The Road to Adelaide

Feeling a bit bleary eyed after our sleepless night, we got some pleasure out of telling the pub owners about our unpleasant experience. Evidently we weren’t the only guests complaining – the waitress overhearing our conversation confirmed that a guest the day before had the same complaints. Our late night partiers would probably be looking for another room and other travelers to torture that night.

We had gone from summer to late fall in one day. The weather was reminiscent of Ireland—cold, wet and bone-chilling. The wind was so fierce that the trees were permanently bent. The road speeds varied constantly. We decided that the speed variation was done to keep drivers awake. Driver fatigue on these long stretches of road is a major problem and the signs to warn against falling asleep were frequent. Our favorite: “Power Nap Now”.

We had read and heard about the “Big Lobster” and after hours of driving with nothing to see, we looked forward to this roadside attraction with more than imaginable anticipation. It was worth the long drive. Turning the corner, you suddenly see a HUGE red lobster on the side of the road. Unfortunately, the number of tourists driving by and frequenting the associated cafeteria/gift store must be few and far between, for the store had a “For Sale” sign in the window. Who knows what will become of this classic Aussie attraction?

We called to let Jean and Gordon know that we were on the way- and couldn’t wait to see our good friends again. We fortunately had done a MapQuest search before we left home to pinpoint Keith and Kaye’s house in Adelaide. Armed with the Hertz map and our MapQuest, we found the house with no problems. Jean and Gordon had arrived earlier that day and had a chance to get a bit of a rest. We met Keith and Kaye and their kids, Bennie and Meagan and had “tea” (dinner).

NOTE: Since Jean had already done her typical marvelous job of journaling of this part of our trip, I've made liberal use of her already created masterpiece (ie, plagiarize the heck out of it) and add a few comments.