Wake Up Call

My Dear Somnolent Darling

We seem to be talking quite a bit about sleep lately (or lack thereof.) We spent a night (or two?) staying in Caves House at the beautiful Jenolan Caves. Apart from the absolute awe and wonder of the natural beauty to be found, two other events stick in my mind. Firstly there was the inadequacy of the room we were offered and secondly there was that wake up call.

You had been doing all the driving, as we have previously discussed. The road down to the caves is both narrow and bendy. By the time we arrived you were feeling a little nauseous and car sick. You bravely soldiered on but you needed to nap. We checked in, then went to our room. There were no curtains or blinds. You were not impressed and rightly so.

Caves House, as the hotel we stayed in is known, has been through its ups and it’s downs. Sadly when we visited it was on the way down again. I was quite looking forward to showing you the stunning Waterford crystal chandelier that graced their reception area. In a moment of culture vandalism they had obviously recognised it’s value and replaced with a brass and glass number that would be more fitting in a tasteless Hollywood mansion owned by Tori Spelling. Having said all that it really would be a hard hotel to run. It is a good hours drive from the nearest town of any size along a pretty hair raising road. There is no other reason to come and stay except to visit the caves and the staff would need to live on site. I am not making excuses just pointing out the logistical nightmare of running such a remote venue.

I presented myself at the concierge desk (there being no phones in the rooms and no mobile reception at the site) and was grudgingly assigned another room. I also booked a wake up call, or what passed for one at the venue, for 6.00am. This is when everything was forgiven.

The next morning at about the appointed time there was a firm knock at the door and a staff member calling our names. “Mr and Mrs Sir, Mr and Mrs Sir, this is Mandy from reception. This is your wake up call, can you confirm for me that you’re awake?” Well my heart was singing. It was clearly obvious to all that Darling and Sir were husband and wife. We spent the rest of your trip my Darling as just that.

Yours In Matrimonial Bliss

From Sir With Love

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My Dear Adventurous Sir,

I remember Jenolan and the Caves House very well. I was looking forward to arriving, getting to our room, and just snuggling up next to you on the bed and resting. As I looked at the picture you posted, I recognize the windows to the right edged in green. One of those windows was our first room.

I remember walking into that beautiful room and exclaiming over the missing curtains and blinds. I was feeling so poorly at this point, that you insisted that I lie down while you went to the front desk to sort things. I vaguely recall you waking me up to change rooms. You had to literally help me up and walk. I feel bad I was such a burden that first night. After I rested for a short time, we did wander down to see the caves. You watched me closely and kept saying how pale I looked. Luckily it passed.

I was disappointed that they had removed the chandelier you had told me about. The place was beautiful still, and had such a quaint aura about it. It was here, at the Caves House where I heard my first kookaburra. That made me happy. Thank you so much for taking me to this serene place. There is still another tender memory that I recall there, but I shall write about it at a later time.

I remember that wake up call. I can still feel my face freezing in surprise when we were addressed by Mr. and Mrs. Sir. I whispered to you, “Did they really just say that?”  You were grinning so hard, I’m surprised you could answer. You were absolutely thrilled. I was too once I got over the shock.

Espousing-ly yours,

Darling

©2013 Darling and Sir

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