Flashback Friday!

Ok guys, it's Flashback Friday time! Tell me a story from your past (on your blog). It can be funny, sad, dramatic, etc. Whatever you want. I'm not sure how many stories I can pull out of the hat myself, but I will start off with a fav of mine.

It's Christmas of 1988. My father, mother, aunt (father's oldest sister) and myself fly to Australia to spend Christmas with my sister and brother-in-law. They lived in Melbourne. We were there for 3 weeks. One week, we took a trip along the Great Ocean Road and then into the Outback for sightseeing. Dad and BIL in one car. Mom, Aunt, Sister and Me in the other. We had CB radios to keep in contact. Only sometimes the CB radio didn't always work both ways. One morning we stopped for breakfast at this little roadside shop as we headed out of the town we had spent the night in. Just to pick up some croissants, etc. We headed off down the road, with Dad and BIL in front of us. My Sister decided she wanted to show us this beach that was coming up. We would need to take a left turn on the upcoming road. She got on the CB and told her hubby to take the turn. No response. The didn't hear her. She tried again. Nothing.

"Oh well, it will only take a few min's and then we will be right back on the road behind them and catch up."

Mom - "I don't think that's a good idea."

"It's fine, no worries!"

The beach she showed us was pretty. Took some pics. Back in the car. Time to play catch up.

Tried the CB once we got back on the main road. Nothing. Got to the next town. Tried the CB. Nothing.

If I remember correctly, that night we had planned on staying in Adelaide.

Each town we drove thru, we would circle the main drag and try the CB. Nothing. As each hour ticked away, Mom became more and more concerned. My Sister sang a medley of Elvis songs for us. Her and I were having fun. Mom and my Aunt in the back seat were quietly freaking out. In the afternoon, my Sister decided to take another detour. To some famous caves. She said Dad would have loved them. LOL...he never did get to see them. These caves were way off the beaten path too. Along the narrow dirt road to them, we saw Emus. That was cool. Spent some time at the caves, but I can't recall if we went down in them. Mom was very concerned now. It was getting into late afternoon and we hadn't made it to Adelaide yet to find a room for the night. The country basically "closed" down at 5pm. If you didn't have dinner or a room or gas by then, you are basically screwed. So we got back on the main road and keep going.

Finally made it to Adelaide in the very late afternoon. Still no luck on the CB. Just static. We needed dinner. They are big on KFC, so we sat in our car in the parking lot of KFC, eating chicken and listening to the CB static. Hoping we would finally hear them. All of a sudden it leapt to life! They had their CB on too! They were trying to find us! We tried to answer them back, but they couldn't hear us! Argh! We heard them mention they were going to go wait at the edge of town by the freeway in hopes of seeing us drive in. We immediately headed to the edge of town. There was a gas station right there and it was sooo close to 5pm that we pulled in to get gas. Then we pulled forward and parked, facing the road. Waiting. Waiting for a glimpse of my BIL's blue jeep.

OMG!! Finally! There they are! They spotted us and pulled in. Boy was my Dad relieved! He thought he had lost his entire family! Soooo...what happened to them? Where were they all day? How come we could never catch up with them? Every town we came too, we drove thru it twice and then moved on to the next town. How could we miss them every single time?? Hmmmm...where did it all go sooo wrong?

Let's backtrack to my sister wanting to show us that beach first thing in the morning...while we were traveling to the beach...Dad and BIL noticed we weren't behind them...they tried the CB, but no luck on reaching us. They TURNED AROUND and drove all the way back to the place we had stopped for breakfast! Meanwhile, we headed back to the main road and started after them...only now they were BEHIND US!!! We could never catch up 'cause we were always in the lead. At some point, they stopped at a Police Station and reported us missing. They figured we would keep going to Adelaide, so they had the entire Police force on the lookout for us. We never did see a police car! LOL...when we heard them finally over the CB in Adelaide, they were actually just down the street from us at the Police Station there! LOL...

My favorite line from that day? When my BIL told us that at the first Police Station when they reported us missing...the officer asked him:

"Sir, did you and your wife have an argument?"

BIL: "No! But we bloody well will when I find her!"

It was one of the most fun days I've ever had....mom still rolls her eyes when I mention it.