Snapshots

In an effort to avoid writing another one of those "What I did on my holidays" posts, I'm going to write one of those "What I did on my holidays" posts - pared down to a few snapshots presented in no particular order.
The first one is of the car that the lovely lady I met drives. It's a tiny little thing with an engine that is smaller than the one in my motorcycle. Goes pretty bloody well, though, and sticks to the road like a single mother to an employed boyfriend. It's got an electric fold-down roof too, which means that you can stuff a fair bit into the boot with the roof up. It's a bit like driving a skateboard in that there is nowhere but the pedals to put your feet, your legs are cocked out around the steering wheel, it is about three-quarters of a turn lock-to-lock and I have to duck to see out the windscreen. It's also the most fun to drive of any car that I've ever been in. Nothing goes around corners better than this. Many a time we would be holding up traffic by traveling at the speed limit, then we'd get to a windy bit. After a few minutes this little red car would be the only vehicle in my mirrors.
Sunrise from our balcony in Tathra. The lovely lady was beginning to forget that there is a sunrise as well as a sunset, so she made a special effort to be awake for this one (I wake up early anyway.), it was well worth the effort. Considering that we were traveling with absolutely no plan - or at least absolutely no plan that looked like being even remotely adhered to, we were incredibly fortunate in choosing the places where we stayed and the places that we ate. Tathra was probably the dodgiest room, but with a view like this coming through the picture window to greet you in the morning, who cares? Actually, we were incredibly fortunate in most areas of the holiday thing, right down to the bar staff - if you're ever in Miles, make sure you go to the rissole and ask for Mary, the most charming barmaid in world (except for JenJen). Also, stop in Bodalla on the way through and have a glass of champagne with June, the publican(ess). Rat may be interested to know that it took three days to reach Tathra after we saw him. Peter Theoming is the figurehead for a movement called 'slow touring'. I think that the lovely lady and I could teach him a thing or two. The day after we left Rat we travelled 45k in six hours with three stops on the way.
Finally, this is the lovely little town of Walhalla. Walhalla used to have one of my favourite pubs in it, but it burned down. Now it has a new, 'period style' pub in it's place. Actually there are now two pubs. The large building opposite the rotunda is the Star Hotel, which wasn't there the last time I came through here. I'm not a fan of fake antiquity. I nearly bought a house here in the eighties - four thousand dollars fully furnished. These days they've got bitumen road access and electricity and houses are going for fifty to one hundred times that much. I never was much of a businessman.
As an aside, my mother's ashes are scattered to the left of this photo.