They did make up some time on the flight but we still knew when we got off the plane that we would need to scurry to get to the other side of the terminal for our onward flight to Adelaide. Fortunately we were first off the plane and passing through security was remarkably quick and easy, so, in the end, we made it in good time.
Apart from the usual eating and drinking, I had passed the time on the first flight by watching the recent Oscar-winning Korean film, Parasite and also live TV coverage of Manchester United's Europa League match against Bruges.
The much longer flight to Adelaide is a bit more of a challenge. The first crisis is when the cabin crew tell you your first meal will be breakfast. We know the plane left Dubai at 2 am local time, but our body clocks were still at just 10 pm UK time and we were ready for another G & T. Before breakfast? How decadent.
I watched two more films on that flight - Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Blinded by the Light, a British film about a young man, born in Britain, but to a first generation traditional Pakistani family, growing up in Luton in the troubled late '70's/early '80's, when Thatcherism/Reaganism were at their peak and the National Front were running wild and free. His troubled relationship with his father was saved when he "discovered" Bruce Springsteen - his lyrics spoke to him.
I enjoyed all 3 films on the journey and I think I had a reasonable sleep as well, so I didn't feel too bad, all things considered, when we landed at Adelaide. There was a bit of a hold-up when the captain announced we would have to stay seated for a bit as we had to wait for paramedics to board to attend to an ill passenger. Otherwise, immigration and baggage handling were smooth and easy and our driver was waiting to take us on the fairly short drive to Old Noarlunga.
We got some sleep that night at Kelly and Chris' but, of course, our body clocks were still confused and we both woke well before the Adelaide dawn. Still, we had to just get on with it and get used to South Australian time as soon as we could. Kelly took me on a short walk across the Onkaparinga and up the hill to look over their house, the small town they live in and out to sea. This one was taken from the small bridge just outside their home:
Later in the day, after a nice walk round the trails at Onkaparinga Recreation Park, we were taken on the first of what will no doubt be many alcohol experiences to Penny's Hill winery where there was a separate Gin tasting session:
On Sunday (day 2), I decided to take a short exploratory ride on Chris' spare bike:
Kelly had some work to do, so Chris, Jo, Miller, Asher and I walked round to Miller's school and had a picnic brunch there. The boys played in the sand pit and Asher tried out some of the equipment:
In the afternoon, Kelly took over grandparenting duties and drove us over to Moana beach, and then to another winery - Ivybrook Farm - a lovely place that used to be a sheep station:
Day 3 (Monday) was back to work and school for all bar me and Jo. We walked Miller along to school and Kelly and I took Asher to his day care, then Kelly caught a train to work, leaving me with her car.
Jo and I decide to stretch our legs a little before it got too hot so we crossed the bridge in to the National Park and completed one of their trails, which involved a little bit of a climb towards the end:
After that, we drove over to Noarlunga and the Colonnades shopping centre to get some more medication for Jo, who had developed a stye which was beginning to look a little troublesome. Hopefully the antibiotic cream will now sort the problem out.
The pick-ups of Miller and Asher were completed successfully but there was a slight communication breakdown with Kelly - somehow we missed each other at the railway station, but all was sorted in the end.
