misguiding myself in melbourne

This morning was another beautiful one. I woke up a touch late on my mountaintop to light of dawn slithering through the trees. I packed up and was on my way at 7:15am, unwinding my way back down Mount Buffalo (pictured left). I fueled up my car with a load of petrol and was on my way to Melbourne.

What a mess I got myself into in Melbourne! I was not impressed with the labeling or street structure in this city, though once downtown, I wished I had more time to stay. There was a lot going on in this town. People flooded the street corners and the 2007 swimming and diving championships were held this week there. I parked along the Yarra River and walked a kilometer to a visitor's centre. I admit, with a little hesitance, that my biggest motivation to visiting Melbourne (beyond seeing the buildings and saying I'd been there, was to pick up a Starbucks city mug since Sydney had none. So, I found the coffee shop and grabbed the mug with a frappuccino and re-entered the messy streets of Melbourne. I would have done better to get a tram downtown than to deal with them and all the other traffic on the streets. It only took me 2.5 hours and a 1/2 dozen wrong turns to negotiate my way out of the city and (finally) onto M1, The Princes Highway (I would have certainly appreciated a prince waiting for me when I got on). As soon as I entered the freeway, I was in 6:00pm rush hour traffic! That put a bend in my plans to reach the eastern coast at 7:00pm to camp!

Instead, I drove through dusk, stopping at Moe for a couple grocery items and on to Sale where I hoped to find camping. However, nothing seemed open or available; not even cheap motels, so here I am; somewhere west of Bairnsdale, at a rest area (with a bug-infested bathroom), spending a night in the car. What a long day in the car!

The sun over the plains and very distant mountains with billowing clouds was soothing this evening and now the stars are out in amazing brilliance in the southern sky. This may be the brightest night sky I have seen.

Today marks the end of a month off The Ice. From the -40F wind chills of a month ago to a day of 35C in Melbourne today, I have certainly run the extremes on the temperature gauge! I can hardly believe the number of amazing faces and places I have seen. It's been a time of searching and healing for me. I hope I can see things about myself coming into light even after this adventure is over! For now, I'm enjoying being alone with me.