Road Rules

I am back. Our Great Ocean Road Trip was extremely fun, and I am currently trying to figure out the best way to tell you alllll about it. Thank you for continuing to comment, even as I was reduced to a camera-phone photo post a day. Also, you all continued to post, which meant that this morning I had 962 unread posts. I am getting through them slowly, and when I get down to 0 I'll start actually visiting and commenting. But it was good to hear about great holidays all round.

A while ago now, we got a lesson in freeway driving, which featured the proper response to someone who lets you into a lane. Said response being, as we all know (right?), a wave or simple lifting of a couple of fingers (the nice ones).

An off-shoot of this rule was not included in the lesson per se, but I feel it was implied and therefore am totally perplexed as to its non-application on our recent travels: if you're driving on a highway out in the country and you pass a car coming the other way, you show them the same courtesy of a raised hand. They will simultaneously be giving you a finger or two (again, in the nicest way possible).

Now, maybe this is more an NT thing, where everything is a little more laid-back and more rural and more long lonely highway and less crazy urban commuter freeway. I don't know. BUT STILL. Someone waves to you, you wave back. And YOU SHOULD BE WAVING ANYWAY. It's only polite.

Full disclosure: About the time I had given up on the goodness of humanity and refused to wave anymore, I was waved to and waved back but not in time. I still feel bad that this person remained unwaved to. After all, I was probably the only person ever who would've waved, and even I didn't. Poor bloke.

On the other hand, I like to think that I improved the days of all those people I waved to. And that they were all inspired to wave to the next car they passed. Oh yes, I am bringing it back.