Jesus H Christ.
Never again will I be taking Paige up to Bendigo OR anywhere by myself for that matter. Living with her can be awful and dramatic at the best of times. To have her stuck in the next seat to me for 15 1/2 hours on public transport - What a nightmare.
We left Thursday at 5pm to catch the VLine train to Southern Cross. We got to Pakenham where we were informed that due to the Thunderstorms in Melbourne we would have to catch a Suburban train to Springvale, then Bus to Oakleigh and back on the Connex train to Flinders St. When we finally arrived in the city it was close to 9pm. We grabbed a bite to eat and then waited 30 minutes to catch the 216 Bus to Deer Park. Finally arrived at my parents at 10:30pm. 5 bloody hours. Paige was an absolute shocker. Wouldnt sit still, wouldnt shut up for more than 10 seconds. Never again I was telling myself.
We woke up at 6am on Friday morning and caught the Bus to Southern Cross Station. We missed our connecting VLine train to Bendigo by 5 minutes (Bloody Bus). We eventually caught the 9:15am Train to Bendigo that arrived 2 hours later. Walked the 10 minutes down to the Counsellors Office in Queen St to see Byron.
The time spent with him was good. It was only for 90 minutes though. We had KFC for lunch and then he opened his Xmas presents I bought him. He also tried kissing Paige and I had to tell him that she was his sister. When his Mum (Kylie) arrived to pick him up she basically tore strips off him for doing so.
"Rah rah, not until youre 16/17" She exploded.
I was taken aback. Just like when she was with me, very fiery.
She then told him sternly that she couldn't open his Lego present until he came down to stay with me (In 2 weeks). All I could think was "poor kid, living with her". We sort of punched out a deal so that I could have Byron for a week in January and then a weekend every month thereafter. Still needs to be finalised though.
We caught the train back to Melbourne (which stopped 10 minutes out of Bendigo for 45 minutes due to another Thunderstorm). Caught the 5pm Connex train to Pakenham and then waited a further 30 minutes before the VLine service to Traralgon. I killed 6 flies while waiting at Pakenham (The highlight of the trip for me). Saw some ferals that got kicked off the train for alcohol and abuse. The train was absolutely packed until Moe when most travellers seemed to depart. Got back into Morwell at close to 8pm.
15.5 hours spent on public transport WITH Paige for 90 minutes with my son, Byron.
Worth it???? I think not.....