The much anticipated Easter Break was just about upon us when my parents arrived (the other much anticipated event)! We had a fantastic visit with them that included much snuggling (the grandkids with their grandparents, in case you're wondering), much giggling, and much game playing (and much driving). Here are a few highlights from their first week and a half with us.
Everyone and their dog told my parents about the famous Dubbo Zoo, so we spent two days exploring it together - always a good time!
What is a visit from my Mennonite mother without eating rollkuchen. Yummy! (Not pictured are my favourite Mennonite treats that we introduced our neighbours to - strawberry perishky.)
The day before we left on our epic road trip, poor Rylan came down with a fever and sore throat. We pumped him full of Advil and headed out. Thankfully, he was fine in a couple of days and nobody else got sick.
We spent many hours (at least 24, when all was said and done) in our 7-seater vehicle. It was reminiscent of days gone by, road-tripping with my parents. And we are all still friends!!! We used electronics to entertain the kids for the first time during a road trip (I have to brag a little, don't I?), and I'm sure that helped with continuing lasting friendships.
And.....this is the outback. Sheep. Wild emus. Wild goats. Sparse trees. Dirt. Oh, and dead kangaroos. Just like anywhere else we have travelled, it absolutely has its own beauty. (Kevin is a machine when it comes to driving, so there were no stops to take photos of the scenery or of the emus.)
We spent two nights at a caravan park in Lightning Ridge. Lightning Ridge is a quirky outback town that is famous for its opals, specifically its black opals. Outback legend has it that Lightning Ridge got its name in the 1870's, when some passers-by found the bodies of a farmer, his dog, and 200 sheep which were struck by lightning. We learned a bit about opal mining and had a go at fossicking ourselves, but mostly we just enjoyed exploring.
One highlight we visited was Chambers of the Black Hand, which is 40 feet underground, just above an opal mine. In this tourist attraction, an ex-marine, who had no artistic training, created hundreds of carvings in the sandstone over the last 18 years - WITH A BUTTER KNIFE! It was pretty amazing to see.
A quintessential outback photo - kangaroos grazing to our left and a whole lot of dry open space, complete with a fly that is trying to get into our eyes, nose, ears, mouth...really, any orifice in our heads will do for these annoying flies.
Other than this, we enjoyed a quirky little market, and meeting interesting characters at the AMAZING artesian bore baths (they were super hot, deep, and FREE) that we enjoyed both nights, staring up at the southern stars.
Another highlight was our beautiful outback sunset just before we headed to the coast. Stay tuned for part 2 of our adventure!
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