It was to be a relatively quiet day today. Nothing more than a quick trip into the centre of Adelaide was planned where we hoped to take in the displays of a couple of museums and relish in the shopping on offer in the big smoke. As a bonus, we had been talking to another couple yesterday who had mentioned that they left their dog in their van while out, even though the park rules clearly state otherwise.

Not wanting to cause any trouble, nor feeling energetic enough to walk all of the way down to the front office, Bec instead rang the office to seek clarification. It did indeed turn out to be factual that we can leave the dogs here in the comfort of the van, so leave them we shall.

Considering the weather this morning, I have no doubt that they will be much more comfortable here in their own environment, with the heater roaring all day long for their enjoyment. It is again forecast to be a miserable day of the grandest order, with strong squally winds, bucket loads of rain all the while not expected to raise the mercury to much above the 18^oC mark.

On the way into town, we thought it a good idea to figure out where we might park. As it turns out, this was easier said than done, as all of the commercial car parks are constructed with a much smaller vehicle than ‘The Beast’ in mind. Even letting all of the air out of the tyres wasn’t going to lower our overall height by enough to comfortable navigate through the parking tombs. We were therefore at the mercy of the parking Gods and headed into the centre of town with only a vague hope that we might be able to find some on street parking.

As it turned out, we were fortunate enough to trip across some metered parking only a block or so away from the museum. It was pricey, but was also our only option. At least we didn’t have too far to walk in the cold and rain to get to the museum. Bec less so than I, considering I dropped her off at the front door of the museum, before parking ‘The Beast’.

By the time I had raced back to the museum on foot, Bec was about set to leave already. There was a procession of running, yelling and screaming school aged kids scooting around the entire place, making such a racket that even holding a conversation was difficult. They have no manners and think it quite appropriate to push past you on stairs, then leave grotty handprints on all of the display cases.

We had only come to see one particular exhibit though, so figured we may as well grin and bear the unkemptness of the crowd, push our way to the very top floor to see what we’d come to see, then get out of there quick smart. We had been told while in Coober Pedy about an opalised dinosaur skeleton fossil and it was this amazingly unique piece we had come all this way for.

According to the blurb in the display case, it is a skeleton of an Addyman Plesiosaur, “a marine reptile that swam and hunted in the icy seas of inland Australia, 110 million years ago”. It is now a series of bones, all displaying the telltale colour of opal. It was quite amazing.

The Addyman Plesiosaur.

Having reached the uppermost floor of the museum relatively unscathed, we decided to peer into a few of the other galleries as we returned to the ground floor. The museum holds some very interesting relics, evidenced as we wandered through the ancient Egyptian displays, the Robert Mawson gallery, two floors full of Aboriginal artifacts and many display cases of stuffed animals. Had it not been for having to fight with the little people to poke our noses against the glass cases, we may have spent the entire day wandering quietly about the museum.

While the Egyptians were creating elaborate mummies…

…Australian Aboriginals were crafting seats for bikes that were yet to be invented.

Instead, we walked a further block into town to the Rundle Mall. This is the premier shopping mall in Adelaide and features a generous mix of shops fronting the mall, as well as many others in the numerous arcades and shopping galleries off of the main strip.

Shopping in Rundle Mall.

We spent as long as we could, but not as long as we would have liked browsing through the many stores that took our fancy. We were asked to complete a survey in one place in preparation for their upcoming foray into online sales. At the end, we were asked which age group we were in, at which the saleswoman guessed us to be in the 36-55 range. “No, 25 to 35.” Snapped Bec as she strode away, leaving the poor woman very red faced and apologetic. At another boutique, Bec bought some special nightwear, which she said I would just have to wait to see.

Having only paid for three hours of parking, it was soon time to weave our way back towards ‘The Beast’. We had just enough time on the way back to have a quick browse through the Immigration Museum, where $2.00 per person was the suggested donation required to gain us entry. I’m not a fan of this idea of enforced donations. Either you have an entry fee or you don’t have an entry fee, but just don’t expect me to pay heed to the recommended amount. Therefore, I split the difference and slipped $1.00 each into the box. I figured that was fair since we most likely would have spent twice as long looking through the exhibits had we not been in such a rush to return to ‘The Beast’.

The Immigration Museum.

Before leaving the city, we drove to the opposite side, where we thankfully located a car parking space right around the corner from an antiques market we had read about. We have been here before, and are always amazed at the hotch potch of goodies that are amassed in the groaning display cases crammed into the burgeoning building.

It was then finally time to return to the van and the dogs, where we would have a couple of hours to relax before heading out again for dinner. Bec is taking me out for a special, romantic dinner tonight. I was trying to keep it low key, but yes, today is my birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

I had chosen the restaurant, preferring the casualness of the Fasta Pasta place we dined at the other night. So, it probably wasn’t too romantic as the noise level was akin to that at the museum this morning. We did though both walk out feeling rather more ill than we cared to admit, having eaten well more than we might have should have.

Back at the van, Bec promised to unveil todays purchases for me!!!

Bec models her sexy new lingerie.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.