The Captain has been making a habit of joining us in the early hours of the morning, on our bed, snuggling between us at our feet. 

I know that dogs on beds has always been a complete and utter “NO” where Ray is concerned so I’m absolutely blown away that he is allowing this to continue. 

My theory is this:

1. He can’t be bothered complaining and retirement has finally mellowed him enough to allow it. 
2. I’d tell him he has to make Henry go back to his own bed and at 3am he can’t be bothered. 
3. He figures we are all on holidays including The Captain who, let’s face it, is really in charge. 
4. He secretly loves it!

Now, I’m not that naive to think that once Ray reads this, Henry’s nightly jaunt will suddenly stop. I’ll provide an update…

So, today I woke up to fur baby snuggles and hugs from Ray. I was having an Outback Australia 53rd birthday!  

Ray had done his absolute best to ensure I have a special morning with a limited amount of resources. Yesterday afternoon he had disappeared into town to “do a few things”. I knew the score. After 24 years together, last minute everything is very much Ray’s style but he always comes through somehow. I was interested to see what he could conjure up at 3:30pm on a Friday afternoon in the Back of Bourke. A town known as being the literal “Middle of Nowhere”. The challenge was on. 

Ray handed me a birthday gift bag. Impressive. I expected unwrapped gifts for the lack of wrapping paper and sticky tape. Inside was a country magazine. (The newsagency was obviously open yesterday afternoon, well done Ray.) Ray had picked a lovely magazine “graziher” and flicking through it I couldn’t wait to read about the lives of country women and the ways in which they built relationships with the land and the people on it. Good pick Ray. He thought I might now be a country girl after spending so much time in the Outback but I think that’s a very long shot!

I also unearthed two packets of my favourite lollies, liquorice allsorts and jersey caramels, lucky the newsagent had those too. I also found not one, not two but three birthday cards! Two were from Ray and one from The Captain. One was a 50th card doctored to become a 53rd card, (limited selection I guessed), the other a 3rd birthday card, also doctored from Henry. Rather cute. This was typical Ray fashion and he’d probably do this even if there was a birthday card he could have chosen “off the shelf’ instead. I was also presented with the bracelet purchased at the Broken Hill Mint, as lovely as I remember it when I chose it. So, an excellent birthday morning indeed.

Before setting off for our destination, Lightening Ridge, Opal mining country, we went past the Visitor Information Centre where Ray had been told there was a cafe that served coffee and breakfast.(Sneaky enquiries). He had everything planned and even knew it was dog friendly somehow. We walked through, the receptionist mesmerised by Henry’s cuteness as she came around from behind her desk for a cuddle. Enjoying some coffee and breakfast we had a lovely morning in the sunshine.

The road between Bourke and Lightening Ridge was uneventful except for the rollercoaster roadworks that left the road with drops in it that made Henry sit up in his bed. We literally all left our seats and Ray had to slow his driving to 80 kilometres per hour. 

We stopped for lunch in Walgett pulling up at a cafe. The food was delicious and we shared a piece of homemade carrot cake, made by the shop owners mum from her grandmother’s recipe. It was like nothing else I have ever tasted. Amazing. The further we travelled, the darker the sky got and the rain started to fall. As we reached Lightening Ridge it was raining on and off. Our neighbours we spoke to while we were setting up said they didn’t mind as they told us the last week had been 35+ degrees and oppressive so they were enjoying a bit of “juice from the sky”. It soon became muggy, still hot enough for t-shirts and singlet, but drizzling on and off. 

As we pulled into the caravan park to pay for our site, Henry and I stayed in the car while Ray went to pay. When he returned, he handed me a key with he number 7 on it. I first assumed it was a toilet key and wondered why we had only one. There should have been one for the ladies and one for the gents. 

“Where were we exactly 10 years ago today?”, He asked.

I had no idea what he was talking about.

Ray was looking pretty pleased with himself, so I knew an explanation was on its way.

“10 years ago today, we were in Hervey Bay and for your birthday Caleb and I knew how much you were sick and tired of using the public showers and toilets while we were travelling for a year full-time, so we booked an ensuite site. So…here. I’ve booked us an ensuite site again.”

I laughed so hard because this was typical Ray. Even though we had a brand new caravan with a state of the art ensuite in it, Ray still thought about the meaning behind his idea rather than the practicalities. I just couldn’t stop laughing all through our set up. What a birthday present!

In between drizzle we explored the park. This one is a doozie with doggie daycare, an off lead dog park, a gemstone fossicking area – it’s huge. It has over 100 sites. We took Henry to the off lead park and stopped to do a bit of fossicking along the way. While I was looking, believe it or not, I found some white opals! They were tiny, but they were there. Finders, keepers.

It was later than we expected by the time we wandered back so Ray found the options for dinner from reception, organised woodfire pizza with salad, (but forgot the salad), and we planned out the rest of our trip during the evening. The rain kept falling, the humidity hung around and I opened up a bottle of rośe and toasted to my 53rd year.

*Thanks for all my birthday love and messages X