And that's because either you have changed or the place has changed or you both have.

Got 'lost' driving into Darwin cos I couldn't quite believe I had to take an exit to continue going along the Stuart Highway as I flew past the sign. So soon we were driving along in what used to be swampy bushland and showed as 'nowhere' on the GPS. Fortunately I recognised a road from my misspent youth and took that to return to the highway and soon arrived at Peta & Neville Wilson's house for our first meeting in 15 years.

Pete and I spent the next 4 days talking (well, just about, we didn't get to sleep til 3.30am that first night and all we did was sit out the front and talk, a lot of the time over the top of each other so a good thing women can talk and hear at the same time) and we haven't finished yet tho it has slowed down a little.

I have had a few drives around my old town visiting old places and realising just how different it really is, (tho I suspect under the surface there may be a hard core of Frontier Darwin left). It seems so Cosmopolitan in the city itself that for those of us who fell in love with it when Hogs Breath & Sizzlers were the height of sophistication (as compared to a $5 meal at the Rissole) it leaves you with a feeling of, well almost grief I guess.

Sound a bit strong, am I being melodramatic? Yeah, ok, but it is that sadly poignant feeling you get when you know you are leaving a place forever.

I drove down Mitchell St in the City and with its 'Shenanigans' and 'Outback Jacks' and various cafes and restaurants it could have been a main street in any city in Australia - and I think that's it, MY Darwin isn't like any other place and I find it a bit sad that today's Darwin is - but I didn't expect it to have stayed the same so enough of that.

We have been to the museum, driven around East Point and wandered around the WWII bunkers, gone to Howard Springs to listen to Nev's band, had to get the gas looked at on Felix (again!), seen the Queen Mary II in harbour and had the joy of staying with good friends.

A little while longer here while I organise to catch up with some other friends and do some sightseeing. There are a lot of things here that weren't here when I last was and I will treat Darwin as any town on our trip and take in the sights.

My biggest sadness at the moment is that my wonderful friend Deeeeeee who lives in Darwin is not here right now cos she has had to fly down to SA to help out with her mum and will not be back til at least mid March and I was not really planning on staying here that long but I so want to see her that maybe I will just have to extend my stay - we'll see.

Jude is a wonderful 3-year old. He has started to say 'No way!' when I ask him to do something but he is totally (day) toilet trained now and is such an excited joy with everything we do that I must be the luckiest mum in the world. He likes living in a house with so many people making a fuss of him and a swimming pool for his own private use but he still loves getting out and about and every time we are driving around sight-seeing he says, 'Mum, I don't want to go back to the house yet, I want to drive around and look at places more.'

My interested, interesting little boy. x