End of the road

We woke early to the sound of water dripping on the roof of the van. Rain had continued through the night and the trees above the van were dripping wet. Eventually we crawled out and started our last day with the van.

Our breakfast routine ran smoothly but we also had to deal with completing the packing of our bags and setting the van in order. That required dismantling the double bed we had been sleeping in and restoring its couch configuration. We were not sure where the table top that had been part of the bed base should go so we set up the table. After a couple of tries Majella found a neighbour who would accept the rice, frozen vegetables, coffee, and other groceries for which we had no further use. Meanwhile I made sure our waste water had drained and put other things in order.

By 8 am we were on the road. The most direct route would have been out to the highway and on to Perth but instead Majella drove through town for a look. There were some fine old buildings and a large modern indigenous cultural centre by the river. Unfortunately it was not open at that hour so we missed visiting it.

It was a cool morning but by then the sun was shining and the breeze was not yet the high winds that were subject of a BOM warning. As we drove off on the highway there was a rainbow.

As we approached Perth the forecast front appeared, the sky darkened, and we drove into rain. For a short distance the rain was intense and the wind picked up but we could see a patch of blue sky ahead. Before long we were through it and in sunshine again.

I had located cheap diesel about 10 kilometres short of our destination. It was a little way off the highway and busy but we waited and filled up. On the way back to the highway Majella pulled into a side street and we swept out the last of the now dried sand and dust we had tracked in this morning.

We found the THL location easily and parked. True to form, their ‘navigation’ was shonky. The first door was marked Exit with an arrow indicating Entry some distance away. The second door was locked. Exit was the only door so in we went.

Once I had handed in the keys we sat and waited while they did the necessary checks. The place was crowded with people waiting to pick up vans but it took just a few minutes to get the all clear.

Check in at our hotel in the city was from 2 pm and it was just after 10 am so we were in no hurry. I had done some homework and knew that a 940 bus from the stop outside THL ran every 15 minutes and would deliver us to within a few metres of our hotel and was free for seniors on Saturday.

There was a man waiting at the bus stop. Assuming he knew the drill, as the bus approached we stood and waited quietly. The bus did not stop and he ran after it probably hoping it would be held in traffic and he could get it at the next stop. We waited 15 minutes and were careful to be visibly hailing the next one. It stopped and we boarded. This driver stopped at the next stop too where there were passengers who had not been waving and at the stop after that where the one person in the shelter indicated he did not wish to board. One of these drivers may have been aberration.

Thirty minutes or so later we were deposited at a stop just a short walk from our hotel. I had booked the hotel, but not yet paid, in March and had a record in the AllAccor app, in a PDF I had printed from the booking screen, in the email confirmation, and on paper if needed. The counter staff could not find any record of my reservation but having seen my documentation eventually checked us in and gave us early access to our room.

We dropped our bags, rested for a moment, and then went out. Majella suggested Hay Street Mall so we walked there. On the way she thought the best idea for a cold, wet, and windy day might be to see a movie so I searched and found Palace Cinema. From what was on offer she selected Touch which was showing at 1 pm.

It was just 12 noon so we walked back onto the street and ate lunch with coffees at Coffee Club. There was still time before the movie so we walked some more before going back to the theatre. The movie was excellent though we needed to keep our eyes open because the dialogue was sometimes not in English and we needed to read the subtitles,

When the movie finished sometime after 3 pm we walked down to Elizabeth Quay. As we did there was a sudden shower of rain but it soon passed and we found our way to the Island Bar where we shared a dish of sweet potato fries with mulled wine for Majella and red ale for me.

We thought about using the free city bus back to our hotel but that would have saved just 4 minutes of a 15 minute walk and was hardly worth the trouble. The sun was shining again by then and we enjoyed the walk.

For dinner we went no further than the hotel restaurant where we shared a Margherita pizza. Then it was time to relax and prepare for our early flight home tomorrow.