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Today was maintenance day.

We had been having some trouble with the car when it was running on gas (compared to unleaded petrol) and in addition to that, Ray was sure there was an issue in the brakes. We have travelled 30,000 km, pulling a caravan most of the way and are really conscious of the extra stress cars are put under. It’s important that we look out for potential problems. 

We had located a specialist gas mechanic who happened to be nearby and we were booked in for 8am. We dropped off the car and then walked 1.4km to the shopping centre to while away some hours while they fixed it. The Castle Hill Towers Shopping Centre is 3 levels of shops, cafes and restaurants. It was mammoth. Ray was persuaded to try on some wigs, very 80’s looking (I’m convinced his real hair must have been very much like this at one stage when he was a teenager because he really didn’t want to take it off) and Caleb discovered the view from the top of the spiral staircase. We went down it with the intention of looking up to see the upwards view but realised that also meant that we were looking up the skirts of ladies. Oops! We quickly moved away. We wandered around until we decided to head back. Ray had been in touch with the mechanic and they needed to fix the brakes also so we knew it was going to take a while. Even I was ready to leave by 4:40pm. We had been there since 9:15am. 

I did score my (late) birthday present. A watch which took me numerous visits to the store until I finally made up my mind. At least it ate up a few hours. 
The car was ready and $800 later we were able to use the gas again and were satisfied that the rear brakes were in the best towing condition having being totally overhauled. 
We were totally exhausted, and Ray got a good insight into how shopping CAN be tiring. Luckily, I’m pretty good at it!