The York Road revisited.
So, with the girls well-dosed with travel sickness medication to prevent the obligatory chuck-fest that accompanies any road trip with them, we set off. By Greenmount they were both dozing in the back seat and in the relative peace, I was able to reminisce about the numerous trips I made up and down that road in my trusty silver 1979 Chrysler Lancer Coupe when I was a uni student. Trips I made at all times of day or night, including one memorable one on New Year’s Morning 1989 or 1990 when, having been at a NYE party on a boat on the Swan River (and not having really organised anywhere to stay afterwards) I decided to drive back to York at 3.00am. I think that was the quietest I ever saw the road.
This time, I glanced anxiously at the fuel gauge as I passed the spot where I once ran out of fuel. Typical student behaviour – I usually ran my car on the bottom of its tank. In my defence…on that occasion we had been farewelling my grandparents at the airport, and I had mentioned to my Dad that I was short on petrol – but he thought I’d make it to The Lakes to fill up. Alas, I didn’t. But my Dad was following behind and made a mercy dash to the nearest roadhouse to fill up a jerry can.
Yesterday, I had plenty of fuel but I made the usual stop at The Lakes anyway to fill up, and buy a drink.
With Queenie awake by this stage, we kept an eagle eye out for the painted tree stumps along the side of the road. Back in ‘my day’ there was a Fred and a Barney, but Fred fell foul of an arson attack some years ago, and I suspect Barney got an attack of the white ants. They have been replaced with an assortment of characters of dubious aesthetic merit.
Long stretches of the York Road have a 110km/hr limit. After years of driving at a snail’s pace on the surburban streets of Melbourne, I found this quite alarming.
St Ronan’s Well was always my “nearly there” marker…and yesterday was no different. As I passed it, I knew we had only about ten minutes to go. Just enough time to pass the site where the fan of my trusty Chrysler flew off its bearing and went through the radiator.
And on Thursday…I’ll be doing the drive again in reverse. Except this time, I’ll be on the Perth Road (you see, it all depends on where you start from and where you’re going to).
