On the second day of Spring for 2020, l decided that it was about time to bring my 'Babies' out of hibernation. It has been almost 6-months since l have had the pleasure to drive any of my Vintage & Classic Vehicles, so last Monday l decided this must come to an end.
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| Five of my cars resting in storage, they have not seen the light of day for many months |
As you can see in the photograph (above) l ventured down to my factory & removed the covers from five of my little treasures, it was now well overdue for me to check the tyre pressures, engine oils, water levels, battery condition, replace stale petrol from the fuel tanks etc, etc, etc, firing up the engines before venturing out onto the highway so that the wind could blow through my hair once again (l wish).
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| My '31 Model A Ford 4-door (all metal) Slant window Town Sedan alongside the Connections Garden Photo: Steve Core |
Last week l received a call from one of my mates in the Model A Ford Club, he said to me, OK Warbo, it's time that you joined a couple of us silly old buggers on our Wednesday Wanderers outing to the Australian Botanic Garden at Mount Annan. l needed all of 1-second to say 'l will be there'.
That is all l needed to get motivated & the inspiration to get off my butt & prepare my '31 Model A Ford 4-door (all metal) Slant window Town Sedan for the outing during this week.
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It's not unusual to see Kangaroos and Wallabies bounding around inside the gardens on the many walking trails Photo: Steve Core |
Once l decided that l would join a few other Club members on the mid-week run to the Australian Botanic Garden at Mount Annan, l immediately called my mate Steve Core to see if he would like to come along for the ride. Steve wasn't working on Wednesday so he accepted my offer like a rat up a drainpipe.
Wednesday soon rolled around, the weather was absolutely perfect, 29°C (90°F), not a cloud in the sky. l was up nice & early to pack a picnic morning tea & lunch.
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| Steve Core (left) and myself enjoy our morning tea in some warm morning Spring sunshine in Mount Annan Photo: Steve Core (selfie) |
Steve was raring to go with all his camera gear, l picked him up from his residence at 8:00am. We hit the open road & before long within an hour we had arrived at the Australian Botanic Garden at Mount Annan.
To our surprise when we arrived at the Garden's main car park, next to the Visitor Centre, it was almost full at 0915 in the morning, we thought that being a weekday there would not be too many people out & about enjoying themselves.
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| View of our arrival into the Connections Garden area of the Australian Botanic Garden at Mount Anna. Photo: Steve Core |
Well!!! Let me tell you, there were heaps of young mothers with their small children in strollers, many retirees strolling around the many walkways, paths & trailways in these pleasant surroundings.
Like a Qantas Airplane - we were early, not on time but ahead of schedule, so l said to Steve; "Let's have our morning tea before the small group of other punters from the Car Club arrive." We immediately set up our chairs in the car park, in the warm morning sunshine & waited patiently for the rest of the troops to arrive & join us.
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| The Bottlebrush Garden - a nice remote location to practice some safe social distancing within the greater Botanic Garden Photo: Steve Core |
Apparently, we were at the wrong location within the Garden, so once we had established where we should be we then had to move onto the Bottlebrush Garden where we met up with another small group of Club members. This garden was where we would enjoy our picnic lunch that l had so lovingly packed at 0600 in the morning.
Lunch Menu: No Choice, only the following. Ham, cheese, & Three Threes (333) spreadable pickles on fresh bread rolls washed down with a cup of extra hot Bushell's Tea, not forgetting the Anzac biscuits.
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| Fellow Club member, Peter Butler, brought along a model 38 Class locomotive that he has recently restored. Photo: Steve Core |
l suppose we spent around 4-hours catching up with other friends from the Club that we had not seen for nearly 6-months due to this wretched virus business and it's strict social distancing requirements.
Another one of our Model A Ford mates (Peter Butler) who is a Steam Locomotive driver and is also into flying drones. Guess what, Steve had his first lesson on how to fly one of these machines. Steve already has his pilot's licence so he took to it like a duck to water, needless to say he is completely hooked on these drones.
l suppose it will turn out to be an expensive day for him. He is seriously considering purchasing a Drone at approximately $2,000.00 to add to his photographic equipment so that he can take aerial photographs & video.
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| My '31 Model A Ford 4-door (all metal) Slant window Town Sedan alongside the Connections Garden Photo: Steve Core |
The Australian Botanic Garden at Mount Annan is located 100 kilometres south west of Sydney, this Botanic Garden is located in a hilly area that covers an area of 416-hectare (1,030-acres). It is the largest Botanic Garden in Australia, specialising in native plants, with a collection of over 4,000 species.
That my friends is another enjoyable experience in the life of the 'Squire from the Shire'. Remember my motto - "Adventure before Dementia".
Cheers for now
Warbo
