Where I come From - Going Home

Last weekend we took off on a road trip to my birth town of Urana, in the Southern Riverina, NSW. We were there for my little cousins baptism and it was the perfect excuse to show Mr PA where I grew up and my old primary school. He also got to meet a bunch of relatives that he wouldn't otherwise see and so I thought I'd share a few of the photo's from the day. 

This is the "good" road. Urana is dry and flat as far as the eye can see!

The local watering hole. I think my parents 'courted' there over a few lemonades and beers. 

Winter blooms (or me trying to get fancy with my iPhone)

My old primary school. There were 28 kids in the school from kinder to year 6 when I attended and apart from some aesthetic changes, she's pretty much the same. 

Our old next door neighbor, Andrew Whitehead, makes these amazing sculptures out of old bits of scrap metal and farm machinery. You can see more of his work here. 

This photo is exactly what I remember about my old home. Red dirt, flat plains that went forever, storms that would tear your house down, and a land that you both loved and loathed. We took this road home so we could drive past the farm I grew up on. 

Lastly this is my old farm. I remember riding my bike up that long driveway every day for school. It took an hour to get to school on the bus and an hour to get home. Such long tiring days. I can't imagine Emily doing it now. Mum spent most of her days out here alone when we were at school. No mobile phones, no internet, and Dad usually down the paddock on the tractor or feeding sheep. I don't know how she did it! 

The trip back to Urana gave us a real appreciation of what we have in town. The lovely rolling hills, the green, the good roads and the friends and family who are just around the corner or across the road. The one thing that has never changed out there is the sense of community and how a whole town really becomes like family. It'd been 20 years since I stepped foot in that place but they were welcoming and friendly and genuine. I'm looking forward to heading back very soon. 

Where do you come from?