An email from a friend inspired me to play with Google Maps Street View.
It's fun. I close my eyes and randomly pick a place in Australia. Then I try to see if Lord Wiki has any exciting information about it. I've already done it about 7 times, and I've yet to see any buildings. I see just roads and trees. It's very beautiful.
Anyway, I decided I could maybe turn the game into a blog post. Why not? I don't think I can link to what I see on Google Maps, but I can provide the address. That way...if people want to see what I'm seeing, they can plug in the address as well.
I'm actually going back and forth from doing this, and reading a Monica McInerney novel. Lainey has moved from Melbourne to Ireland to take care of her grumpy wacky (and dead) aunt's run-down bed and breakfast. Will she end up getting back together with chef Adam in Melbourne, or will she end up with that overly bearded Irish guy?
Okay. Let me pick a place.
I found that it's easier to close my eyes and be random state-by-state rather than doing the whole country at once.
I'll start with Tasmania.
Damn. I ended up in the sea. Let me try again.
Funny. I got a place I've already had. It's Huon Highway in Sandfly Tasmania. Lord Wiki didn't have an entry on Sandfly, but he did have brief words on Huon. I forgot what he had said though. I'll look again. Wait. I DO remember. It's in south Tasmania. It connects Hobart to something.
Lord Wiki just reminded me that it connects Hobart to the more southern parts of Tasmania.
Next, I'll pick a place in Victoria.
Okay. I'm at 3438 Mansfield Whitfield Road. That's a mouthful. The town/city is Tolmie. I've never heard of it.
The road I see is one of those thin curvy ones. I don't like those too much. But it IS pretty, and to it's credit....it doesn't to be frighteningly high or anything.
Lord Wiki says the Tolmie had a population of 528 in 2006. I wonder if there's more of less people now.
In February, Tolmie has a family sport event day thing. It looks kind of fun.
Now I'm going to move on to New South Wales.
I've landed on a beautiful dirt road called Beech Road. It's in Eland. Lord Wiki doesn't have an entry on that place.
I'll just move on.
I'm on Owens Road in Cressbook Creek Queensland. I don't see humans, but I do see some type of farm animal!
This is likely someone's property...maybe one of those huge ones.
Lord Wiki doesn't have anything to say about Cressbook Creek.
The Northern Territory doesn't have much mapped out by Street View, so I didn't really close my eyes to pick a place.
I kind of just knowingly picked a place, and that ended up being the Stuart Highway. I've heard of that.
It looks pretty much exactly how I'd expect Australia to look....a perfect stereotypical image of Australia.
The town I'm in is Warumungu.
Lord Wiki doesn't have an entry on the town/place, but he does have an entry on the Warumungu people. Some of them live in Alice Springs.
Lord Wiki also has an entry on Stuart Highway. He says it connects the Northern Territory to South Australia. It's named after Scottish born explorer, John McDouall Stuart.
Now I'm in Nanarup, Western Australia, on a street called Two People's Bay Road. What's the story behind that?
Lord Wiki doesn't have an entry on Two Peoples Bay Road, but I did find another website that has information on it.
It's part of a National Park near Albany; and it has beautiful beaches. Cool.
I'm going to end with a place in South Australia. I'm having fun though. I may do more of these later.
I've landed SOMEWHERE on the Barrier Highway. I've heard of that road too, probably during my trip planning.
This is another one that looks stereotypical Australian. I picture people with a broken down car. They yell at each other about conserving water. Then....
What happens next?
Maybe a crazed serial killer steps towards them?
A jolly kangaroo? Maybe a jolly TALKING kangaroo.
Zombies perhaps?
We could have a wise and mysterious Aboriginal man with warnings of doom. That might work.
Maybe no one will appear, and our protagonists will simply have an artsy type conversation.
Oh! How about rabid koalas!?
An appearance by Randall Flagg would work as well.
Lord Wiki says Barrier Highway goes from South Australia to New South Wales. Maybe it's the route we plan to take to get to Broken Hill. Let me check....
Yep. I'm right. If all goes well, we shall be riding on that Barrier Highway.
I hope we don't meet any zombie serial killers with pet talking kangaroos. But if we do, let's hope at least we've brought enough water, so we don't have to be thirsty while fighting the enemy.
It's fun. I close my eyes and randomly pick a place in Australia. Then I try to see if Lord Wiki has any exciting information about it. I've already done it about 7 times, and I've yet to see any buildings. I see just roads and trees. It's very beautiful.
Anyway, I decided I could maybe turn the game into a blog post. Why not? I don't think I can link to what I see on Google Maps, but I can provide the address. That way...if people want to see what I'm seeing, they can plug in the address as well.
I'm actually going back and forth from doing this, and reading a Monica McInerney novel. Lainey has moved from Melbourne to Ireland to take care of her grumpy wacky (and dead) aunt's run-down bed and breakfast. Will she end up getting back together with chef Adam in Melbourne, or will she end up with that overly bearded Irish guy?
Okay. Let me pick a place.
I found that it's easier to close my eyes and be random state-by-state rather than doing the whole country at once.
I'll start with Tasmania.
Damn. I ended up in the sea. Let me try again.
Funny. I got a place I've already had. It's Huon Highway in Sandfly Tasmania. Lord Wiki didn't have an entry on Sandfly, but he did have brief words on Huon. I forgot what he had said though. I'll look again. Wait. I DO remember. It's in south Tasmania. It connects Hobart to something.
Lord Wiki just reminded me that it connects Hobart to the more southern parts of Tasmania.
Next, I'll pick a place in Victoria.
Okay. I'm at 3438 Mansfield Whitfield Road. That's a mouthful. The town/city is Tolmie. I've never heard of it.
The road I see is one of those thin curvy ones. I don't like those too much. But it IS pretty, and to it's credit....it doesn't to be frighteningly high or anything.
Lord Wiki says the Tolmie had a population of 528 in 2006. I wonder if there's more of less people now.
In February, Tolmie has a family sport event day thing. It looks kind of fun.
Now I'm going to move on to New South Wales.
I've landed on a beautiful dirt road called Beech Road. It's in Eland. Lord Wiki doesn't have an entry on that place.
I'll just move on.
I'm on Owens Road in Cressbook Creek Queensland. I don't see humans, but I do see some type of farm animal!
This is likely someone's property...maybe one of those huge ones.
Lord Wiki doesn't have anything to say about Cressbook Creek.
The Northern Territory doesn't have much mapped out by Street View, so I didn't really close my eyes to pick a place.
I kind of just knowingly picked a place, and that ended up being the Stuart Highway. I've heard of that.
It looks pretty much exactly how I'd expect Australia to look....a perfect stereotypical image of Australia.
The town I'm in is Warumungu.
Lord Wiki doesn't have an entry on the town/place, but he does have an entry on the Warumungu people. Some of them live in Alice Springs.
Lord Wiki also has an entry on Stuart Highway. He says it connects the Northern Territory to South Australia. It's named after Scottish born explorer, John McDouall Stuart.
Now I'm in Nanarup, Western Australia, on a street called Two People's Bay Road. What's the story behind that?
Lord Wiki doesn't have an entry on Two Peoples Bay Road, but I did find another website that has information on it.
It's part of a National Park near Albany; and it has beautiful beaches. Cool.
I'm going to end with a place in South Australia. I'm having fun though. I may do more of these later.
I've landed SOMEWHERE on the Barrier Highway. I've heard of that road too, probably during my trip planning.
This is another one that looks stereotypical Australian. I picture people with a broken down car. They yell at each other about conserving water. Then....
What happens next?
Maybe a crazed serial killer steps towards them?
A jolly kangaroo? Maybe a jolly TALKING kangaroo.
Zombies perhaps?
We could have a wise and mysterious Aboriginal man with warnings of doom. That might work.
Maybe no one will appear, and our protagonists will simply have an artsy type conversation.
Oh! How about rabid koalas!?
An appearance by Randall Flagg would work as well.
Lord Wiki says Barrier Highway goes from South Australia to New South Wales. Maybe it's the route we plan to take to get to Broken Hill. Let me check....
Yep. I'm right. If all goes well, we shall be riding on that Barrier Highway.
I hope we don't meet any zombie serial killers with pet talking kangaroos. But if we do, let's hope at least we've brought enough water, so we don't have to be thirsty while fighting the enemy.