Trip Four - Part One - Feeling David Lynch

Just as I was recovering from jetlag, Paul and I commenced a journey up to country New South Wales for a family visit in time for Paul's brother's 50th birthday party. The trip to Orange is about a 9 hour drive and as we left Melbourne in the afternoon, we stopped for the night just a hour or two outside of Orange in a town called Cowra. Cowra is famous for being the location of a Japanese POW camp in WWII, and now boasts beautiful Japanese Gardens and a World Peace Bell. We arrived late, found a hotel which strangely had the outdoor pool going even though it was definitely below freezing - this is the coldest part of Australia - and wandered down the street in search of dinner. The only place open at that hour was the bistro attached to the pub, so we gladly filled ourselves there. The menu was large but the only item not covered in a gravy or heavy sauce was pizza! Paul said, "Welcome to the country!" As I looked around at the nearby tables I noticed most plates consisted of some animal substance on top of fries, doused in a yellowish gravy. I asked for potatoes instead and received what I'm sure was made from a powdered mix. The food sat heavy in our stomachs but we were appreciative to be fed warm food. As we were finishing, a skinny man in a too tight gray suit, with large pertruding nose hairs and an overly friendly grin that exposed tobacco stained teeth, appeared at our table with a round tin tray. He seemed out of place amongst the casual beer-drinking locals. He asked if we liked the band, which we could barely hear in the distance but from afar sounded awful. At first we thought he was seeking donations for the musicians but soon realized he was the owner of the place helping to clear our dishes. He invited us to come over to watch the band and with nothing else to do, we complied. As we walked through the swinging doors to the bar, we noticed an odd assortment of locals scattered about the tables. The music was coming from the next room further on, so we continued on through the crowd. When we turned the corner, we got the first glimpse of the band, two men, one of which was quite short and tubby with very long hair, playing enthusiastically from a small stage to a crowd of zero. Yep, we were the only ones there. We laughed at the ridiculousness of it all but picked up some pool cues and began a game at the nearby table while the band played in front of us. They actually weren't bad once we got close. The mix of music was bizarre, from Def Leapord to Kenny Rogers to Frank Sinatra!! I clapped loudly after each song as there was no one else to do so, but I couldn't help but giggle each time. With all the strange characters we thought we were in a David Lynch film! The situation was just odd enough that I played my best game of pool ever and beat Paul twice (absolutely unheard of). Eventually the band stopped playing, and sat down for a beer next to the bar, so we headed out into the icey cold night, back to our hotel where we cuddled up under electric blankets. Australian buildings are just not equipped for the winter, very inefficient, so I'm always freezing! Quite often bathrooms have windows that dont shut, just slits to the outside, and no heat! We never watch TV at home but for some reason Paul flicked the switch as we tried to get comfortable in what seemed like a tiny bed. We watched some French film which was basically sex with little dialogue until that got boring, then a bit of Scary Movie 4, before finally giving up and going to sleep. The next morning we woke to a thick layer of frost on the car, as we headed out for a country breakfast on our way to the Japanese Gardens. The gardens were beautiful and we had a peaceful morning stroll,. What a wonderful way to start the day! It was so quiet and uplifting and getting a little fresh air and sunshine was great after spending so much time in the car. We also rang the World Peace Bell before leaving for the last stretch to Orange.