Dad and I got home today, after 19 days of tooling around with his FC Holden across the continent.
We spent:
3 days / 3 nights on the Indian Pacific
1 day / 1 night in Fremantle
5 days / 4 nights touring around the South West, with nights spent at Mt Barker, Denmark, Pemberton & Busselton
4 days / 5 nights participating in, partying at, and cruising at the 14th Nationals
6 days / 5 nights driving home, with nights spent at Coolgardie, Cocklebiddy, Ceduna, Peterborough & Hay
The entire affair was a once in a lifetime adventure for us both, and I can honestly say we were having as much fun at the end as at the start.
Congratulations to Graham & Cathy on their wedding. To plan one's nuptials is very stressful. To organise a Nationals is very stressful. To build a car to a deadline is stressful. To do all three things simultaneously and still be smiling takes very special people. Well done, and enjoy your honeymoon.
Well done to all the members of the FE-FC HCC WA involved in the planning and execution of the Nationals. I've been to every Nationals held, and I don't think I've ever
enjoyed a Nationals as much as this one. Great venues, great events, great people, great city. I want to come back and enjoy more of WA. I think I'm in love with the place.
A special note of thanks to Lorene, Gemma, Deb and all the ladies who worked so tirelessly over the weekend to make sure everyone was fed, happy and looked after. The event would not have been the success it was without you, and on a personal note I would like to say that your efforts certainly did not go unnoticed nor unremarked on, and I trust that your husbands will make it their business to spoil you all now that it's over.
A huge thank you to Frank from the WA Club, who looked after Dad and I so wonderfully, and helped us in so many ways with our pre-Nats holiday. We cannot thank you enough.
Likewise, we had a ball staying with Scott, Jared, Ken and Steve, and spending so much time with people from interstate in the various townhouses. A big thank you to all the Vic club members both at the event and on the way home for all the hospitality. The cruise home with Steve, Min, Simon, Kyle and Jeff was a bonus: it was the Nats that seemed to go on forever.
And lastly, thanks to Dad for putting up with my late nights, general messiness, snoring, insistence on stops for proper coffee (not easy to obtain across the Nullarbor!) and everything else. As I said, we were still having fun even on the last day of the drive back. I think it was about Pheasants Nest that Dad said: "I just remembered. I dropped a 5c piece down behind the bed at Perth. I reckon we better go back and get it."
Thanks again to everyone. What a trip.
