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I’ve asked some of my favorite bloggers to hold down the fort while I’m lazing the days away on Kangaroo Island. To kick things off, I’ve got one of the best music bloggers I’ve found – Agnes of It All Started With Carbon Monoxide - to talk to us about vacation music…
While A Free Man is enjoying some fun in the sun, he’s asked me to share some holiday music with you. Last year in the September school holidays I went away by myself for the first time. It was nothing major, just a couple of days in Point Londsdale and Queenscliff which are gorgeous Victorian coastal towns about half an hour past Geelong. My grandparents had a caravan down there and we used to go there for holidays a few times a year when we were kids. I actually had no intention of revisiting the places we used to haunt as kids because I wanted my memories of those times to remain untainted, but I gave in to temptation and ended up paying a visit to the caravan park we used to stay in. I was immediately struck by how small it was. Things always seem so much bigger when you’re a kid. We used to tear around the place on our bikes and there was this huge hill I was often too scared to ride down. Turns out the ‘hill’ is little more than a gentle dip in the cracked asphalt. Perspective is an incredible thing.
I also sat for quite a while in a little area we always called ‘The Terrace’. It overlooked the ocean and wasn’t too far from the caravan. My grandpa wasn’t very agile but every day he used to make his way to the terrace and sit on the bench overlooking the ocean. We would often join him and he would tell us stories or just listen to our chatter. As I got a little older sometimes we would just sit together in silence, enjoying the beautiful view.
Revisiting that park bench last year wasn’t a pilgrimage exactly, but I certainly felt like it was a place I had to return to. My grandpa was an incredibly sweet and tolerant man with a really cheeky sense of humour. He’s been gone for over four years ago now and I still miss him every day.
Aside from a trip or two down memory lane, I spent my time sitting on the beach, photographing piers and lighthouses and driving the winding coastal roads. I had just discovered Hello Saferide around this time and there were several songs I couldn’t get enough of. Whenever I hear ‘Anna’ or ‘San Franscisco’ or ‘2006′ I’m immediately transported back to those drives along the coast, with the window open and the sound up loud. Not only are they fantastic songs, but they conjure up a heady mix of memory and sun and some time alone, and back then, that was exactly what I needed. And maybe one day they’ll become part of your fondest memories too.
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Hello Saferide - "2006": Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Hello Saferide - "Anna" [3:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Hello Saferide - "San Francisco" [3:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadPopularity: 24% [?]
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Very nice post! I hope everyone is having fun.
heathers last blog post..Have I Ever Mentioned that I am Awesome?
Hey Agnes nice post. No sound at work computer so will have to check this out at home. love the story of the caravan and the terrace. I have never been on holiday by myself, though I did go the US for the first time alone, but that was for some work. I like the idea of visiting old haunts, listening to some tunes and chilling out with the window down. You’re making me think of summer when it’s freezing here!
SSGs last blog post..Another post that changes tack half-way through
Yeah! Good work Agnes. I know these two places from my own youth when I used to live and work in Geelong. Have recently given my speakers to the BA for the computer in her room (no internet…don’t worry!) so I am unable to listen….yet.
Music is such a memory trigger isn’t it?
arizaphales last blog post..Best Shot Monday: The Adelaide Cup Edition
Could one smoke a cigar on the terrace? Of course, keeping considerable distance from non smokers and whatnot…you have to be a gentleman about such things.
Some guest blogger needs to post a Dwight Yoakam tune, I suggest “Give back the key to my heart.”
Jason O.s last blog post..Industrial Policy
Thanks for your lovely comments everybody! Music does have a canny way of making you remember things, both good memories and those you’d rather forget. Glad you enjoyed the story.
Oh, and regarding the cigar, I don’t see why not. I thought we had a boycott on all things smoking around here at the moment though? Lucky Chris isn’t here to read that!
This is a beautiful post. You made me want to listen to the music and visit the same places.
Angels last blog post..Memory Lane Keeps Winding
Thanks for your kind words Angel!
I know what you mean about revisiting places that you went as a kid. On a trip north from Florida a few years ago I stopped at all sorts of childhood haunts and was astounded by how artificial memory can be. Great post, Agnes, thanks for doing it for me!
[...] to keep the home fires burning. You can check out my post about a solo holiday I took last year over here, as well as the totally addictive Hello Saferide tunes that accompanied my [...]