Kurri Kurri - a day out

After all of the dramas getting ready, I ended up arriving around 2pm, knowing that the Best Dressed Parade that I had intended to enter wasn't until 3pm. What I didn't know was that they closed entries for it just before 2pm. :(

After finding a parking spot a couple of blocks from the event, I found my way to the Miskonduct stall and said hello. I then went in search of a few other people I know, starting amongst the market stalls on the grass of the park. After saying hello to a couple of other people, I was told where some friends' cars were parked, and I set off in search of them.

I caught up with Heather, who I went to school with, and who had been in the best dressed parade last year. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that she caught up with me, as she saw me and came up behind me. I changed from my flat shoes to my heels while standing in the shade chatting to her, and a guy wandering past asked if he could take our photo, which we agreed to. I haven't seen that photo on line anywhere so far, but I have to wonder if he had any idea that I wasn't the woman that I appeared to be. :)

Because of where I had been told some of my friends were parked, I did a loop of much of the area, in heels, looking for them. Sadly, because it was such a hot day, many of the people that I had hoped to see had already left by the time I arrived.

Because it was so hot and sunny, I ended up returning to Miskonduct's stall, changing back to my flats and getting only fleeting glances of the best dressed parade from the shade of their pop-up gazebo.

After that, I wandered around a bit more in my flat shoes, including walking past the stall of a guy that I know but wasn't intending to approach. I made the silly mistake of looking towards him, saw him looking at me and worried that he would recognise me, all in the space of a few seconds. Obviously, the fact that I looked at him and he saw my reaction meant that he looked closely enough to recognise me. He then followed me to the stall next to his and said hello. :)

I left around 5pm, while most of the market stalls were packing up. On the down side, aside from the random guy who took the photo of Heather and me, I don't think that any other photos were taken of me while I was there. On the up side, when I got back to my car, the sun had shifted and my car was fully in the shade of a large tree. Yay! :)

The day out also included another new experience for me. Driving in a full petticoat. I'd never done that before! It was awkward getting into the car and getting comfortable, but getting out was as easy as climbing out in the usual ladylike manner then swishing the skirt and petticoat back and forth a few times to get everything settled into place.

After I got home, I got my wife to snap a few full length photos against a backdrop of a dilapidated wall with peeling paint, and I snapped a few other photos myself. I need to remember to get photos while I'm out and about, as I have a bad habit of forgetting!

Yes, I do plan to go to the Kurri Kurri Nostalgia Festival next year. Not only am I hoping to be better organised, but a major new freeway will open later this year that will reduce the time it takes to get from here to there by almost half compared to the heavy, slow traffic that I experienced on Sunday. I might even get there both days! :)