S'all good, mate

So, there I was. 17 km outside of Canberra, Australian Capitol Territory (pronounced, apparently, "terr-tree"), Australia. We had been driving the back roads of New South Wales and had just kind of wandered down there. But, since we were here, and since towns had been few and far between since leaving the coast, we decided to check it out.

It is a beautiful looking city from afar, and that's how I kept seeing it. From afar. (Side trip: As my first wife would say, "I knew he was warm'cause he'd come from afar*.") See, I'd be on the road, headed in, getting closer, getting closer, heading out again. Never really figured out how to get INTO the city. And we tried three times. Eventually, we got onto a road we thought might head in, but turned out to be the entrance to a parking area for what amazingly turned out to be an outdoor Cajun music festival. So we admitted defeat at gaining entrance to the city, parked (the girl let the yank with the southern accent park for free), and headed in to enjoy the music and vittles.

But that's not why I called you here. Fast forward through the 3 very talented musical acts, some good tasting festival food, and some exceptionally outstanding eyeball liberty, to us being done with the ACT and deciding to head back to New South Wales. ('Nother side trip: My fellow traveler was a fine fellow with the most Australia oriented name. His name was Bushman. Yep, one of them Michigan Bushman's.)

We were having a little trouble getting oriented on the travel atlas that we had. Biggest problem was that there was no detail for the ACT terr-tree, other than a highway circling it and, theoretically anyway, though we never found them, two highways headed into the city. No streets or blow up view or anything useful.

So we stopped a fellow and asked. He gave us directions, which we followed. At the point where we get to the T in the road, he had told us to go right. Our Spidey senses said that the coast was to the left. But, people in Oz had been exceedingly helpful and friendly, and he was the one who lived here, while we were not. So we went right. And drove until we got to the WELCOME TO ACT sign. Dang, musta misunderstood the guy.

We drove a bit until we got away from the terr-tree some, still mentally turned around, and then asked another fine fellow for directions. He was very detailed and exact in his delivery. So, again we took off, secure that we were headed back to the coast, and having a grand old time. Left, left, right, cross bridge, right....WELCOME TO ACT !! What the...

Now we're not sure what to think. This isn't like New York, where you ask for directions to the deli and they send you to Poughkeepsie. So we start wondering if we're just not paying attention.

We ask a third time, this time writing it down, take off, and incredibly end up staring down the WELCOME TO ACT sign again. So we stop in a grocery store parking lot, (And no, we didn't spend an inordinate amout of time in grocery store parking lots. This is coincendental.) bent on figuring out what is going on.

Bushbaby: What's going on?
Ramblin' Ed: Beats me. Feels like a Twilight Zone thing going on here.
BB: Do you think they'd all be messing with us?
RE: Could be. But THREE seperate random citizens? Just seems so unlikely.
BB: But still, every time. The directions are wrong.
RE: Yeah, but I still can't figure why everybody would be messing with us. Reckon it's something else?
BB: Something else? Like what?
RE: Well, it sounds stupid, and I think I'd have heard of it before now, but... you know how water draining in Australia rotates the opposite direction of what it does on the Northern Hemisphere? Do you think maybe left and right are reversed here? Do you think?
BB: I don't think so. Don't make sense. Well,... maybe. I guess it could be.
(Ramblin' Ed leaps into action, exiting the vehicle and approaching the first person he sees. With no introduction, and with no explanation or context for the question, because if they are a population that indeed messes with visitors he doesn't want to tip his hand. He starts in:)

Ramblin' Ed: Excuse me, sir?
Random Male Citizen: Yeah mate.
RE: (Extending left hand) Is this my left hand?
RMC: Yeah. Sure it is. Why?
RE: (Extending right hand) And is this my right hand?
RMC: Sure it is. Say, are you OK?
RE: Thanks, dude. Have a good day.

So I hop back into the car, turn to Bushy and say, "They're messing with us", and we drive off. Follow the directions back to the T, hang a big old LEFT turn and hit the gas. An hour or so later we are looking at clear, blue ocean.

As always, the story you have just read is true.

*"Afar" = "a fire" in Looziana-speak, ie, "he'd come from a fire".

Double dog dare ya, out
Ramblin' Ed