So it's here, our last day in WA. I could stay at least another lifetime. An absolutely splendid start to the day, I managed to get my wedding ring caught in the zip of my bag. How the hell I managed that I do not know, but there we go! I failed to get it unstuck, and then had to wriggle it off my finger for Si to try and get it out of the zip! He did eventually, but we still don't know how I managed to get it stuck in there.
We stashed our bags behind the reception desk at the hotel and used their wifi to do some last bits of paperwork etc. Last day blues had kicked in early, but who better to spend our last day with than Mamma Kay? Once she was home from dropping Joel at the airport we caught an Uber out to Warwick, which is about 15-20 mins from the city. When we arrived at Mamma Kay's house we reminisced over previous stays. Mamacreminded me of the time that I rang them at 0300hrs, Jim answered the phone "Jim Durrant" then said "3am" and hung up. Mamma Asked him who it was , as you would at that time in the morning, and his response? " Claire, she wanted to know what time it was" before he turned over and went back to sleep. Dear god, only me!!! I was such a fuzzy wuzzy. Actually I think I I probably still am ! Anyway, After more stories and memory revisiting we went to Warwick Mall for lunch. Miss Mauds was todays eatery of choice, the food was delish!! The Mall has a large selection of eateries, 3 supermarkets, and a wide variety of general shops in it, and it's in a great little spot. No need to go anywhere else, which makes it perfect for mamma.
Miss Maud's quieted the hanger pangs and growls emanating from our tummies and we went for a road trip around Scarborough, along the costal drive way. The sea was pretty choppy today and not many surfers about. That didn't make a jot of difference to us and certainly didn't stop us enjoying the blues, greens, turquoise and teals of the ocean against the white beaches. What made it really special was mamma Kay telling us about it being her and Jim's favourite places, before they married and after. Their love story is wonderful, and as Carey says, they're my favourite lovebirds. I'm just gutted Si didn't get to meet Jim, but so so happy I could introduce him to Kay.
Loathe to cut the day short, we had to because we had a plane to catch. I could feel myself filling up as we drove away from Mamma Kay, a good hard swallow helped somewhat but my heart was heavy leaving her. Our driver back to the city was a right grumpy git so much so I didn't feel he deserved a tip.
Collecting our bags from reception and asking them to book us a taxi to the airport, which they kindly did, within 10 minutes we were enroute to the airport. I think he elected to take the scenic route because it took ages and the clock was ticking up dramatically. I almost had the urge to give it a subtle tap to ensure it was working properly.
Our internal flight to Adelaide was with Virgin Australia, and practically the whole check in process was automated. Quite frankly this is not what we are used to! I need a person! We located one who kindly checked us in and then scuttled off to try and locate an airport wheelchair. After 15 minutes she came back empty handed and said that it would be sorted at the departure gate. Putting us in the lift and pointing us in the right direction she left us to our own devices. We were called forward and boarded first. I'd selected seats with extra leg room and we were in the 4th row. Is had an email offering an upgrade to business class if I wanted to bid on it. As we passed through the 6 business class seats I was pleased I'd not bothered. They weren't a great improvement on the extra leg room ones we already had and definitely not worth an extra $200+ dollars each. If it was longer flight I may have considered it but for just under 3hours I didn't feel it warranted it.
The flight took off a little late, but was smooth running all the way. The setting sun was vibrant above the clouds but it was the clouds I was mesmerised by. They resembled a cross between not quite ready Swiss meringue buttercream, icebergs, and mud flats. Weird I know, but I'm sure you'll see what I mean in the pics
We landed in Adelaide and were the last off the plane because there was only one guy doing the special assistance and there was another wheeler on board. Mildred was waiting for us outside the aircraft door and once I'd transferred we headed to the terminal to pick up our bags. It was like a ghost town, and I had the feeling that they were waiting for us to get out of there so they could all go home. We just managed to get to the sturdy one before a grumpy lady could throw her in the left luggage cupboard never to be seen again. I think she may have been tired because she had a face on her like a slapped arse, and practically growled at us when we claimed the sturdy one as ours.
Locating the exit was no mean feat, no one around to ask and me getting concerned we'd end up being locked in overnight. Finally the exit doors loomed in front of us and we found our way to the taxi rank.
Taxi driver was chatty enough, and when he popped the boot to put Mildred in he discovered a gas tank in there so Mildred had to come in the back with me. With Si safely deposited in the front we were off to the hotel. I already knew it was a self check in having been there before a few years ago. One of my reasons for picking it was its proximity to the airport and my MAIN reason was the fact it was a round hotel, and that fact just amused me. As I say I've stayed in it before and I thought it was ok. Si however was of the opinion that I should be dismissed instantly from my role as tour manager, to say he wasn't impressed is an understatement. I don't think his bad impression was helped at all by the fact that there was an Asian gentleman trying very hard to get into the hotel via the self check in at the door. I don't know how long he'd been there but he was on the phone to the customer help desk. He couldn't seem to grasp that he had to swipe his card through the machine despite the instructions being very clear. When the guy on the phone told him he was doing it wrong because he could see him on the camera, he spun around like a scalded cat, asking where are you where are you! Whoa calm your tits buddy. The guy on the phone could obviously see us too and encouraged the Asian guy to step aside so we could check in. He also advised him to watch carefully, which was probably his best suggestion all night. Our checkin was straightforward and once we had our key in our hands, Si helped the confused gentleman. Finally we got him sorted and we were in the hotel. The lift is compact, but we fitted and the corridor was a little narrow which made getting into the room a bit awkward. Once we were in it was fine, plenty of room, nice clean bed and walk in shower. We also had a balcony, that looked out towards the beach and Glenelg. A quick brew sorted us out before going to bed.
Much love
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