Again, the reader might find the frequent references to such locations slightly bemusing, but I’d counter such bemusement by pointing out that such centres almost invariably offer large quantities of parking space and toilet facilities along with useful information, so once we’d parked the car it was a matter of trekking off in search of the place where we’d eaten five and a half years before (or, failing that, a suitable alternative).
That quest wasn’t as easy as it might have seemed, given the fact that in 2005 we hadn’t fallen prey to the siren song of the Visitor Information centre, and had obviously, as it rapidly became clear, parked somewhere else last time around.
Those memory factors also kick in when you’re tapping out the details close to a fortnight after the actual events.
The Visitor Information lady wasn’t exactly a fountain of information when it came to lunch, seemingly inclined to point us towards the nearby bowls and RSL clubs which probably says a bit about the usual clientele passing through the centre, so we headed off towards the mall in search of a cafe, restaurant or similar operation.
The memory and fortnight later factors mean I don’t recall the exact details of the option we eventually chose, but their version of the standard big breakfast was enough to fill the gaping hole and ensure we didn’t need a huge feed of tuna pasta when we arrived at the overnight accommodation just south of Glen Innes.
After lunch we had a n hour or two to wander round the Armidale CBD, not quite following the historic walk laid out in the leaflet we’d acquired along the way, which gave me the chance to belatedly spot the previous visit’s lunch venue and Madam the chance to capture images of historic buildings and impressive church structures.
Given a few minutes either way en route, we may well have avoided the coincidence of ourselves, a slow-moving vehicle and a speed camera that had us anxiously scanning the incoming mail over the past week or so, but we didn’t, and hindsight is, as they say, invariably 20/20.