and festivities that night which were amazing as they were done from a boat out over the water. Beautiful!!
At Kiama I thought a giant stingray was going to swim away with my son. Jake was fishing off the jetty with John when Sian and I noticed a ray skimming the sand at the bottom of the jetty. We yelled just in time for Jake to pull his line in. It was an awesome sight though!! It was massive!
At Port Macquarie, I discovered a tick on Jake's head. I was pretty sure it was already dead but didn't know enough about them to be sure. So, I rang the local hospital who said we had to bring him in straight away!! It was quite scary as I knew the consequences that these little buggers could cause. They removed it and confirmed my suspicions that it was already dead. We were told that he was very lucky the tick had died before it could cause any harm! We had been to the koala hospital in the afternoon where it was suspected Jake had picked up the tick. Jake had come to me for a cuddle on the couch and I was rubbing his head when I felt a strange lump. Wouldn't have thought to check otherwise!
We also did a road trip holiday to Tasmania a few years later. I think that trip suited John and I a little better but it was still a great family holiday!
I like being 'on the road'.