Friday, August 14, 2009

A Tourist's Eyes

I was feeling a bit homebound lately. Not homeward bound but bound to the home. For months we've been meaning to take off for a quick get-away. A few opportunities have come up but fallen through. My sister and her boys were going to stay at a holiday house near Mount Gambier and we were going to join them, but they decided to go somewhere else with other people instead. Then my in-laws invited us to stay at a holiday house at Whyalla with them but Andrew was busy with his master builder's course and a few other work related things so we didn't go. (My sister-in-law and her family, who did manage to go, tell us they had a wonderful relaxing time.)

I was brought up with parents who loved to take holidays. I've been as far as Europe with Mum and Dad. Then Andrew and I have tried to take driving breaks whenever we could, one of the most memorable being up to the Sunshine Coast of Queensland and back down the coast with the kids in 2004. It makes me feel restless not going. I even bought a luggage set which was for sale at a terrific discount a few weeks ago which makes my feet feel even itchier. And I started feeling sorry for Blake, my youngest, because he hasn't had the travelling opportunities that Logan and Emma had. When we did that wonderful trip, he was only two months old.

However, last week I met a friend who I never catch up with very often at a coffee shop on our own main street. She suggested we meet at a lovely little place I've never been into before. It has quite a small shop front so I'd never even noticed it. It's called Sazon Cafe and has a real feel of the Meditteranean about it. The little alcove I sat in has a mirror on the wall which reflected the colourful leadlight window with its morning sunshine perfectly. And the scrumptious drink I had seemed straight from the movie, Chocolat! It was called Mexican hot cholocate, and was full of exotic spices. So I went away feeling as if at least I had a mini-break.

Still feeling refreshed when I got home, I took the kids up for a long hike on top of our own local Mount Lofty Summit. It was a lovely bright winter's day with the beginning of a spring feeling in the air. Wildflowers are beginning to bloom, the panoramic view from up high is fantastic and even Logan, who'd been a bit annoyed at being dragged away from Saturday afternoon football, enjoyed himself. We went into the tourist centre, which has a great outdoor lookout over the whole of Adelaide far down beneath us. Not a bad day out for just the cost of a $2 car park.

Andrew was busy that day and hadn't been able to join us so yesterday, when he had a day off, we took another walk in the local Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens, which has all sorts of rugged hiking trails. We can see that the bushes, such as rhododendrons and azaleas, will be out in full colour in a matter of weeks so we'll go back then too.

It made me remember that last week, when I was invited to speak at a ladies group event with two other authors, the lady who'd organised it asked to say about why I chose our own local Adelaide Hills as settings for my novels. After thinking about it, I said that I'd taken Jane Austen's advice to heart. She said to write about what you were most familiar with. I love reading books that are set in exotic places, but if I stick to what I know, I could be helping make the Adelaide Hills an exotic place for others. I often see artists set up their easels here, so I'd like to do it justice with my own medium; words. I've never come across many other novels that are set in my part of the world. We can all try to put our own area on the map in our own way.

So if we can't get away, the next best thing is to try looking at your own area through touristy sort of eyes. (We do hope to make it away for the week in the beginning of September, though. We'll have to see what happens.)

10 comments:

  1. So glad you have had a more restful week :)

    Thanks for the encouragement to take a break where I can even if I can't get away.

    xox

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  2. What a great way to look at life... take a break in your own back yard :)

    Thanks for the visit to my blog. I am so sorry I have not gotten to you with those questions. I will be doing nothing else this weekend until they are in your hands. :) It has been a bit of a difficult week for me, but no excuses. Sorry Paula. They will be with you pronto. :)

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  3. I know after reading your last book I felt I could be very much at home in your area!

    Our own area is filled with various parks, hiking trails and we are lucky to be a train trip away from the city and all it has to offer. We could easily vacation right here!

    But it would still be fun to go to Australia. ;o)

    Peace and Laughter,
    Cristina

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  4. Good morning!

    I, for one, see Adelaide Hills as exotic. =) I would absolutely LOVE to visit you and your home area and for me, the entire trip would be exotic.

    I'm so in need of a vacation so reading is my escape at the moment since no real vacations are insight.

    Thank you for your nice comment about my college post. My youngest has been going through some self doubt lately about just how much he actually knows. He has been saying that if he had to return to school, he would be so far behind the other kids.

    Due to this high level of self doubt and need for comparison, we signed him up for two virtual school classes on the grade level he would be going into if he returned to school. (Math & Science) So far, he is finding the classes juvenile and "dumb".

    I just received an email from the teacher saying she is impressed with how he is doing and is looking forward to talking to him about the class.

    I fear that conversation. Along with the freedom to learn, I've allowed an open and honest discourse. I'm not sure the teacher is ready for that much honesty.

    IMHO, unschooling and the freedom to learn at a child's own natural pace, is far superior to a set curriculum.

    I'll make a post on our experience soon.

    ReplyDelete
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    It started out as just a place to test blog layouts, but my son and his friends decided to turn it into a real blog. Silly kids...

    ReplyDelete
  6. With all my travels this summer, I have not had time to read others' blogs, so I had to chuckle when I read about your desire to get away. I am looking forward to being home for a long while!

    You are so right about enjoying where you are. After the first three years of marriage, I finally started exploring and falling in love with whatever place God (via the Navy) sent us. There's great pleasure in the peace that God's handiwork bestows on us whenever we take time to search out these treasures.

    Have a beautiful week.

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  7. "Write what you know" - I think I first came across that bit of writing wisdom when I read "Little Women" as a teen. Jo was trying to write about all sorts of exotic things and it just wasn't working ... until she wrote what she knew, a simple story about four young women (just like her family) and that was when she found fame and fortune.

    Besides, our country is such a land of contrasts and beauty - it IS exotic too many! And to those of us who live here, well, "there's no place like home" to quote Dorothy ...

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is a good time, economically, to stay close to home for mini trips. Today, we went to the annual air show at the Coast Guard Air Station that we see across the bay from our living room window. It was free and fun. Yesterday, we went across the river into Washington to the yearly kite festival in Long Beach (billed as the longest beach on the west coast, I think!) My boys flew their kites, along with tons of other people. It was free as well. Free is good.

    I just saw the movie, Chocolat!, a few months ago and loved it. Mexican hot chocolate sounds good.

    Hope you get to go on that Sept. get away but in the meantime, enjoy the local scenery!

    Kate

    ReplyDelete
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