The Big Road Trip Of 2011 - Part Three

 
Saturday was the big Wedding day and it started out with a massive thunderstorm at about 4:30am which woke me up and kept me awake with my mind racing about all of the things I had to achieve on this day and how this weather would impact on those things, the rain was torrential and I had pretty much written off any chance of exercise, but low and behold by about 6:30am it had eased up, so my friend and I went out for a bit of a walk/run, she is only just learning to run which I am very proud of because I know how hard it was when I first started, so we did some interval running and then I got to work up a bit of a sweat by running home. Felt good that I could burn a few calories before the wedding seen as though I knew there would be a few extra indulgences and a few champagnes being consumed. Got on the scales this morning as well and I had hit the 27kg lost mark, so I was super happy with that! Managed to fit in another catch up with a friend at Chermside before getting my hair and make-up done for the wedding, was a little stressed as the time was ticking on but only really had to put my dress on once we got home and then jump in the car. Was so great to spend time with all our old friends together and frocked up and it felt so good to be looking more the way that I want to be looking and to have not seen a lot of my friends in the time that I have been losing weight and then get to present myself looking all shiny and new made it all worthwhile and certainly gave me the motivation to keep going and get to my goals. Even the extra energy that I had to be out on the dance floor most of the night and not be puffed out and have to go and sit down felt amazing. All in all it was a great night and Brisbane really turned on the weather we had almost all the seasons in on day – thunderstorms, lightning, rain, hail and then beautiful sunshine.  I am so happy for my friends to have tied the knot and start their married life together, god knows it can be a hard journey but totally worthwhile and to have someone by your side throughout your life who will love and support you is the best thing ever.

Sunday was another day of catch ups and good byes, and even managed to fit in some trash on the tele as my friend had taped the latest Kardashian Wedding for me to watch, - I know it’s crap, but don’t hold it against me, it is one of the few vices that a stay at home, running her own business, mother of 4 has in this world.

Monday, the kids got to have a last playdate with some of my closest girlfriends kiddies and then it was pack up the car and hit the road – onwards for an overnight stay in Toowoomba with some more close friends and then it was all guns blazing to Dubbo the next day. After stopping in and exchanging the DVD players as one had stopped working- I am sure this could have had nothing to my sweet children (!), and enough time for Oscar to vomit in the car (yuk!) it was on to the Western Plains Taronga Zoo in Dubbo.

This is a fantastic zoo and it is a safari park, so you can drive your own car around and hop out as you go, or hire bikes/buggies. We drove as not too keen on the buggy option with so many kids to make sure they are hanging on and sitting still. It means you can spend a long time at certain enclosures and just pass by others. The weather was really warm and about 4.5kms into the 6km path the kids were getting a bit restless, but we had seen Giraffes, Tigers, Elephants, Camels, Hippos, Ponies, Monkeys, Lions, Zebra, Meerkats, Goats, Koalas, Kangaroos, Turtles, Ducks, Cheetahs or were they Leopards, I can’t quite remember! And a multitude of other animals, all in all it was a great Zoo and the kids really enjoyed it. After the Zoo we pushed on and made it to Albury, which was much further than we had thought, but it meant that we would not have so far to go the next day to get to Melbourne. Got up in the morning and went for a run around the local cricket oval which felt good, did 5kms and then headed back as the sun was getting quite warm by then. Jumped back in the car and headed for Melbourne, did a bit of shopping and then everyone dropped me in the city where I got to stay for a night by myself before my Pro Blogger Training Day the next day. Went out on Friday night to a networking night, and met a few people prior to the big day, felt very out of my comfort zone, but was good to challenge myself in this way. The training day was fantastic, the content was so beneficial and I learnt so much about effective blogging and how to take things to the next level, I am so glad I did it.
The thing that I found not so great was trying to make connections with other bloggers, I have read a lot of blog posts since the day about how great it was to meet so many other bloggers, but in my opinion, I found it quite difficult as a very small-time blogger to be noticed by a lot of the bigger bloggers that were there, I also found it to be quite clique, which I found odd because everyone of these people started off small yet, they seemed like they didn’t remember what it was like to be the new person trying to fit in. I think in future I will try and have someone there who I do have some sort of relationship with, as there is always safety in numbers and that way you always have someone to talk to. I am still debating as to whether I will write a post dedicated to the day as even though the sessions were very valuable I was not left with a feeling of overall satisfaction from the day. I will ponder…

Saturday morning we were up and packed, goodbyes were made to my sister and then we headed down the Mornington peninsula to Sorrento where we caught the ferry across to Queenscliff and then headed down the Great Ocean Road. The weather was not very nice at all, so the beaches were not in all there glory but still we got to see a lot of surfers doing their thing. I never realised how windy and twisty the road would be, and it gave me a real headache and was too much for poor Stellsy who had to be sick.  After this, it was good that the 12 Apostles were not too far away as it meant that we got to get out of the car and take a walk and get some fresh air. The Apostles were amazing, and the view was spectacular, so glad that we had pulled out the jackets and warm clothes in the morning, as it was freezing and very windy. Can now say that we have done the Great Ocean Road, so can tick that one of the list. Stopped in Warrnambool for dinner, this was a lovely little town, and would love to go back there one day – great restaurants too for such a small place. There we headed on to our overnight accommodation in Mt Gambier.

Had a bit of a drive around in the morning including heading up to the Lake area, and checking out the amazing Blue Lake, what amazing colour it has. Then we were off via Coonawarra, where we had a snake slither across our path while we were driving, first (alive) one I have ever seen just out in the open. We had hoped to stop in at Jamiesons Run Winery, but the cellar door is now closed and we had missed the place that they now sell from, so never mind. It was our 7^th wedding anniversary today and we have shared many a bottle of Jamiesons Run on our previous anniversaries hence why we wanted to stop there. But we kept pressing on and had to stop in the middle of the road for our first encounter with a Kangaroo and wouldn’t you know it, it was at Stirling about 15minutes from Adelaide CBD, so after 7000kms of open roads, this is where we meet our first Kangaroo – crazy! Pulled into the driveway at about 5pm and so happy to be home! What a great trip and a fantastic adventure, and with 4 kids in the car it really wasn’t that bad! Can you believe it. I would certainly do it again and would definitely recommend it to others.