Travelling Saleswoman – Day One

For the last few days I have been on the road. In my current role as a change manager and communications nerd for a government agency that has something to do with infrastructure I am required to go to some of the offices around the state and tell them about the project I’m working on, but will affect them in a big way. Actually it’s a small way; it just affects a lot of people.

So on Wednesday morning I left home at the fairly civilized time of 8.30am to drive to Dubbo. Unlike Monday when I left home at 6.30am to drive to Newcastle and back in a day.

Back to Dubbo or rather out to Dubbo. I drove up through the Hunter Valley and onto the Golden Highway. Such a nice name for a highway, it brings images of sunshine and flowers lining the way. It did have the sunshine and as I drove further out west the temperature climbed for a nice 22degrees to 29 to 32. By the time I reached the outer marker (fifty kms to go) it was 36 degrees and it was noon.

I had been traveling behind a truck for the last forty or so k’s and needed a change of scenery so when a straight stretch disappeared into a haze I put my foot down and started to go round him. As I was traveling just ever so slightly over the speed limit on the wrong side of the road a rabbit dashed out in front of me. I had that moment of thought that asked if I should break. I didn’t and a fox followed the rabbit across the road in front of me. Both the rabbit and fox survived the road crossing, but I have no idea what happened later as I was already thanking my lucky stars I didn’t collect a fox on my grill at 130.

I arrived in Dubbo with plenty of time before I was due to deliver my sales pitch. It went well and everybody was nice. After a little snack on some tea and scones I was on the road to Parkes.

I was due to deliver two sessions in Parkes on Thursday but I decided so I didn’t have to get up to early I would stay overnight in the town that brought us The Dish. I was actually quite excited and had even requested this run ‘cause I knew G, my follow deliverer had no interest in going out west. I like driving and love the barren wasteland that is the great Australian bush. So I found myself hurtling toward Parkes at 3.30 on a Wednesday afternoon hoping to catch the Parkes Radio Telescope Visitors Centre still open. Just after four I passed a sign that gave the opening time of said Visitors Centre. I had 15 minutes until it closed and over twenty k’s to get there. I could do it! And I did with five minutes to spare. I went in, took the lovely pictures you see here, brought a cloth patch for my ‘look where I’ve been’ blanket and left. I can now say ‘Been there, seen that’.

After enquiring at several Motor Inns and being told ‘No room at the Inn’ I found one on the outskirts of town. The Bushmans Motor Inn is a four star establishment with a swimming pool, an onsite restaurant and room service for those who don’t wish to mingle. All they had left was a spa room so I found myself standing at the doorway to the bathroom looking at a moohosive bath, big enough for three and thinking, ‘after driving all day I think I need to have a bath.’ So after dinner of steak (sorry, but there was fish on the menu but there is something that just doesn’t feel right about order fish when you’re hours away from the nearest water way or ocean) and veggies and a glass of very nice Cabernet Merlot that went straight to my limbs I wandered back to my room for a bath.
It took twenty minutes to fill the gigantic tub and it was worth it. It was so big I had to stretch my toes to hold myself in place with my head barely above the water line, when I lost my stable position I would slip under the water in a less than graceful manner. So the relaxation part of the bath was short lived, but I had fun away. As a showerer normally the novelty of a bath was nice. The warmth of the water had assisted the glass of wine nicely and I was well and truly ready for my bed and it was only eight thirty.

A couple of interesting facts about Parkes;
1 They have a street named after a totally unfashionable (usally a mullet haircut, black jeans and t-shirt and flannel shirt and has a old bomb of a car) young man who live outside the city. (Edna, this one's for you;-)
2. They are twinned with Coventry in the UK. Ironically in thr UK when you've done something bad and no one speak to you, you are 'sent to Coventry'