road trip :: part 2

Saturday morning, feeling very well rested and hungry, we started the day with a lovely big breakfast at the hotel followed by a visit to the Old Bus Depot markets recommended by Robyn. The markets were really good... great selection of foods and nice arts & crafts. It was clearly a popular place but also well laid out so it didn't feel too crowded. We passed on most of the food options since we'd eaten so much for breakfast. The one food item we bought was some handmade (or at least small business made) dried pasta and sauces... very reasonably priced compared with similiar options in Sydney. The pasta sauces which are packaged in flat bags are the most amazing rich red colour.

Next up was the Glassworks. We'd seen an advertisement and noticed it was close to the markets on the map but it turned out be right next door. We arrived just in time to observe a glass artist working with a commentator explaining to the audience which really helped us to understand what was going on. I wandered off to have a look at their gallery and shop while Bernard stayed to watch some more... this was the highlight of the trip for him!

We'd also decided to visit the National Museum of Australia and it was already getting to be fairly late in the day so we went directly there. The only quick lunch option at the museum looked disappointing from a distance but up close it turned out to be the freshest and tastiest concession stand food that either of us had ever had. We had a picnic on the museum grounds next to Lake Burley Griffin. The museum itself was a good experience for both of us and particularly for me since we saw lots of stuff that reinforced what I'd been studying for the citizenship test. Dinner was back at the hotel and we spent a relaxing evening with Bernard helping me study for the test while having dessert in our room.

Sunday morning was not so relaxing. We tried to take it easy but one of us expressed some panic as we were getting closer to test time and still at the hotel. Bernard has learned to take this sort of thing in stride so calmly guided us to the location, to parking and to the test office. Of course we arrived right on time. And we were in the office for a grand total of 28 minutes. There was a table in the waiting area so Bernard stayed there to read the newspaper. The longest part of the process was the paperwork and it took less than 10 minutes to take the test.

Since we'd arrived late on Saturday and didn't really get to visit any of the sites that day, we decided to stick around to see Old Parliament House which was a good choice since the building has been turned into an excellent museum. There was so much to see. One could easily spend the entire day there... we'd highly recommend it!

Finally we tore ourselves away and hit the highway toward home. Early in the trip I'd taken an interest in the pottery of a local artist who turned out to live in Collector (mentioned in road trip). I'd traded email with her over the weekend and we ended up spending about an hour at her studio on the way back... fun!

Since it was getting to be quite late, we stopped for dinner at Goulburn (Subway), marveled once again at the size of the Big Merino, had a peek at the courthouse and then drove on. And then we noticed that the car was low on petrol. Naturally, we started looking and passed a couple of closed petrol stations. The one we found open had handwritten signs on the pumps saying they were out of petrol. So, we continued on the highway toward the petrol station we knew was coming up about 25kms (15 miles) away... and we ran out of petrol. I don't remember driving a car in modern times that so silenty runs of out... no warning beeps that it's low and the gauge is way off toward the center of the car so not in direct line of sight. Anyway, we stopped on the shoulder right next to an emergency phone. Bernard picked it up and spoke with NRMA (AAA equivalent) who said "that'll be a $340 joining fee... do you have your credit card handy?" Next, we called the car share company to find out if they were already members of NRMA... they are but it's $120-180 to add the new car if it's not already on the account... it wasn't. Then, we tried to call Bernard's uncle Graham but his mobile wasn't in a coverage area and we didn't have his home number. So we called Bernard's parents to get the number and they didn't have new number since he'd moved but they did offer to bring us some petrol and we gratefully accepted and settled in with the hazard lights clicking to wait. It turns out that we don't know all of the lyrics to very many songs but we did laugh a lot. Thanks to the petrol rescue, we were home and in bed by 11:30pm.

And now we're off on another adventure that we'll tell you about in a few days...