March 2025 - Page 2 of 2 - PLAYWORKEATREPEAT

Death Valley and Valley of Fire State Park Adventures

Hey friends, I hope you are having a wonderful day! Today, I’m sharing Part 5 of our incredible USA trip. So far, I’ve covered our arrival in Part One. A day of unexpected mall exploring in Part Two. Because our original plans had to change due to the LA fires. Then, in Part Three, I shared our magical two days at Disneyland. Part four was all about Universal Studios, where we had an unforgettable time experiencing the rides, shows, and behind-the-scenes Hollywood fun. Road Trip In today’s post, I’m sharing the next leg of our adventure, where we road-tripped through Nevada and Utah. I’ve spent the last couple of days retracing our steps to write this recap. We just packed so much into our days and saw so many incredible sights! It’s been hard for me to remember exactly when we did what. Luckily, I took heaps of photos of everything and anything. So it’s really helped me to piece everything together. I’m still kicking myself for not writing any notes along the way—big travel fail! Steve, Sam, and I got to enjoy the trip without stressing over the logistics—my cousin and her husband took care of all the flights and hotels while we focused on planning the fun stuff! It honestly felt like we were kids on holiday with our ‘mum and dad.’ Since they already have two kids, I’m sure to them it may have felt like they were travelling with five kids! I can’t thank them enough for all the planning and effort they put into making this trip such an incredible experience for us. And Cousin S definitely deserves a medal for all the driving he did! There are just no words to describe how amazing this adventure was. So, today, I’ll be covering the first couple of days of our road trip. We made our way from California, driving along the iconic Route 66, and then through Las Vegas on our way to Zion National Park. Along the way, we explored the stunning landscapes of Death Valley and Valley of Fire State Park. I can’t wait to share all the details (plus another hundred or so photos) of these unforgettable stops and the incredible sights we saw! I hope you like travel posts! Route 66 For part of our drive, we followed Historic Route 66, passing through spots like Victorville and Barstow, where old gas stations still hold onto that classic Americana charm. The petrol stations were incredible—they’re nothing like the ones we have here in Australia. Some were decked out with old artifacts, vintage signs, and even classic cars on display. And they sell alcohol!! Haha, that totally blew my mind. In fact, my mind was blown earlier in LA when I saw alcohol sold at Target. In Australia, alcohol is only sold in licensed stores, so seeing it in places like Target was such a huge surprise! I loved how we stopped at so many interesting places, and this country store was incredible! They sold everything—from clothes and snacks to jerky, stones, and even more alcohol. I’m not a huge drinker, but I must sound like one with how often I mention it! I just couldn’t get over how different it was here. The next stop was McDonald’s, where my cousin J introduced us to the most delicious breakfast ever—sausage biscuit. I had mine with hot chocolate, and honestly, it will go down in my mind as the best breakfast ever! I’ll be doing a separate post about all the food we ate and how I struggled with eating so much fast food. But this sausage biscuit was something else—soft, buttery, and so satisfying. I had no idea what to expect since we don’t have biscuits like this in Australia. In fact, we refer to biscuits as cookies! But in the US, “biscuits” are more like our savoury scones (only better). The Chevron with all the cool artifacts on display. On the road again! Look at the landscape! It’s nothing like what we have back home. We passed so many of those massive trucks, and even though I completely trusted Cousin S at the wheel, I still found myself closing my eyes. Big trucks on the road are definitely not my favourite! Death Valley National Park Three hours after leaving California, we made it to Death Valley National Park. In the following pic, we got caught just as we were about to do our jump! Before we left on our trip, one thing we all agreed on was that we would film ourselves jumping at all the major signs. I’ve put all our jump shots together in a reel, which you can check out here if you’d like! It was hilarious, and we definitely had to do a few takes because, well, we weren’t always the most coordinated! Oh my gosh! Death Valley is just something else! It honestly felt like I could have been on the moon, or even better—Tatooine! Yep, if you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ll know exactly what I mean. Death Valley was actually used as the filming location for many of the desert scenes in Star Wars: A New Hope.. So yeah, I guess this was me during the whole trip! I love this photo of my family. This path is where R2D2 walked! Pinch me now!! Here we are, heading back to the van, but I could have stayed forever! Next stop–The Visitor’s Centre Then, it was back in the van again, where I took this incredible photo. Las Vegas at Night It was starting to get dark just as we got to Las Vegas. We stopped at Olive Garden for dinner. Then jumped back in the van for a nighttime drive through Las Vegas. It was incredible! Along with being eye-opening! Some of the nighttime activities we saw were a bit sketchy, to say the least. This time around, we just drove through, but on our way back after visiting the national parks, we spent a

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Lydham Hall Historic House Open Day

Hi friends and happy Monday! Wow, that weekend went by fast! And now, here we are in the first week of March already. I hope you had a great weekend! Mine was a good mix of some super chilled TV time on Saturday and a visit to Lydham Hall Historic House in Rockdale on Sunday. I’m excited to tell you all about it, so let’s get started! Saturday Steve and I walked to our local café for some delicious Portuguese tarts—so good! I had an iced coffee, and Steve went for an iced chocolate, which was perfect for a hot day. I was about to say a hot summer’s day, but since Saturday was the first day of March, we’re officially in autumn now. Not that it means much yet—I’m sure it’ll be a while before the temps start to cool down! Once we got home, I pretty much camped out in front of the TV for the rest of the day and into the night! I haven’t done that in ages, but I think I’m still adjusting to being back at work—I was exhausted. Plus, the right side of my neck was sore from tension and probably jaw clenching. My body was begging for a lazy day, so I listened. Steve worked in the evening, so I ate dinner and started binge-watching Big Little Lies. When it first came out, I remember hearing so much about it, but I never got around to watching it. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the first couple of episodes, but if I had to sum it up in one word—disturbed comes to mind. It’s an intense series that dives into domestic violence, complicated relationships, and just how fake people can be. The more I watched, the more I got into it, and by Sunday afternoon, I’d finished Season One. It’s definitely not a feel-good show, but I’m hooked, and I’ve already started Season Two. Sunday – Lydham Hall Open Day This year, we made it to the Lydham Hall open day! It’s something I had been wanting to do, but somehow I had missed it. Lydham Hall was built in the late 1870s and is one of the oldest homes in the St. George area. I live in the area, so it was very interesting to explore this piece of local history. Every room had a volunteer who shared their knowledge of the house and gave us some great insights into its history. It was so interesting to hear about the different eras the house has been through and the people who’ve lived there. Each room had its own little story, and it was all so fascinating. We were even encouraged to touch things, which made it feel really interactive. I opened a few of the books on the shelf and couldn’t help but wonder who George Southern and Aunt Maggie were. I kept thinking, what did they look like? What were their lives like? Dining Room Dinner was served! Haha, Lydham Hall definitely gave off some serious Downton Abbey vibes. The dinner time gong. I just had to try it out and gave it a little clang. The Kitchen This nice man explained how a kitchen of the time functioned and showed us where they kept their meat. I meant to ask him how long the meat was stored for. But I got distracted looking at the butter churner and forgot. I did lift the irons, and they were so heavy!! The Bedroom This gentleman shared some really interesting information about the beds. Apparently, the mattresses were made with layers of horsehair and topped with a feather mattress topper. The bed frames had legs to keep bed bugs out, and the mattress was held in place with crossed rope—kind of like modern-day slats. But here’s where it gets interesting: the legs weren’t enough to stop the bed bugs from crawling onto the beds. So, they came up with the idea of spreading horse dung under the bed! The bugs were attracted to the dung instead of climbing onto the bed. Back in the day, the ropes used to hold the mattress in place would loosen over time with the weight of the mattress and the person sleeping on it. If the ropes got too saggy, the bed would become uncomfortable, and—well, you might end up sinking toward the horse dung underneath! So, to avoid that, people had to regularly tighten the ropes to keep the mattress firm and the bugs at bay. It’s funny to think about how much effort went into something we take for granted today, like a comfy bed. And this next bit of information just about blew my mind– that’s where the saying “Goodnight sleep tight don’t let the bed bugs bite” comes from! It’s all about tightening the ropes to make sure the bed stays firm and the bugs don’t get to you! Haha! Wow, I never knew this! Lunch Time After the fantastic history lesson, we made our way to the back of the house for something to eat. I loved how they had set up the little tables. Most of the tables were taken, and I thought we’d have no luck finding a spot. Steve walked over to one of the benches in the garden while I stopped to check out the menu at the counter. Just as I turned around, I saw a couple leaving, and I quickly made my way over and snagged the table. So there I was at the table, and Steve was at the bench further away. I tried to discreetly call him over—”Pssst…hey, Steve.” Nothing. “Over here, Steve!” Still nothing. Of course, everyone else around me could see me waving my arms in the most ladylike way I could (not). Then I had a brainwave and called him on his phone: “Hey, turn around I got a table!” hahahaha!! We ordered the Tattie scones with smoked salmon and sour cream. The other things on the menu