Roadtrip to Queanbeyan, Canberra

 
A Road-trip of Simple Delight

By Lana Thompson, 18.

So, I recently drove down to Queanbeyan, Canberra with a bunch of pretty cool people. Granted, we went because we were performing in a musical tribute show, but the whole trip was quite stress free and interesting. Let me put it out there that’s there’s not much to do in Canberra. However, the trip still felt like a weekend getaway, and to travel whilst performing, well that’s pretty cool. You may have guessed by now that I’m a musical theatre geek, and you’d be correct. I have a feeling that a few of my posts will be music/acting-based.

The whole reason this is my first blog post about “travelling” (and yes I’m using that word loosely. Travel for work still counts, right?) Is because sometimes you could travel to the middle of nowhere and it’d still be a great experience, all because of the people you’re with. Not trying to sound lamely cliché, but the drive down to Canberra was the best bit. Being stuck in a car with three other people for four hours straight can bring up some interesting, odd and amusing conversations. Our conversations ranged from cast gossip to ghost experiences, so let’s just say that the trip to Queanbeyan was far from boring.

But what’s the point of the post? I guess it’s for you to learn a little about me through my travels as well as give some “tips” (again, I use the word loosely) for travelling, and what you should focus on.

First rule to long car rides, is to not forget to go to the toilet before you leave, and probably don’t drink too much before leaving so you won’t have to hold be it in for the forty minutes it can sometimes take to find the nearest restroom. Not to mention, restrooms at servos and pit stops tend to be quite disgusting.

Rule 2: Always fill up the petrol in your car the day before you leave. This way it’s one less thing to think about when you’re last minute stressing about whether you have everything you need.

Rule 3: Bring snacks for the journey, especially if you’re travelling through breakfast/lunch/dinner times. Food prep is a major friend point-winner in my books, especially if you bring extras for your fellow travel mates. And the snacks don’t even have to be unhealthy. I remember one of the people I was travelling with brought a container of snow peas (which are a great thing to snack on, especially if you’ve overloaded on sugar from the lollies, chocolates and junk food someone definitely brought with them). Other snacks like bananas, and grapes are great and actually fill you up whilst you’re waiting to get to the nearest Macca’s pit stop for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Also, snacks are a great way to pass time.

Rule 4: Four words. Car ride music playlists. A must. Even if you make them during the beginning of the ride by swapping phones and telling your friends to add songs they know and like to the playlist so that you can all enjoy the music choices despite your differences in music tastes. This ensures that at least two people know the song that’s playing at all times, and to be honest, you’ll probably be talking most of the time anyway, but a little bit of background music just adds to the atmosphere. Although I’m a musical theatre geek, I don’t solely listen to musical theatre songs. In fact, my go-to genres are Post-hardcore rock and alternative rock. My phone has quite a range of different artists and genres because I listen to different music depending on what mood I’m in. So there’s got to be some of my music my friends would at least know the chorus of, right? Plus, it is a way to bond over what music you do have in common with people, that you may not have known beforehand.

Rule 5: Umm.. that’s all I’ve got for now, but maybe I’ll add some more in my next post.

But yeah, Queanbeyan was quite fun, to say the least. Once we got there, we checked into our theatre, rehearsed, went through sound check and then performed. Then we all headed back to the cabins we were staying in for the night. Somehow, after settling in (mind you it was about midnight by this point) we all ended up in one of the cabins, talking, eating, drinking and just chilling. It was carefree and one of the most rewarding parts. When we finally went to bed, we only had a few hours sleep before getting up and heading back to Sydney. And honestly, the trip back was hilarious, because the woman driving the car I was in, insisted on stopping at anything that looked remotely touristy, and insisted we got pictures. Here are some of them!

I call this one "Happy Family"

And this one "Grumpy, We've been stuck in a car for two hours Family"

Another random pitstop

 

I guess what you can take out of this post is that the best adventures can happen during the simplest of trips. Who cares where you’re going, focus on your company, and you’ll have a great time. 

Take care, and just enjoy life!

 

 

 

"Happy Family Part 2"

Jahn (On the right), insisted we did the whole family road-trip photo-shoot, and stopped at random places for us to take photos.

Author's Note: So, these people I perform with are called Glasshouse Productions. Original scripts are written, auditions are held for the casting process, and once the cast has been formed, we rehearse them for about 6 weeks before starting performances at RSL Clubs and theatres around New South Wales (mostly). You can keep up to date with what performances Glasshouse Productions are doing on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LiveGlasshouse/ 
You could even come check out a show of ours if you wanted, they're always a lot of fun, and involve the audience. The best shows always end with the audience joining in on the dancing!

 

Checked-in and ready to perform...