Coonamble

Coonamble was our first stop on our latest road trip. Chosen because we were having a look at some of the towns my husband goes to for work (he works as a train driver). He doesn't get to look around when he's there & wanted to spend a bit more time looking. It's only about 90 minutes from home so we could leave in the afternoon and get there not too late.

Coonamble is on the Castlereagh River, a small country town in the middle of farming areas. Population is larger than our town with 3000 or so people. We didn't go too far from the main drag, not that there was a great deal there. As with most country towns, there are many boarded up shopfronts. I love looking at the old buildings & attempting to photograph them. Not always easy with traffic going past! The kids were suprised there was a theatre - we explained that the town would have been much bigger in the past.

Plaza Theatre - built after a fire destroyed the original theatre in 1929

Where we stayed

Cypress Motel (Castlereagh Highway Coonamble 68221400)

We were going to stay in a cabin in the caravan park but they were booked out. When hubby had asked, they had suggested the Cypress. It looks like it has been recently renovated. Typical basic motel but just right for what we needed. The family room had 3 single beds in a separate room though the wall didn't actually go to the ceiling! Looks like it was put in later & has been built so the ceiling fan can still operate! The main bed was comfy and the bathroom adequate with soaps & shampoos. It was reasonable for the 5 of us & nice and quiet at night! 

View from the back of the motel - looking sort of east!

Where we ate

For dinner we decided to go to the Bowling Club. Service was quick & prices reasonable. My steak was well done rather than medium, but that could have just been a mix up with mine & my husbands plates (he prefers well done). $13 got us a good sized sirloin steak, mashed potato, beans & zuchini & squash with tomato. Two kids had kids meals - chicken nuggets & chips. Our oldest has Coeliacs Disease so we ordered her a grilled chicken breast with vegetables - we had asked about the chips & they were battered. The kids meals included a slushie & a jelly cup. All 3 proclaimed the slushie to taste weird, but downed the red jelly cups quickly. Hubby had sticky date pudding & ordered extra ice cream for the kids to have with their jelly.

Next morning we needed coffee so headed for the main street. Went to a coffee lounge that hubby had been to before. Kids loved that we were sitting on lounge chairs. We basically had morning tea - coffee, cake + pies for the boys. Coffee was what I term country coffee - milky & weak. After 19 years in the country I'm used to it but should remember to ask for a 2nd shot! Fortunately we were able to get DD12 some gluten free passionfruit cheesecake which was quite nice. The boys proclaimed the pies good, though DS10 couldn't find much cheese in his cheese & bacon pie. 

What we did

Cool mural in an alley

Not a lot of touristy stuff. We wandered up the main street & looked in a few shops. We had driven around town when hubby took us out to where the trains are loaded with wheat. There is a museum, but it wasn't open while we were there. There are large panels on some of the buildings which are a 'Nickname Hall of Fame' - showing some locals with their nickname & caricature. We found a information book later that outlines a historical walk that shows off all the important historical places. Vinnies was the other place we went to - I like to visit Op Shops. Didn't find anything in my size unfortunately!

Yes a photo of a coin laundry is kinda random. But it comes with a funny story. When we drove past DS10 asked why there was a laundry to wash coins!!! 

Welcome

I used to get annoyed that we never seemed to travel anywhere exciting. We travelled sure, but mostly to Sydney or to other places we'd been to lots. One day I realised that we might not get to go to exciting, exotic places, but we did go to lots of places. And it was silly to think that travelling was only when you went somewhere fantastic!

I started looking at the places we visited differently. Looking for things to see & interesting features of the towns we did get to go to. The blog that helped me to change my thinking was 52 Suburbs. While I don't have the same eye for photography as the author (and somehow missed the fact there is a whole new blog on 52 Suburbs around the world), I like the idea of looking at the places we go as exciting areas to explore, even if some people think of them as boring or everyday.

So I thought I may as well document some of these towns in a blog. I've been thinking about doing it for quite a while & it's time to jump in with both feet!