WHAT A DAY.....

.... well we sure continued to show how "fickle" our weather can be!

After the super party yesterday (and pleased you thought the cake looked tasty, it was!). As mentioned as we left the predicted VERY heavy rain kept on coming!
Alice had asked to have a sleep over which was fine, but we needed to get her back home tomorrow for school the next day, and the indicators were already saying the mighty Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers were going to flood. Now normally that would not cause us too much issue, now only if the level rose high enough to breach the North Richmond Bridge which we need to access to get back to Penrith.
Well, you have the idea..... yes it bucketed down all night and the reports had the water going over the bridge sometime in the afternoon.

Okay, you know what grand daughters are like always something else to do, another game of draughts etc etc... and before we knew it was still raining and at 2:30 in the arvo we headed off..... goops the bridge now closed!!! 

So, the only way back to Penrith is a long drive up, back around the Blue Mountains through Blackheath/Katoomba and back down to Penrith!
It was really bad conditions going up Bells Line of Road as shown in my pic, and a couple of others here on Flickr,  then down the Highway here.

Okay, got the picture.... normally to go to Penrith about 20 minutes, but having to do this "detour" in the conditions it took 3 and a half hours!!
But we made it, and it bucketed down all the way.
No way was I driving back tonight after we arrived, so we stayed over with the family which was great.

What a day, have a look in LARGE and the waterfalls over the road were many as we made our way along.

... a Back Blip so have a few more to catchup, needed to "dry out"....