Tamworth – Part I

June 30, 2016

I had a great sleep today.  It is crazy to believe that I have spent basically the last 13 days in some sort of campervan.  It was an amazing adventure, and I’m so glad I did it.  This morning, I woke up warm!  What a thought.  Today, we traveled around Tamworth.  Mark’s mother, Betty is in the hospital, so we went down to see her.  WE also stopped by where Shell (Michelle) works, and had great coffee.  It was a quiet day, but I need to relax.  A little laundry, a little rest.  All good.

July 1, 2016

I had a HUGE shock this morning.  I got on the scales, and I’ve lost 15 lbs. since I took off on this adventure. Wow!  I am below 175 now.  Amazing.  With that renewed knowledge, we took off for a day of shopping and sightseeing.

Our first stop was the Truckee’s Memorial.  Tamworth, being very rural, has a huge reputation of being a central hub for trucking in New South Wales, thus the Memorial.  I was thrilled that they are going to put a plaque with John’s name on it in the Memorial.  We picked out a rock that gets beautiful direct sunlight. It’s a good place.  They place the plaques once a year in October, so Shell will send me photos then.

We then went into town.  Peel Street is the main drag in Tamworth.  It is a wonderfully old town, and very picturesque of rural Australia.  Out in the bush, it is a large, small town.  It is the country music capital of Australia, but nothing like our Nashville.  There is the Golden Guitar, which is a HUGE GOLD Guitar statue.  All up and down Peel Street, there are many shops of all kinds.  There’s even a Target.  John’s father was the Insurance salesman in town until 1982, so his office is amongst the store fronts.  I think it’s a bakery now.

We were shopping for some warm clothes for Stacey, as well as a costume for the Pub Crawl. I’ll explain that in the next few days.  We walked up and down the main street, went to several “op shops” (second hand stores including Salvo’s, the Salvation Army), drank heaps of coffee, and just got completely worn out.  I’ll post pictures at a later time, but just imagine the pictures we’ve all seen of America in the 40’s and 50’s. and that is downtown Tamworth.

Ok, I’ll say it now, I LOVE a store called Spotlight, which is kinda sorta like a cross between JoAnns and Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  The second admission is that I just love this small mall called Shopping World.  It has a Woolies, Big W, a couple of clothing and jewelry shops, and the best Kebab place in the WORLD.  Ok, a Kebab is not a Kebob.  The best I can think is that it is like a gyro.  It is just wonderful.  You can get beef, chicken or lamb, with hummus, all sorts of cheese and “salad” (Lettuce) and dressings like garlic, sweet chili, or garlic.  It is rolled up in a wrap that is not unlike a tortilla.  It is just YUM.  We stopped there and ate.  Delicious.

Came home, and we were all so full that we sat in front of the TV and watched footy (rugby) and zoned out.

July 2, 2016

Not much today.  Just a nice fun day.  Relaxed all day.  Once huge highlight was heading into town with Mark and Shell and watching a game of ARL, which is Aussie Rules League.  It is difficult to describe, but it is a cross between rugby and soccer, with all the roughness of rugby mixed in with the finesse of soccer.  It is played on a huge oval, and there are no pads.  We watched a couple of quarters, and then Shell and I took off and went for some coffee down on Peel St.  When we got back the game was just about over, so we went over to see Betty at the hospital, and home.

July 3, 2016

Today, Shell, Stacey, and I went down to Newcastle.  Stacey had a doctor’s appointment on the 4th,  so we headed down there.  It was a beautiful car ride, taking about 3.5 hours.  The scenery was just beautiful.  I saw several ‘Roos along the roadway.  They can be very dangerous, as they tend to hop out in front of cars.  If you hit one, the damage to the car can be horrific.  Not to mention the damage to the roo.

We checked into the hotel, and then went searching for the doctor’s office.  It was about 13 minutes away, but I’m glad we did look for it, so getting there the next day was way easier.  We then returned to the hotel.  We had a triple room, with two small twins and a bunk bed.  The first room we had didn’t have a working heater, so they moved us to another room with the same setup.  The toilet and shower was just like on a cruise ship, where you have to step up on a platform to use it.

We couldn’t figure out what we wanted for tea, so we went down the hallway to the vending machine. They had not only the usual crap, but also had some delicious frozen meals very cheaply prices.  We each got one, heated it up, and went back to the room for our feast. It was a special night with the three ladies.

July 4^th, 2016

Today we got up early and took Stacey for her appointment.  It was going to take a while, so we dropped her off and went to McDonald’s for coffee and brekkie.  When she was done, we went back, picked her up, and headed to Tamworth.  As we were driving along, we got a phone call from Jack, John’s oldest son.  He and his family wanted to stay a couple of days at Michelle’s house.  That was great, because Shell and I had been taking about the fact that, while I was going to be able to see Andrew and Katie, I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to get to see Jack.

Jack, Kellie, and three of their four kids arrived around 8:30 pm.  It was wonderful to see them. John always said that he reckoned that as long as Jack was alive, John would never be dead.  Boy is that true.  Jack is the spitting image of John, only a bunch taller.  We sat and talked for hours.

July 5^th, 2016

Shell, Mark, and Stacey all had to get up and go to work, so I was left with Jack and his family.  AS we talked, we devised a scheme where I will go tomorrow up to their home in Mungundi. I’ve never been there, so it will be an adventure.  Riding in a car with three kids under the age of 10, I may need a Xanax!

I started talking with the kids, and showed Roy, the oldest, Youtube videos of our Battlebots.  He was just awestruck.  Now, you need to know that I held Roy when he was 3 days old.  I have only seen him a couple of times since then, and he is now a hale and hearty 10 years old.  When Jack, Kellie, and the other two went to town, Roy wanted to stay with me.  We went out for a walk down to the local IGA store (grocery) and he talked my head off about Minecraft! I can’t get away from the nerds!  Truly, it was wonderful to see the kids.  I’ve really enjoyed it.