As Good As A Holiday...

We have just returned from a two week "holiday" visiting family and friends in various places across QLD. That included driving 3000+ kms and staying in six different places, each for no more that 4 nights. A lot of people would find that fun and exciting... NOT ME! I don't do well with 'new' or 'unfamiliar' places. Some of the places we stayed were not unfamiliar at all, but the stress of making sure we had everything we needed and packed it all up at each place was just a bit off putting for me. However, as far as I know, we haven't lost any items. We definitely remembered to take the baby so I think we'll call it a success ;)

Traveling with a baby sure makes you realise how easy life was when there were only two adults to worry about!! I've always been a planner when it comes to traveling. I write lists and make sure I've got things for every possible situation. Climate appropriate clothing, toiletries, medication, updated ipod playlist, chargers for various devices... Then add all the baby things... stroller, cot, cot sheets, nappies, food, toys, kitchen sink... Obviously most things are available at a shop along the way, or you can substitute and make do with what you have. But being prepared makes me feel more in control. I think. Anyway, I always ALWAYS end up over packing. I get home and half my clothes never even left the bag. But better to have too much than not enough right?

So I bet you're all wondering where we went and what we did that could take us so far! (If not, I guess you can just stop reading and go do something more interesting). Our trip was planned around one of my very best friend's wedding. It was held in Toowoomba on 6th October, so we took a week before and a week after so there wasn't too much rushing around. We left Townsville on Sunday 30th to drive the 630ish km to Mum's place in Barcaldine (central west QLD). This trip used to take us around 7hrs, inclusive of breaks. With Abbie it takes 8hrs. One extra hour doesn't seem like a big deal. But putting a baby in and out of the car, feeding her, changing her, and settling her it seems like so much longer!! Anyway, 8hrs and the first part of our trip was over without any dramas. We spent 3 days at Mum's, mostly seeing my family and some close friends (sadly there really wasn't enough time to see everyone I usually do). On Thursday we headed off again, on our way to Toowoomba (in the South East corner). We chose to only drive the 500km to Mitchell which is a bit over half way there. It meant we didn't have to leave at stupid o'clock and we could take our time getting there. Thanks to some road works (and a nice little picnic lunch) along the way it took us 7hrs. Not that bad considering Matthew hadn't driven that way before and I hadn't been that way without my parents driving.

The next morning Abbie woke us around 6:30am, so we decided we might as well pack up and head off after feeding her. The guy at the servo told Matthew head out to Condamine would be much quicker than the main highway because of all the road works. So we went off on a little side quest :D Not a lot to see along the way, and not too many places to stop. The 400ish km trip to my Aunty's place in Oakey took us 7hrs... If this was the raod with fewer road works, I'd hate to think how long the other way would have taken!! After a bite of lunch and a couple of hours to catch up with my Aunty & Uncle, we headed in to Toowoomba to our motel. Saturday afternoon we went to the wedding, which was BEA-utiful! Rach looked stunning in her dress and the whole service was sweet and elegant :) Unfortunately I was feeling rather unwell by the time of the reception, and after much deliberation I decided it was best to go home to bed (rather than being known as 'the chick that spewed at the reception!') I think I was mostly dehydrated from 2 days in the car.

Sunday we packed up and checked out of our room, then headed to my other Aunty's place at Geeham (a little way out of Toowoomba). We had some morning tea and a bit of a catch up before continuing on to my Grandparent's farm at Ravensbourne (a little bit further up the road). We stayed with them for two days and got to see how happy they were to meet their great grandaughter for the first time. To see their looks of absolute love and affection means the world to me! That such a small person could bring so much light and joy into their house for those few days is so special. My grandma is 85 and Poppy is 87, and over the last few years they have started slowing down. They don't seem to let it get to them, but I could tell that my baby definitely perked them up :)

Our next stop was Matthew's grandma's place in Landsborough (sunshine coast). We had lunch with her Tuesday and spent a few hours sharing our cheeky little monkey with her for the first time. I think this is about the time I realised Abbie could actually maneuver herself across the floor in a forwards direction!! Most people would refer to this as crawling. But hers was more of a dig the toes in then drag with the arms type motion.  Later that afternoon we made our way to Brisbane to stay with my friend Zoe for a few days. She makes THE BEST brownies. EVER! (Go have a look - https://www.facebook.com/ZoesBrownies?ref=ts&fref=ts). Zoe & her husband Will were wonderful hosts, opening their home and fridge to us :) Although I disappointed Will when I was given the choice of 200 channels on Foxtel and still chose Neighbours! It was nice to just catch up with friends and not have any major time constraints. We spent a few hours on the Thursday at Chermside with our very good friend Vee, showing her the baby and reminiscing about our uni days. Then it was time to pack up and head home!

Friday was a looooong day. It took us 10hrs to get from Brisbane to Rockhampton! A 630ish km trip... and do you know why?? Road works! Of course! So by the time we got to our cabin at 6pm, I had a tired, cranky baby, and a tired, cranky husband. But we needed dinner. So it was off to McDonald's, where we met up with my sisters who were in town for a wedding. Then off to bed to get some much needed rest for our last long journey home. We really weren't expecting to get all the way from Rocky to Townsville in one day, given that it was the longest stretch of our trip and everything else had taken so much longer than anticipated... But somehow we managed 700+ kms in 9hrs!! Yay, our holidays were over! Wait, yay? Yes, yay. All that time in the car, stopping and starting, waiting for road works and trying not to be cranky at a tired, bored little girl was finally over. We could sleep in our own beds and get Abbie back to some kind of stability.

Obviously it was great to get to see so many people we love, and to share our special little girl with them all. We are very grateful to everyone who gave us a place to sleep and food to eat, and proud of the way Abbie coped with all the changes everyday. To me it doesn't really feel like a holiday, because when you're a mum, you do the same things wherever you are! But having a change of scenery (or 5) and seeing so many special people made it all worthwhile. However, next time I think of driving that far in two weeks, can someone please direct me back to this post??!
Sorry it's so long, I did try to keep it short!! I guess a lot more happens in my life than I realised :D

Stay tuned for my next post on Marwage & twu wuv!