Cheer, Cheer ...

Saturday, 30 May 2015

Dorothy Cat

Arnie Reindeer

Fox Studios Clock Tower

Some of the boys lined up with Cat

Waiting, waiting ...

Here come the Swans, complete with fireworks

Quarter time at the Sydney Cricket Ground

Pokolbin Village

Yesterday was our final day in Sydney and the morning was spent catching up with housework and laundry, before finding our way to the Macquarie Shopping Centre – this time without a 250 metre stretch of toll road!  Friday was also the day someone had been anxiously waiting for – Sydney Swans versus Carlton at the Sydney Cricket Ground.  The nice parking attendant at the SCG (when we visited on Tuesday) had warned us to be at the ground well before 4.00 pm, otherwise we wouldn’t find a parking spot.  So, after skyping Trevallyn Grade 2 and introducing them to a very friendly scrub turkey constructing a mound, we set off about 3.00 pm for the 20-30 minutes drive.  Doris handled the trip very well, even though 75% of the trip was underground, and we were at the SCG BEFORE the parking grounds were even open!  A nice man directed us to the Fox Studios multi-storey car park, which was the same cost.  After a short wander around the grounds (the old show grounds), which were mainly bars and restaurants – and some interesting statues which were obviously related to some in Salamanca Square – we spent the remainder of our wait sitting in the car and reading.

Time for the gates to open and we discovered a real carnival atmosphere in Driver Avenue, outside the venue, with a Navy rock band playing, plenty of stalls and activities for children – we could even sit in the back of a VW and sing the Swans theme song and possibly appear on the big screen in the ground.  Cat said “No.”  We had tickets for the Bill O’Reilly Stand, perfect position to watch football, but were a bit higher (but not too high!) that we would have preferred.  However, we had a perfect view and thoroughly enjoyed the game.  Driving home wasn’t too bad; we weren’t held up in the car park but traffic in the local vicinity was very slow until we entered the first tunnel.  It only took us 40 minutes from the time we left the car park until we arrived home.

This morning it was time to pack up for the drive to Cessnock in the Hunter Valley.  The weather remained mild and calm, with high, hazy cloud.  Driving through the heavy Saturday morning traffic wasn’t the most fun we had had for a while, but the motorway made driving conditions much more enjoyable.  We arrived at the Big4 Hunter Valley shortly before lunch and were allocated a site and given the appropriate instructions, etc.  The site was on the end of a row, with a rounded corner; it would have been quite difficult to reverse in and then the towbar most likely would have extended onto the road.  As the park was nearly empty of caravans, I walked back up to reception to request a different site.  The nice lady did agree the original site was very tight to get into: why give it to us in the first place then???  This afternoon we made the short drive to the Pokolbin Village area, just to get our bearings and for one of us to have a coffee while the other one had a browse through the village shops.

I think Cat is going to enjoy his Sunday.