Author: inspiringmax

E: Elvis House

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For me I think one of the best surprises I have found whilst traveling was the Elvis Presley house, Whyalla. This hidden gem is not known about by many people. The owner, Peter Bleeze is a self confessed Elvis fanatic. His house filled with only Elvis souvenirs is a true monument to rock’n’roll. And he lives it. Yes, he also has neighbours like you and I.

Each room in his house has a theme and each item a story. My husband and I were fascinated. We spent hours there listening and asking questions. Peter had been collecting since he was young and has been to Gracelands on more than one occasion.

“There is no Elvis product that they don’t make.” Peter Bleeze

Peter was very specific as to the time we were to arrive. This was so we could hear his Elvis clocks ‘doing their thing’ on the hour. He states that he has the only Elvis themed shower curtain in the world.

I loved his two door 1961 gold Cadillac the same as Elvis’s which he drives around Whyalla. It felt amazing to sit in.

He has also brought blue suede shoes from the same company as Elvis.

Hearing his stories was extra special to me as Elvis died on my 15th birthday. The fact that he even had his own hound dog really made me smile.

D: Diprodons

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The Diprotodon was the first fossil mammal found in Australia. It is one of our megafauna. It is often referred to as the Giant Wombat. Naracoorte Caves in South Australia are World Heritage Listed and one of the world’s most significant fossil sites. Many bones from the Diprotodon as well as other megafauna have been found in these caves. When we visited we saw some that were being excavated by scientists, which was fascinating.

It has been said that the Diprotodon is the largest marsupial that ever existed. Looking at the Diprotodon head and jaw fossil at Naracoorte Caves was amazing. I still can’t get my head around animals this size roaming around our country. The Diprotodon fossil at Naracoorte was collected in South Australia in1890’s. Diproptodons weighed 2500 kilograms and became extinct about 45,000 years.

C: Cowell’s Crap Art

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On the eastern side of the Eyre Pennisula, South Australia lies the sleepy town of Cowell. With a regular population of approximately 1100 Cowell loves the tourists. They keep their economy running. As it is known for its fishing and seafood industries this is not a problem.

I personally love the town’s peoples creativity. The local artists instead of using an art gallery to display their art, they chose the towns public toilets. They call it Cowell’s Crap Art. Every wall that would normally be blank was filled with fun artwork including the artists name, contact number and price.

In Australia a crapper is slang for toilet and crap is slang for poor quality or to defecate. The art here was definitely a play on word as the quality of the artwork was great. I think it was very clever as people can chose to go into an art gallery but very few can avoid the town’s toilet.

B: Big Bogan

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Australians love to laugh at themselves and to build BIG tourist attractions. So when Nyngan in Central West NSW wanted to attract tourists, the answer was simple. Create a big attraction. The town chose a bogan.

Bogan is a common slang word in Australia that means ” an uncouth or unsophisticated person regarded as being of low social status. People from Nyngan have been called bogans for years as the town is on the Bogan River. However, as it happened the river was not named after the people of the area but by Australia’s Indigenous people and for them bogan means “birthplace of a king.”

I loved the BIG BOGAN. He is a blend of two cultures. He stands like a king at the river and is dressed like an aussie bogan. He is 5.96 metres tall and weighs 1500 kilograms. In true Aussie fashion, a few years after the sculpture was built he was given a dog called Rusty to help with his fishing.

A: Australiana Pioneer Village

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The Australiana Pioneer Village has been put together by moving original buildings from the local area a central location. The properties that were moved into the village in 1970 were a mixture from the late 1800’s to early 1990’s. Since 2004 the site has been heritage listed so it will remain in tact for future generations.

It is an amazing display of the courage, creativity and spirit of the Australian pioneers. If they didn’t have something that they wanted they found a way compromise or make it. I loved the the stories that were attached to each of the buildings. I think my favourite example was Case cottage that once a month on a Saturday night took out the middle wall and put it on the front lawn. This allowed the cottage to turn into a dance hall for the locals. They even had a arranged a safe way for single young ladies to safely be transported to and from the dance. Australia’s first Ubers you might say.

The other building I was particularly surprised with was the villages police station. Built in 1888 it was in use at Riverstone until 1970 when it was moved on site. I was 8 at the time so it seems surreal to me that a police station this small was all the area needed.

The sample of hand made whipped butter made during a presentation was amazing. I would love to have the patience to make my own.

The Australiana Pioneer Village is an 100% volunteer organization. It’s slogan is Proud to Preserve the Past. They have done a great job of it and I am very grateful.

Let’s Travel Australia- 2024#AtoZChallenge

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#AtoZChallenge 2024

For anyone who is not aware the #AtoZChallenge is held every year in April. Bloggers are challenged to chose a theme and write a post everyday except Sunday. The posts start at A and go through until Z. The other fun part is also blog hopping and visiting new and friends blogs.

During this years #AtoZChallenge I will share with you some of the interesting things, places and people I have discovered as I travel the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

I hope that you find my theme interesting. Australia is a very unique and varied country that can be very different. It is not unusual to hear the phrase “only in Australia.” On our travels in Truby (our blue Iveco truck and her red slide on camper) we mostly visit small towns. Nearly all are filled with history and have found some way to reinvent themselves using creativity. At the beginning of the day it is not unusual for us to have no idea what we will find on our journey. I love it. I hope that you find my selections interesting and that they give you an insight into our Australian culture.

For any of my #weekendcoffeeshare friends who are also joining in the fun I will attempt to keep up with your posts. Thanks for hosting Natalie.

Coffee Catch-Up #46

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If we were having coffee I would tell you about our trip to Windsor a few weeks ago. Our purpose was to win a trip to Disneyland. I had won a golden ticket in a chocolate bar just like Charlie. Winners were then registered and put in a lucky draw barrel. By attending the special event, if we won we received extra spending money. Why not we thought. The local lolly shop held the event. All 40 staff were dressed in Disney costumes and acted in character. Unfortunately, we didn’t win but had a great time anyway. By the way Mickey sends his love.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how pleased my husband and I were to find an old fashioned All You Can Eat Pizza Hut. These are rare in Australia these days. However, when our kids were little we would often go and celebrate our special events at the local one near our home. Just being at one always brings back many happy memories. We were also pleased that the pizza and salad bar options hadn’t changed much in the last 30+ years.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how much I am enjoying blogging again. Not only writing and creating the posts but also blog hopping. I love visiting other blogs and seeing how they interpret the same themes. I am really looking forward to joining this years A-Z blogging challenge next month. It will be my 4th time but for the first I am the most organised this year.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how pleased I was to discover the cause of my hip pain. It has been going on for about 5 years. Initially, it was thought to be osteoarthritis, something I couldn’t do much about. Fortunately, it turned out to be a form of bursitis and was fixed by a simple cortisone injection. I love being able to walk without a limp again.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about our work Paint and Sip social last year. It was a lot of fun. Our theme was The Grinch. He was fairly easy as we could trace him rather than draw him freehand. It was a fun way to spend a Saturday morning and despite a few sips, I think my painting turned out well. Me being me of course had to change his background colour from black to one that I made up myself.

If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world?

Thanks to Natalie for hosting #weekend coffee share.

Pull Up A Seat

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During our travels we have found many interesting seats. They are often made into works of art which draw us in to photograph them. So recently I was excited to find a new weekly challenge to join others who enjoy similar things. Thanks to XingfuMama for hosting.

While wondering the streets of Port Lincoln we noticed this beautiful lounge display outside a church. Initially I didn’t notice all the details but as we got up close and sat down, I smiled. It was covered in mosaics and they were beautiful. The ottoman even had a game of scrabble on it. There was also an exquisite mosaic rug both on the back of the lounge and on the ground in front of it.

CMMC: ToWel Animals

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Getting back to blogging means reconnecting with Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge. (CMMC) Each week she has a theme. As its the 4th week of the month the theme is about a chosen letter contained in a word. February’s letter is W or X.

When I pondered these letters, the first thing that came to mind were the very cute toWel animals we found in our room on the cruise ships. They are adorable. I loved them. They are created by the amazing hospitality staff. On Carnival they were changed every day. Sometimes they left the old ones but sometimes they ran our of toWels and had to change up the old ones.

On P&O we were only occasionally given a fun surprise.

My favourite day on Carnival was when we woke up and went to breakfast to find the whole pool area covered in toWel animals. They were everywhere. Unfortunately it was raining so many were wet but they still looked great.

I loved them so much I bought the book on how to make them. My plan is to surprise X and any future grandchildren when they visit.

Which one is your favourite? Mine is the pig.

CFFC: Variety Bash

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Todays Cee’s Fun Fotos Challenge is all about cars-new, vintage or toy. When looking for inspiration on this weeks theme I discovered some photos of a Variety Bash vehicle. A few years ago I happened upon this car on one of my Sunday walks. She’s a gem.

The Variety Bash is a weeklong fun charity event. Participants work in teams, dress up and decorate their cars. To be eligible to enter cars must be a minimum of 25-30 years old depending on car type. The must also be registered, roadworthy and insured.

Throughout the weeklong adventure Variety Bashers call into small towns and communities along the way raising money for sick, disadvantaged and special needs kids.

Great job teams. This year the Variety Bash ends in Newcastle so if I am free I will join them at the finish line.