On Holiday - Day 1

It was exciting to go on a trip together.  We hadn't been on an actual vacation in over a year.  Daniel and I like to move around and see things a couple times a year.  It was definitely time.

First we had to walk downtown to pick up our hired vehicle.  We reserved it a day early so we could use it to run last minute errands and so that we could leave while the next morning was still young.

Here is where I am going to explain to you something that I find odd about humans.  At crosswalks everyone seems to become completely OCD about pushing the buttons.  It drives me bonkers, frankly.  You actually only need to press this button one time.  ONCE!  And if someone is across the street from you, chances are, that person has already pushed the button eighteen times in a row, so there's no need for you to do it again on your side.  Pushing it forty times doesn't make the light change faster.  This is one of my pet-peeves.  As Daniel and I were walking up to the crosswalk next to his university, a couple was in front of us.  The girl pushed the button, unsurprisingly, one hundred times!  Daniel knows that this act of unexplained but fully accepted strangeness bothers me so he stepped in front of her and said, "Oh hey, no worries, I got this."  Then he proceeded to push the button ten more times for all of us.  I cracked up, which is a much better reaction for me.  One of these days the following conversation is going to take place:

Me asking Stranger:  "Why?  WHY why are you pushing that button more than once?  WHY?!"
Stranger answering me:  "I don't know.  Why do you care?  WHY?!"
Me feeling foolish:  "I don't know, either."

Our car for the week was a little red Toyota Yaris.  I told Daniel it reminded me of a Tardis because it was quite roomy on the inside.  We were happy with our choice.  I also noticed that most of the cars around us on this holiday were either white or silver.  Our bright red colour wouldn't easily be unseen!

 On the road

We're always happy about cows

Pretty Unknown Mountain

Our first stop was in Warwick.  We had read about an old Abbey that was not to be missed whiling passing through.  Abbey of the Roses was built in 1891 for a convent of nuns formerly called, "Our Lady of Assumption".  As time changed, so did the space and it is now a bed and breakfast, as well as a place to hold special functions, weddings, etc.  Daniel and I didn't know until we arrived that it was now a private area.  We found an open entrance near the back and walked around for a few minutes before deciding that we'd seen it and it was time to move on.  The front door was open, however it didn't look light or inviting and we honestly didn't even know if we were allowed to be walking around.  We snapped a couple pictures and made our way back to the car.

 There was a lot of lavender on the grounds that Daniel enjoyed smelling

The weather was nice for a cool winter morning

Daniel read about an eatery called Byron's Place that sounded a lot like Ruthie B's in Springfield.  The reviews were great so we stopped by to have a late brunch before driving further south.  We ordered an open sandwich and walked around looking at all the trinkets.  They were not exactly antiques, though it was pretty in there.

I'm sure I'm the oldest item in this room

Our meal was massively underwhelming.  The toast was burnt, and I mean black!  The swiss cheese on top had no flavour and I told Daniel that if Gordon Ramsey had been served this meal, he would have spit it out.  We're not quite so dramatic.  I just gave mine to Daniel and ate crisps in the car!  It's probably not helping that I've been watching gourmet cooking shows; my expectations of food are definitely going up.  

We drove by this church on our way out of town

I'm getting pretty good at taking quick photos in a moving car

It did not take us long to get into Stanthorpe.  We had planned to stay there for two nights because we wanted to see a lot of Girraween National Park, and other attractions we'd found online.  The owners of the motel were lovely and helpful.  We easily checked into our room and Daniel promptly disappeared.  Just outside the front door he left his socks and shoes so I knew he couldn't be too far away.  Next to our motel there was a park with easy access from our room so I took a stroll and found him doing yoga on the grass.

Park Meditation

I sat down a metre from him and did some meditation of my own.  It was quite peaceful out there and I silently sat, watching ducks swim and eat, children playing in the park across the creek, clouds forming shapes and dissolving again.  

Go Ducks!

Back in our room, Daniel said that Pyramid Rock was calling to him so we set out to see Girraween National Park.  We were both excited to spend some time in nature.  The air smelled so clean and crisp and we finally spotted our first wild kangaroos.

Obviously, they spotted us, too

Near the parking area, this one hopped out of the way from our car

Daniel and I were full of appreciation and ready to explore a new part of this land we're currently calling home.