Of mice and missions

 It started well, of course.

Bobbin got comfy for the long drive.

short rest at Elizabeth Town to recover from trauma of fuel gauge behaving badly

great excitement as we queue to board Spirit of Tasmania in Devonport

disbelief that mice not allowed in restaurant

consolation provided by the beauty of The Big Smoke,

and this was only Port Melbourne at 6am

all good basking in the Dimboola sunshine

while I made a pilgrimage to the quirky coffee shop where Sandrine and I have rendezvoused over the years

We arrived at Heths' Pearl Resort in the early evening, having made a hair raising, tortuous, and unsuccessful, attempt to cross from Crafers to Christies Beach to visit Mum before 4pm.  I certainly felt that I needed to unwind after that.  Bobbin feels familiar with every inch of the Adelaide Hills.

Pearl Resort delivers the goods,

all the goods

I did get to visit Mum the next day, and to dress up in a becoming yellow plastic gown and blue face mask, not just to support Ukraine, but also because of a gastro outbreak in the nursing home.  The party atmosphere continued that night as Heths, mouse and I sang and danced for 2 hours while Fleurieu Floosie hosted a radio show including dedications to moi.  Much squealing and doing the locomotion in the kitchen.

Bobbin was more than happy to enjoy the resort's facilities while Pearl and I pursued dangerous missions like travelling on the Glenelg Tram ticketless because I was unable to find my Adelaide Metro Card.  We had been invited to escape the Black Queen at https://adventurerooms.com.au/adelaide/ with a group of Pearl's friends.  Not my usual sort of jaunt but when in Adelaide...

Rundle Mall at dusk

Considering the skill required to find the venue, The Black Queen was no match for us.  We escaped her with 20+ minutes to spare.  Smug coffee and pancakes at The Pancake Kitchen, then an illegal return to Glenelg.

Turns out Glenelg is quite a groovy place at night

so we celebrated with a gelato each - cappuccino for me, sticky date pud for Pearl.

Little did I know that celebrations were a little premature.  I had escaped the Black Queen but not her curse...

The next day, Heths introduced me to the Hamra Centre Library.  I had cunningly placed a hold on a book there from the comfort of my computer in Triabunna.  I could find my SA library card but not my Metro Card.  Incroyable.

The Hamra is a wonderful community centre with so many reduce, re-use, recycle ideas.  Here people can leave anything that they think someone else could use.  They also had cloth book bags that you can take and return next time.  Of course, they also had some books

including this rather amusing one.  Well, I thought so.  I borrowed 4 books, and a wonderful investment they turned out to be.