Dreaming of crossing into the next LGA

In the old days (aka 2019), you would daydream during your workday about jumping on a plane and sitting in an overwater villa in the Maldives. Arriving in Costa Rica to spend the day doing nothing but sitting on the beach and checking out the wildlife. Ziplining in Thailand. Skiing in New Zealand.

Yesterday my mind wandered as I was writing and landed on my current deepest held desires. A trip to Harris Farm Markets so I could pull the rope and have a load of freshly cooked bread arrive in front of me and to be able to physically walk through the doors of my favourite vintage shop, Junkyard Gypsies in Maitland. One is impossible because it's open but outside my LGA, and the other is both outside my LGA and not able to open the doors due to the current lockdown.

There you have it; my deepest desires seem to have gotten much smaller. Part of the reason we started this column was the joy of being able to go away on adventures with the kid without having to spend a lot of money. The added bonus of just being together and not spend our time away, scheduled within an inch of our lives, was also a plus.

Given we have all spent 24 hours a day, seven days a week locked in the house together for the last couple of months, you would think time apart would be the dream, but it's not. I have realised in our time at home that she is the only person on the planet I could stand this amount of time with. I genuinely like her.

Money will be tight for lots of people, us included. The thought of flying overseas and possibly getting stranded isn't appealing. So the kid and I decided road trips for the foreseeable future will be the way to go and will help the local tourist industry who have been hit so hard. Border closures and localised lockdown dependant, this is the list the kid, and I came up with together.

Great Keppel Island/Emerald/Moreton Island

This one for us is totally focused on animals and people we love. The kid's bestie and his family, who we love like they are part of our family, unexpectedly moved during lockdown. I know this makes me sound like I'm 15 and have no impulse control, but the fact that the Premier of that State has said that visitors will be locked out until at least Christmas has meant that going up there is now the only thing I want to do. They are the kind of friends with who we are happy doing nothing, as their company is enough, but as an added bonus, Emerald has a massive sapphire field and the largest reproduction of Van Gogh's Sunflower Painting in the world which is worth a look.

The after-Christmas timing is perfect for our trip, as Great Keppel Island is all about seeing the turtles nesting and hatching, which happens from January to March. I can't think of anything more fitting at the end of two years of uncertainty than watching hundreds of baby turtles starting their lives and venturing off to the open sea.

Moreton Island, Tangalooma Resort has been on the bucket list for a while. It's such a gorgeous part of the world. The perfect place to unwind, but the best part is the opportunity to feed the wild bluenose dolphins who come to the water's edge every night at sunset.

That's our freedom day plans. After all, happiness is about having something to look forward to.