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NSW, Australia
I'm made it past 50! married for over half my life, have 3 kids all grown and I'm loving this part of my life.I was a nurse in my younger days but an unhealthy dose of rheumatoid arthritis put a damper on my career,so I'm at home with the internet.

Friday, July 22, 2011

a hard days night

I'm back!Finally!!

Chloe's accident was on the Wed night and she wasn't operated on till the Friday night and even then , it was with a lot of pressure from the staff on the ward to the theatre staff,as they knew about the 3 appt's Melbourne on the Monday/Tues. She was allowed home on the Sat afternoon and I brought her to my place so we could leave early on Monday morning.

Travelling in a bubble car when you are 6ft 2 and post op after having 7 screws and a plate in your arm is not recommended. She sat in the back with a beanbag and about 7 pillows, you could pretty much just see her head.



Travelling to a previously unvisited city without GPS or street directory is also not recommended. Chloe and I almost came to blows as I constantly questioned the directions I had written out myself. Imagine her in pain,so talking is white noise and I am pretty much an annoying noise anyway and me constantly asking "how far to the turn off? what does that sign say? are you sure it said 10km?" etc etc
7 hours later we arrive in Melbourne and find the motel after stopping and asking exactly where on this road it is.
I was surprised that between Wodonga on the NSW/Vic border and Seymour on the outskirts of Melbourne ...there is nothing. About 400km of nothing. There are a few highway exits, but they don't seem to lead to much. Tiny farming towns I guess.the landscape doesn't really change either like it does when you go north.

Driving on the roads with the trams wasn't as hairy as I thought it would be, I had tried to plan the trip to avoid them, but ended up in one area right behind them, but they just flow with the traffic and stop at the lights like the cars.I still wouldn't drive with them right in the middle of the city though.





We called in at the Simpson Barracks on the way through, to drop Danny a bag of clothes and the all important xbox. I was allowed on base and given an ID tag to wear. I left the bag for him to pick up ,as he was still at work. Poor Chloe had to wait at the gate as the police still had her licence,so no photo ID.

We caught a train and a tram into the city for an appointment at 5pm then met Danny at Central railway, had some dinner, left Danny to meet his friend for a lift back and headed back to the motel. I was disappointed,other than food places all the shops were shut at 5pm.

I didn't do any better with directions the next morning, we ended up late for the first appt as we first went to the Monash University, then the Monash Medical Centre,only to find it was in the middle of the hospital.They rang ahead to the next Dr as we were going to be an hour late for that one. Got there finally, then had to find a medicare to get a refund from all the Dr's fees,so that meant following more written directions. Found it ok, but I got lost in the huge shopping center, finally found Chloe when I found medicare. By this time I was buggered, tired and cranky, and I overheard Chloe talking to Jessie on the phone and telling her I wouldn't stop whinging. BAH!! I saw red and lost it. "I'm nearly 50, I'm crook myself blah blah blah"
Chloe and I are the same under stress, she gets it from me, but once we both had our say and cooled down it was business as usual.And I did stress and whinge.

We didn't end up leaving Melbourne City until 5pm.I got lost about 3 times, ended up on the West gate bridge in the wrong direction,so I came back over the bridge, this is peak hour traffic..sigh... pulled into the first garage, walked up to a truckie and asked how to get to the Hume in the Sydney direction.


He said if you can keep up with me,I'm going that way. Keep up I did and once on the freeway it's basically straight ahead all the way home.The last 10km on our bush road from the Jugiong exit was like driving drunk though and I was thankful when I pulled up in the driveway about midnight.
So Yup, I've been to Melbourne, but I didn't really see anything, and there does look like there's a lot to see. So I will have to go back, this time with a GPS! or maybe I will just catch a train.

I have Danny coming home for a few days leave next weekend,looking forward to that, though he will probably be out with friends for most of it,still, t'will be nice to have him back in the house.

Wedding is only 3 months away,something is wrong with our postal system, some of the invites have not arrived,only to resend 2 weeks later and have both arrive the same day...sigh. I still have to chase up help with the catering on the day and a vintage car, decor for the hall and I think we are organised.


Well that's me caught up.

Will try and catch up on everyone's blogs this week and see what you've all been up to.

cheers all


25 comments:

  1. Wow- this is my first visit to your blog and I'm very impressed, both with the blog itself and with all you and Chloe went through here. Glad to know you both made through OK!

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  2. Thanks Shelly,it's a bit of a hodge podge really.Like my cooking...pot luck lol

    yup we're fine,she's going to be sick of walking soon thogh lol

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  3. That's some journey. I'd say you slept well when it was over!

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  4. I did bill Y, arthritis acted up a tad, so i rested, did nothing, went nowhere for the next 2 days LOL then all good and back to my usual.

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  5. I hate driving so I feel stressed just reading about your experiences.

    I would have totally lost it.

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  6. ::uploading ______::: (Insert comfort food of your choice.)

    What a trip! So glad you made it back safely and are coherent enough to write about it. And so glad Chloe is going to be okay.

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  7. Wow, that was some trip. What I can't get out of my head is that I'm 6' and have bad knees and back and can't imagine being in the back of that little car. Poor Chloe. She must have been so uncomfortable. Hope she is mending well. And hope you're doing well too. Hugs.

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  8. I'm too nervous to drive in big cities. I admire the fact you did it; good for you. Your poor daughter, having to do all that right after an accident and surgery! Poor you having to drive!

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  9. Sounds like the trip from Hell. Or more like the trip TO Hell and back again. Bet you both feel better already just being home.

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  10. You did well to only get lost a couple of times. I got lost twice in Adelaide, odd when it has pretty straight roads and I had maps on my phone and a street directory. Well, the directory was thirty years old. Bet you are pleased to be home.

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  11. Wow! You HAVE been adventurous!! I LOATHE trying to navigate through an unfamiliar city - you did well to get through it, especially given the stress you were under! Hope you can rest up for awhile ...

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  12. What an adventure! Even in the best of circumstances it sounds scary. I hope everything works out for you all.

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  13. Glad Chloe is getting over her accident and that she made all her appointments. I would have been getting very grumpy too if it had been me!!!

    I get very stressed driving in a city I don't know very well and what a long day it was for you. Lots of sleep now for you and poor Chloe who had been squished in the car!

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  14. driving stresses me out if i don't know where i'm going. i definitely would have had a nervous breakdown doing that trip!

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  15. I found you through Ami and Amy ha ha! I really enjoy your blog.

    Glad to hear your Chloe is OK!

    I will be in Australia in a week and can not wait, although your photos of the road make me nervous!

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  16. Welcome back! It sounds like Chole will be okay, think goodness. What an "adventure" ... I will have to come back and catch-up on what I missed. Right now running behind on everything since I have company from out-of-town.

    Best wishes!

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  17. Sounds like a pretty hairy trip. I am glad that you came through it okay.

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  18. Crud, I'm sorry she's in pain but okay. My daughter broke her humorous a few years ago, I had to shave her armpits for months.

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  19. bless your heart! glad y'all both made it ok :)

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  20. 400km is not an easy thing to come by here in my corner of the world. I'm kind of jealous of you Aussies. Glad she's okay.

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  21. Honestly, after so much strife, I would've been whining (we spell it differently on this side of the pond) myself. Don't be so hard on yourself.

    Thank goodness you both survived the experience.

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  22. What a time you've had. I'm glad that everything worked out well - in the end.
    I left the info re the knitted skirt pattern on my post comments. Please visit again to pick it up.

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  23. Just read about Chloe's accident in the previous post! My breath caught in my throat! So glad she is being "mended" and so glad you did finally make it home!

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  24. UM. HEllo? How the heck did I miss this?

    I am such a bad blogging buddy. :(

    So glad she is OK, and things are on the mend. AND that the fun is gone out of the motorbike. Death traps I tell Ya!

    Can't wait to hear details about the wedding... still can't believe mine's in less than a month. :)

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  25. Dina, I;m not in a hurry to do it again lol

    Ami...hmm butterscotch pudding and icecream :) and thanks :)

    BB she hates the clown car lol

    Belle..much what I was thinking haha

    Fruitcake..almost a distant memory :)

    Andre, I am, and I have no sense of direction, which is bad when you don't even have one landmark to judge by. Is it me or is there not a lot of directional signs in Melbourne? Sydney seems to want to send you to Canberra, Central Coast or blue Mountains from pretty much anywhere.

    red:yep back to my lazy self

    dirty, thanks, she is much better now,back at work.

    lyndylou, thanks,hopefully next road trip won't be so dramatic lolI'm back to my lazy self now :)

    manders, I think I did hahaha

    Sabrina, thanks for visiting :) Hoep you find your way around Oz ok.one word...GPS!!!

    Jamie, thanks, welcome back yourself :) I get behind on the reading too, and then for a day that is all I will do all day lol

    Jenny, thanks, we did :)

    Mrs Tuna hahah, never thought of that, Jess will be on to that I imagine lol

    stephanie ,thankyou :)

    elliott, yes sometimes its nice to drive...helps if you know where youre going LOL

    cube, can't help it, I'm a whiner, kids tell me this all the time hahah

    steph V thanks for that, i found it :)

    Sandra ,thanks mwa xx

    julianna, ahh I'm worse lol good luck, so close !!!

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