Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales head west for National Lampoon-style family road trip and Albany live show

Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb have never been to Albany before. They are so green on the Great Southern that Crabb even committed the cardinal sin of calling the city “All-bany” when the pair chatted to The Advertiser this week. But, as ever-diligent journalists, the duo have done their research ahead of their live show at the Albany Entertainment Centre on Sunday and they know exactly what they want to see. Topping their list is a sighting of former NBA champion and Denmark resident, Luc Longley. Last year, Sales was introduced to Denmark for the first time when she watched Longley’s Australian Story episode, which featured scenic shots of his property. “I just could not believe how beautiful it was where he lives, and the second I saw it I was like, well, I just want to go there immediately,” she said. The powerhouse pair have teamed up since 2014 for their podcast, Chat 10 Looks 3 — a name inspired by a song in the musical A Chorus Line. They chat about their opinions on the things they are reading, watching, listening to and cooking, much to the delight of their enthusiastic fans, known as Chatters. Sales is on six months of leave after finishing up her 12-year stint as host of ABC current affairs program 7.30, while political reporter and commentator Crabb is also on leave, allowing for the pair to make a trip west. Their visit to Albany for this Sunday’s show is, according to Crabb, an actualisation of the saying “if you build it, they will come”. Her partner Jeremy Storer, who organises the duo’s tour bookings, saw photos of the AEC online and thought it was “the most beautiful arts centre”. They decided they should have a show there on a mini-tour of WA, which will include a stop in Perth on Saturday. “A, if you build it, we will come,” Crabb said. “And B, I feel like I’ve been to WA a lot of times, but usually for work, like for election campaigns, or shooting an episode of Kitchen Cabinet or something, and I never get to stay and look around. “Sales and I are both on leave at the moment, so we’re actually taking the opportunity to come and have a bit of a poke around.” The pair are taking a two-week trip around the south of the State after their Sunday show, a trip Crabb said could have been organised by Chevy Chase. Sales has labelled it their “Cannonball Run through WA”. Crabb will bring her partner and their three children with her, while Sales will be joined by her two children, her ex-husband, his parents and a cello. “I broke the news today, because I’m learning the cello and I’ve just gotten through the really sore fingers part of it, I don’t want to not play it for the two weeks we’re in WA,” Sales said. “So I’m bringing it, and one of them is going to have to spoon that in the back seat while we drive.” Sales and Crabb will have their own separate road trip, leaving Perth early on Sunday morning bound for Albany, with their children and other family members to make their own way. Sales, ever conscious of deadlines after years in broadcast journalism, is determined for them to get to Albany with time to spare before their 4.30pm show, so there will only be one stop allowed — for lunch at the Mt Barker Country Bakery. “You’ve obviously never driven anywhere with Leigh Sales,” Crabb explained. “If she’s got somewhere to be in five hours with a deadline at the end of it, we are putting on adult nappies and we’re not stopping at all. That’s my prediction.” They are relying on something interesting to happen during the road trip, with their Sunday show schedule already organised, including 10 minutes allocated to “road trip shenanigans”. They speculate that it could end up being Sales playing the cello on the roof of their hire car, gown flowing behind her, in the style of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The itinerary for their trip after their show is already set too, with visits planned to The Gap and Natural Bridge, Albany’s Historic Whaling Station and Denmark Chocolate Company. Then they will visit Margaret River, and drop off a couple of garden ornaments at Gnomesville, before heading back to Perth. There might also be a small amount of stalking on the cards during their visit to Denmark, with Crabb sure Sales will spend most of the trip “awkwardly hanging around” Longley’s house. Whatever happens, it will be fodder for their show on Sunday — which might even include a cello recital. “Normally what we talk about is what have we been reading, listening to or watching,” Sales said. “And because we’re in the kind of vicinity of Luc Longley, I’m going to put it out there that I have been doing a little bit of basketball preparation, I have been reading a book about basketball history. “So I’m looking very forward to boring the living pants out of Crabb on that. We’ll just wing it and come up with something, and hopefully be entertaining, and hopefully not be run out of town.” “We set a low bar, and we like to limp over it,” Crabb added. For tickets, visit bit.ly/3BWGgGW.