Cat Tales: Miscellany and Mischief

Day 4--Port Augusta

30DBC December 4 Prompt: Early start today, though the non-drivers can sleep in the car. Chances are, we can rent 2-3 8-9 seater vans and cram everyone and their stuff in it. Hopefully you're all travelling light! Once in Port Augusta, we'll be staying at the Majestic Oasis Apartment Port Augusta and checking out the arid lands botanical garden . There'll also be an outback day tour from a local for those interested. We'll leave later tonight to avoid other cars on the way to our next destination.

Good grief. Why does 6 AM come so early in the morning? Despite being used to getting up at such an early hour back home, here in Australia, it does nothing but bring back a sense of that jet lag I'd been fighting the first two days. I drench myself in cool water from the shower and pack my coffee nice and tight in my thermos before piling into WakeUpAndLive 's car. Though the drive is three hours, I can't fall back to sleep. My travel anxiety is kicking in full force now that we're on the road for an extended amount of time. SB Musing asks me what's wrong and in general distracts me from the road, for which I am grateful. It makes the time pass quicker, for sure.

Once we are in Port Augusta, we check in to our hotel and then head off to the botanical garden. Everything is so beautiful, despite all the plants coming from what I'd imagined to be "dead land." I take lots of pictures as the tour guide talks.

The day tour is also quite interesting. We ended up riding horses, some of us with an inherent grace, others of us, not so much. It is still fun and a learning experience for sure.

I've had enough of people for the day, and my nerves are shot, so once we pull back into the hotel, I eat dinner alone in my room and write some in my journal, jotting down some ideas for new plant species to include in my fantasy world. I also call my husband and we pray our Rosary together before I crash utterly for about 45 minutes. Then, with a sense of reluctance and wonder, I stagger out of bed and back into the cars for the long trip to the next new place, making sure my phone is fully charged and my music turned up to drown out my anxiety.


AlyCatAuthor