Wednesday 23 February 2011

Stranded on a day trip and another self portrait

On Sunday, Beau, Brad, Aaron and I went for a drive out to our favourite spot in the Lamington National Park region - Burgess Park - which is situated beside Christmas Creek.  It was a very hot, humid day with temps of around 35°C/95°F but, due to all the rain last month, the creek was a great height for swimming and perfect for cooling down.  Beau and Aaron couldn't resist going in for a dip shortly after our arrival.

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE

The water looked so refreshing and inviting but, due to a surgical procedure on Friday, I could only watch and envy.

Beau and Aaron LOVED it!

Brad wouldn't have been able to negotiate the rocky creek bed so he stayed with me near the car.

Our dilemma started when Beau realised after his initial swim that his car keys were in the pocket of his board shorts.  His computerised car keys.....and, yes, the water killed them.....YIKES!!   We couldn't get his car to start because its computer couldn't detect a signal from the key.  To add insult to injury, we were in the valley of a national park region and, try as we might, we could not get reception on our mobile phones.

We were stranded an hours drive from home! 

After trying to send several text messages to both Michelle and Reece with 'failed to send' results, Beau said he was going for a walk to see if he could get reception somewhere else along the country road. I didn't like the idea but there wasn't really much choice.  My kids often laugh at me because I go into panic or worry mode when situations like this arise but I tell you it's hard not to when you're a Mum.....especially after I'd had a dream the night before in which Beau was bitten by a venomous snake.

About 15 minutes after Beau left, we heard Aaron's mobile message alarm sound off and we were over the moon to see a text message had reached Michelle.  She was at my house wanting to know where Beau's spare car keys were.  We had no idea so I decided to leave Brad and Aaron at the car and walk a little ways down the road to see if I could call to Beau.  Problem was that, even after my walk down the road, my son was nowhere in sight.....my 'snakebite' dream kept rearing its ugly head in my mind and I started to feel very unsettled.  I walked back to the car in tears and tried to get back to Michelle but the mobile phone reception was nonexistent again.  All we could do was wait.

Thankfully, some time later, Beau made it back...MUCH to my relief.....and, after more attempts to get reception, we were finally able to get onto Michelle and establish where his spare keys were.  Michelle, Mikayla, and Alex then made a mercy dash out to Burgess Park.  Due to the circumstances, we were there for longer than we had intended and we ran out of drinking water so we ended up quenching our thirst with fresh creek water.  To my surprise, it was crystal clear and delicious!

Despite the initial upset over the waterlogged keys, it turned out to be a nice, relaxing day and even Michelle and Alex enjoyed a lovely swim in the creek.  We are already planning another family day out to the same spot very soon and, without doubt, we will all be making very sure that Beau's keys are on dry land before he goes for a swim in the creek next time.

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This is my self portrait for last week which was Week 7 in my '52 Weeks of Me' challenge.  I took this at Burgess Park.  I love all the greenery around me.

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Currently, the New Zealand earthquake death toll is 75 and still expected to climb.  The news footage is heartwrenching and my tears just flow!  After all the emotions I felt with Queensland's severe flooding last month and, now this, it makes me wonder what's next?  It certainly puts life into perspective, that's for sure.

~ Love, light and peace ~

9 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear about the deaths and damage in New Zealand. You're so right--after the flooding in Australia and now earthquakes in New Zealand...well, let's hope that mother nature leaves you all alone for a while with all her wildness!

    Sounds like you all had an adventure! That dream would have been worrisome to me, too. Glad all turned out well and it turned out everybody really had a pretty good time. What a gorgeous spot to be stranded!! Beautiful!! It is so nice to see pictures of all your green and the running water. ;)

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  2. Oh, that water looks delicious! Isn't it great how something that looks like a huge mess can end up being a happy experience! Such a good thing to keep in mind...that we don't always see the big picture, especially when we're panicking.

    And I would have been having the same snake thoughts!

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  3. I'm glad you're all back safe and sound. That must have been a stressful day for everyone.

    I love seeing all the photos of your part of the world....it looks so lush.

    When I heard about the earthquake I thought "what next?" My thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones or been injured, and for those who have lost everything. It's so sad.

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  4. Hi Serena,

    Wow how a lovely trip turned into an ordeal! :(
    But I am really happy that everything worked out and Michelle and her family were there to help you. :)
    Next time you dream of snakes, remember dreams don't usually happen the way we saw them. Maybe the snake resembled your worries about things in your life at the moment.
    Hugs and YES please make sure car keys and cell phones are kept in a dry and safe place next time. :)

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  5. Hello Serena, looks like you had fun and a little bit of adventure with your car keys...good to know that all of you are safe and sound. Sad to hear about the earthquake in New Zealand..your right it does put life into perspective. Take care and have a peaceful week.

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  6. I would totally have snakebite dreams if I lived where you do too! Looks like a fun day. Hope the keys don't cost too much to replace.

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  7. Hi Serena, glad you got your spare set of car keys. You all certainly had an adventure.
    A good book to read why we're going through all this earth change is Nanci Danison's 'Backwards' In her near death experience she saw the earth in history of three epochs and we're entering into the third one.lovexx
    Julie

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  8. That looks like such a beautiful relaxing place Serena, I wouldn't be telling anyone nearby LOL. Turned out to be quite an adventure by the sounds of it.
    Lee:)

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  9. That water looks great Serena. Sorry I haven't been around, I'm working on a project and tonight's the first night I have free. Sorry about the death toll, that so sad. I'm glad your day turned out good after all despite the stress. I'm glad everything is okay. I love that self-portrait of yourself. Okay I have to go make the rounds to other blogs I haven't been to and I bid you a great week ahead. Take care.

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