The whole family drove to Melbourne today. All three of us. B started, taking us from home to the Mundoonan rest stop before Yass. Then, making his Hume Highway debut, it was Alex’s turn to drive. On go the L plates, off goes the music.
Limited to a maximum of 90 kilometers per hour, Alex did a very good job of driving and even overtook a couple of trucks.
The spring landscape is green. Along our route are the odd roadside ape tree in blossom and fields of yellow flowering canola.
After pulling into Tarcutta right on the two hour maximum, B swapped into the driver’s seat again, having felt a little motion sick trapped in the back.
I try to sleep again. I woke up a few times in the night due to dreams and our departure at 6.45 am was too early for me.
We turn into central Albury to refuel both the car and our stomachs. We are surprised to discover a couple of Korean restaurants, and a Japanese cafe, but eventually settle on a Vietnamese cafe right in front of our parking spot opposite the cinema.
Before we head off again, we pop into the Beechworth Cafe outside of Myer to buy a couple of jelly slices for later.
It’s my turn to drive across the border and into Victoria while the other two sleep. I can feel myself getting drowsy after one and a half hours and make a stop at the Euroa Service Centre for a toilet break and refresher.
B takes over the driving while I have a brief nap until we are a bit north of Melbourne, then it’s my turn to bring us in. It’s peak hour and the traffic is heavy.as we enter Melbourne, but far worse in the opposite direction.
There are wide multilaned highways and a number of lane changes required, but somehow I manage to get us off the M2 and on to St Kilda Road and all the way to our hotel opposite Albert Park.
After a brief rest, there is a desire to seek dinner, which means a tram ride into central Melbourne. It’s fortunate that Alex’s Myki card is still valid and that I got an electronic version for B just before we left the hotel, because the ticket inspectors boarded shortly after we did.
In the grandeur of central Melbourne, we walk to Roti Bar and eat our fill of nasi kandar, nasi lemak, roti canai and chicken satay in order to feed our Malaysian cravings. Then back to the hotel to recover from our long, long day.
