Route: Goulburn to Melbourne by the Hume Highway
Distance: 740 km (460 mi)
Both yesterday and today, I was quite disheartened to pass the occasional sign that said Tourist Route N [where N is some number between 1 and 12 - although I’ve not seen routes 1 or 2 or 10, but I can only expect they exist as I’ve seen all other numbers up to 12]. But, as the priority was to get home, I have resigned to attempt to drive them another day.
So today was the big push to get home. Google estimated the drive to take about 8 hours. I made it in about 7. Fortunately there was very little traffic, and I was in the driving zone, so we made good time. And I didn’t even speed by that much. I would say I averaged about +8km, and the speed limit was mostly 110.
As an aside, perhaps it is because of the car being so small and all, or perhaps it is due the psychological aspect of being raised in mph where 3 digits was really fast, but every time I approach 100 kph, I have a hard time going much faster. Folks, 100kph is only 60mph. That’s like a turtle’s pace for back home. But here, most people abide by the speed limit pretty well, and 100 or 110 is pretty common for the upper limit. And personally, after I get to about 120, I don’t like to go much faster …
Anyways, Goulburn was a surprisingly large town [population ~24,000], but it had a much smaller-town feel. And it worked. By the time Ruthie and I got up slightly after the sun, and went for a walk down ¾ of the main business strip, the town was bustlin’. During our walk, we found a rather large secondhand shop, where this old Italian lady talked Ruthie’s ear off - but not for naught, as we learned of a fantastic place to grab breakfast. [She also judged us for staying at the Astor - the pub - motel last night, but whatever.]
Goulburn also featured a humongous two- or three-story sheep. It was a merino wool store and museum. We parked behind the balls and took pictures under it’s quadruple chin. Good times.
We left the sunshine behind us, which is kind of bittersweet. Sure, we were starting to bake pretty good a couple hours into our trip [I even managed to sunburn the top of my right knee from the sun beating in through the slightly rolled down window], so when we drove into the cloud cover, it cooled things down a bit. But now that we’re back and it’s rainy, it’s bittersweet to miss the hot sunshine.
So, yeah, we’ve made it back home safe. Our apartment was still standing - no outlets that were left on went crazy. I didn’t pull an Edward Norton in Fight Club and detonate my own apartment via my alter ego while gone. And we even were productive upon arrival: unpacked everything, sorted clothing, and Ruthie started laundry.
Tomorrow’s agenda: nothing. Ahh, that’s great to hear.
-EP
Just like a man to forget all the important bits.
ReplyDeleteWhen we pulled into the Astor, there was no office. I had to go into the bar and ask the bartender for a room. There were a about a dozen people in the bar and they were of all ages and persuasions. There was a trivia game going on and the video for the theme song to "Ghostbusters" was playing on the television. The bartender was super hot in a rugged, good-guy, totally nice but still appealing kind of way. If the Astor could be judged by the bartender/hotel manage alone, it would get a AAA rating.
The room was weird though. It was like it was decorated by a bunch of men and primarily rented to a bunch of men for days at a time. Great color selection but NO accessories. Like, no lamps. No end tables. There was a hairdryer but no trashcan. But it was comfortable and I slept. My mom said there were giant killer pigeons pecking at the window when she woke up and she thought they were going to come in after her. She was dressed and waiting on the corner when EP and I finished our walk.
Finally the food. The super loquacious Italian lady sent us to Bryant's Pies. In her words, "They give you a real pot of tea with loose tea leaves. These other places are crazy, you know? I'm not paying $3.40 for a tea bag." I can confirm that Bryant's does, in fact, brew the nicest pot of tea I've had in Australia so far. And the pies! Super moist, good pastry to filling ration. I had chicken and asparagus and it was delicious as well as being $5. Then I got more pies and desserts to go and buried my head in the trough. So good.