After days of set agendas and complete itineraries, Adelaide arrived without a plan or a program. We felt a little bit lost! Never fear though, after a quick deak out for a small indulgence at Mickey D's, Dad came back with the food and Mom returned with the tourist brochures and we all began to formulate the next day's plan of attack over french fries on the floor. The kids were a tad punchy having been dragged to things that were more for mom and dad and so we were determined to find something a little more kid-friendly. The museums would have to wait!
Enter the Beach House in Glenelg. What a find! Only 20 minutes away by car, Glenelg is a quaint seaside community right on the ocean. The Beach House is a brand new indoor playground with water slides, mini-golf, bumper cars and a million and one arcade games - it was the perfect tonic for the boys who were craving a little good ol' fashioned fun. Not to say that mom and dad didn't have a little fun, too! Being a weekday, we had the place to ourselves and enjoyed the very cool water slides - with screams and laughter all around. Bumper cars a cool indoor climber and mini-golf rounded out a really good morning.
Because we had also decided to explore the Mclaren Vale wine region which was about one hour from Glenelg we had rented a car from Avis for the day. It was a full-size Ford Falcon with all the fixings and a lot of fun to drive. It also made the day much easier as it allowed us the chance to dictate our own pace of travel. The driving went smoothly and allowed us to get our bearings a little bit for when we are back here with my mom and dad in January.
After the Beach House we wandered around Glenelg eventually finding a great pizzeria called the Good Life. It's a wonder how a perfect meal can not only settle your stomach but your mind and this lunch did just that. It was a very content and happy family that enjoyed munching on the tasty pizza that day. I love when we have such a fun and relaxing family meal. Soon we were back outside strolling the strip and looking for a shark experience that we soon discovered had closed. We then wandered around the local museum which was very well done. Back outside we checked out a fisherman catching cuttlefish (squid) off the gorgeous pier and walked along the beach enjoying the sun and sand. Glenelg is one of the popular places Adelaidians (?) go to cool off and we could see why - I would recommend it to anyone coming to the area.
Back in the car we were off to find McLaren Vale. This was not a particularily popular choice with the boys - which was understandable. However, we (the parents, the adults) were determined go and both Lint and I trotted our fairly stern speeches about it being "Mom and Dad's turn to have some fun". Once you climb over the hills that line the coast you immediately descend into beautiful rolling countryside with vineyards as far as the eye can see. This was the home to Rosemount Estates, Chapel Hill and countless other large and small wineries. I think we counted at least 20 names of vineyards on the posts in the village of McLaren Vale. Not really knowing our arse from our elbow in terms of the best place to go, we opted for two we knew that were close to each other - Rosemount Estates and Chapel Hill. Both were fun to explore and we bought some cellar door stock that tasted good or seemed a little bit different. Colin joined in the experience while Al sulked in the car with his Nintendo. I have to admit, at six years old and visiting a winery, I might have wanted to stay in the car as well!
The rest of our time in Adelaide was spent wandering around Rundle Mall a huge pedestrian shopping area a mere 5 minutes from our hotel. When we had arrived we discovered or were reminded that there was no pool in our hotel to which Alex declared 'This is the worst hotel ever!" Without that bonus distraction of hotels past, we were required to do a little more wandering and window shopping than on other legs of the journey. There is plenty to see in Adelaide but we were running out of museum and zoo energy. Some of this subsequent window shopping culminated in a last minute Toys-R-Us purchase, "just because". On another one of these walking sojourns we strolled down a fairly seedy part of Adelaide and were delighted to see that Miss Nude Canada was in town - that was not something we tried explaining to the boys. Perhaps we were running out of our super-tourist-parent steam.
And thus I will end this instalment with this final thought. It's a wonder what "we" do as parents in the effort to have fun with and in the hope of raising successful, healthy children. We set up rules and routines, plan programs, guide, counsel, play, harrass, monitor, nurture, protect and love all in the best way we know how hoping that some of the good things will stick. At the same time you attempt to coat your child with enough sense and smarts so that the bad things will slide off and away. When traveling away from "home" it is very hard to stick to the rules and routines because of the novelty of the adventure and the fact that home has been wedged into a suitcase. As Adelaide and much of the past 12 days has taught me, there are times when it is important to relieve oneself of the guilt of falling off the wagon in terms of good eating, good parenting, or even being a "good" tourist. What's more important is that you are together with your kids, seeing and experiencing new things while at the same time building a base of wonderful memories - whether on a beach, in McDonalds or even in your hotel room. To sweat the small stuff in the middle of the Australian outback is to completely miss the point as to why you're even there.
PS - The "mo" was a momentary experiment in honour of Movember!
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