We arrived home about 10.30 last night, and apart from the weather... (overcast and showery).. and the mountain of washing, and general housekeeping tasks facing us.. it is Oh So Good to be home.

Yesterday was a mammoth day, beginning with a few hours of packing and cleaning. Once we were on the road we had two stops (at family) then another two stops for meals. On the first leg to Sydney we heard a screeching sound emanating from under the bonnet, which turned out to be an overstretched and slipping air-con belt. No more air conditioning for the trip home. It was a Sunday of course, and even if we'd managed to pick up a new belt, Marc didn't have the tools with him to fit it. Naturally the temperature soared, hitting the mid-30's (around 100F) and so we sweltered the two hours from Sydney to Tea Gardens and wondered how the hell we used to survive summer car trips without airconditioning. (And it is not that long ago that we did so!) Talk about going soft.

Once we hit Tea Gardens we were favoured with a sea breeze, and so we opted to take the slightly longer route home, heading north near the beach, and crossing the Myall Lakes on a car ferry, and driving a bit of dirt road till we rejoined the Pacific Hwy at Buladelah. It may have taken longer, but it was a pleasant change of scenery. It skipped a tedious part of the Pacific Highway alongside a stretch of roadworks (and where we got caught in traffic the other week) and being later in the afternoon, a lot cooler. A dinner stop at Kempsey meant driving the last leg in the dark, but it was a whole lot more pleasant than that god-awful heat of the middle of the day.

But the best part about being home has to be being back in our own bed. For various reasons the three beds we slept in while away were shockers, and none of them conducive to being able to shuffle close for a cuddle (then roll away when he starts snoring in your ear!) let alone a decent night's sleep.

The first two nights were on a brand new queen size bed, but while Marc found it ok, it was too hard for my back, and I found myself even dreaming of getting myself into a hot shower just to get myself moving again - and that was what I had to do each morning.

The next two nights at my parents' place was in their double spare bed, and seeing we are used to a queen size, it always feels squishy. If you try to roll over you either roll smack into each other, or off the side of the bed, and Marc hates it even more given his feet hang over the edge. We usually limit stays at my parents' house because of the damn bed (among other things!)

Then, for the past week at the family holiday house we found that my in-laws' queen size bed had been ruined over time, I guess, by a combination of weight (my MIL is not a small woman) and soft springs. The springs on each side of the bed had more or less collapsed, moreso on the side I usually sleep on, and I had to wedge a spare pillow under my right hip to keep myself on an even keel. With the other side of the bed also slightly collapsed, it made for a ridge line running down the middle of the bed - so there may as well have been a plank of 4 x 2 running down the middle to separate us! The last two nights I took the less-collapsed side, given I'd managed to hurt my right shoulder and upper arm, partly through having woken up one of the mornings having wedged it firmly underneath myself as I'd rolled towards the downhill side.

So, home. Own bed. = Bliss. It might be raining - so drying of the mountains of washing will be a chore, and it's stuffed our beach-going plans. (The weather forecast doesn't look good for the rest of this week either.) I'm faced with a neverending list of cleaning chores that should have been dealt with before I left, plus we have many plans to set in action for 2008. But we did have a good week away. The weather was just perfect, and I have many photos to go through so I can blog about our two fantastic canyoning days with the kids!

And I can sleep in my own bed!

Labels: holidays