tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1378709644453778482024-02-21T03:34:41.482+11:00Travelling and Exploring Our WorldAnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.comBlogger232125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-5417215142073946612019-12-26T09:13:00.001+11:002019-12-26T09:13:07.455+11:00Christmas 2019 Trip: Lakes Entrance -> Mystery BayI had another rough night's sleep - and when I tried to get out of bed in the middle of the night, getting down and up the ladder was a bit tricky due to the sore, tight muscles in my lower legs, from walking on the soft sand during the day. Amelie and I were up early and took Luna for a walk. This time we turned left out of the caravan park, away from town, and walked along the edge of the lake as far the path stayed near the water. We saw a tree shaped like a pineapple - Liam had seen one on the day we came into town, we hadn't seen one yet and it was pretty cool. Luna liked to walk on top of the low wall next to the path, so she and Amelie did most of their walking up there.<div>
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Back at camp we had breakfast in the kitchen area and chatted a bit to the park managers. We packed up as quickly as we could, and Caitlin walked into town to buy a shirt that she'd seen the day before. We were ready to hitch up before 10am which is very rare for us. Daryl (the park manager) helped us hitch and Caitlin arrived back just before we were about to leave. We were out of the park around 10.20, dropped Caitlin back into town because the shop she'd gone to wasn't open when she went, grabbed a few supplies from Aldi then met Caitlin at the shop (and I bought a wrap to wear over my swimmers, or when hiking, which I was pretty excited about) and were out of town by 10.50.</div>
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I had been a bit concerned that if the wind changed in the wrong direction the fires near Nowa Nowa (a little north east of Lakes Entrance) could impact the road out of town. The fire didn't move significantly overnight though, so the road was clear and we didn't see much sign of the fires except for smoke - although the skies were pretty clear where we were. The drive through the rest of Victoria was beautiful - some green river plains, lots of rivers with a fair bit of water in them, some lush forests as we went over hills/mountains, glimpses of the old rail line on some cool trestle bridges.</div>
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We passed into NSW which is always exciting, and drove on to Eden. The views of the bay as we came in were pretty impressive. I directed us through town to the lookout at the end of the peninsula. We'd known it was a hot day but getting out of the car was a bit of a shock - 34 degrees with a hot wind. We walked out to the lookout and could see a large part of Twofold bay and lots of the mountains around. It was the wrong season for whale watching, but still a very enjoyable view. I wandered around the fence line a bit to look down into a little rocky cove that I always like to see when I'm in Eden. The wind coming off the water there was much cooler. We sat at a picnic table in the shade and had wraps for lunch - the heat was fairly intense but not quite as bad in the shade. After lunch we walked around a bit more and Tony found a path to the side of the cove which gave quite a good view (although it was at the top of a cliff with no fence so I was a little scared...)</div>
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We kept driving north, through Bega and back around to the coast. I love driving through the hills around that part of Australia - although it looked so dry and parched, not green like I've seen it in the past. We headed for a bush camp at Mystery Bay, a little north of Bermagui. When we arrived the kids and Luna headed down to the beach, while Tony and I found a place to set up camp. We decided not to camp in the area closest to the beach, it seemed quite crowded, and instead found a place a couple of hundred metres walk from the beach - we could see the sand from our spot, and it was a bit more secluded and set amongst lovely tall gum trees (different to what we're used to - there were no leaves or branches down low, just tall bare trunks and lots of leaves higher up). There were plenty of other campers around but it didn't feel crowded. We had a quick walk around on the beach, which had great rocks to climb on and explore at the northern end, and sheltered water to swim in due to rocks off shore. It was so gorgeous and I immediately fell in love with the place and never wanted to leave. We set the tent up then headed down to the beach again for a swim. The water was pretty cold, but the waves very gentle and it was deep enough to swim around a bit at times. </div>
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We had pasta carbonara for dinner, then took Luna down to the beach for another walk. She loved being near the water and exploring the rocks, chasing crabs, playing with other dogs etc. We didn't let her off lead because she was likely to run, but she still had a great time. Back to the tent and it was getting dark so we settled in to go to bed.<br /><br /></div>
AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-25825055546891378572019-12-24T09:55:00.003+11:002019-12-24T09:55:52.631+11:00Christmas Trip 2019: Lakes EntranceI slept quite badly (quite common for first night in the tent) and got up early to take Luna for a walk. The sun was probably just up and there was also a thick layer of smoke around the entire horizon. We walked down to the footbridge and over onto the beach and watched the red, smoke affected sun rise a bit higher, and played in the edge of the waves a bit. Back at the caravan park Amelie was awake so we had some breakfast and hung out in the bbq area. I started chatting to another mum who had been travelling with her husband and 3 young girls, and we shared stories about her trip and our travel experiences. Amelie played with the girls, and when Caitlin got up she played with the baby. Over the next couple of hours as we all gradually ate breakfast and relaxed, and the other family packed up their tent, Caitlin took care of the baby which they were extremely grateful for. <div>
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The day was warming up and was forecast to be mid-30s, so we decided to for our walk mid-morning rather than waiting. We'd heard that there were often dolphins and seals at the actual entrance to the lakes (that gives the town it's name) so we sunscreened up and headed off. Once over the footbridge we turned to the right and walked along a sandy trail that snaked up and down the long piece of land between the lake and ocean. There were lots of birds and the occasional skink. The path was sandy and the air was pretty warm so some bits were hard going, especially up hills, but the view of the lake and plenty of shade helped it stay enjoyable. Tony and Amelie and I veered off at one point to see some historical buildings - they were being renovated and not really worth the trek up and down over a sand dune. We debated whether to try to meet up with the main track by walking along the lake shore, but worried that we'd miss the others if they came back looking for us, so went back up and over the hill. After 5 minutes or so we caught up with the others, waiting for us where the main path joined back up to the shore - a couple of hundred metres from where we had just been, so we definitely went the long way!</div>
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The path cut back inland and up a steep board walk to a large flagpole, which used to be used to signal water conditions to incoming ships. From there we walked down to the edge of the entrance channel, had a bit of a look at the old buildings there, and watched the fast flowing water for a while. Caitlin and Liam saw a dolphin as soon as they arrived at the water, it was gone by the time the rest of us arrived. Amelie and I found a boardwalk leading back towards the lake, Caitlin found one heading towards the ocean and could see seals just across the channel. We all went and joined her and watched the seals playing in the choppy water near the opposite headland, and then watched one that swam back and forth in front of us for a while. There were also a couple of dolphin pairs that we saw swimming through the channel. </div>
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The entrance kept us entertained for a while, and we had a bit of a snack, then decided to walk back along the beach (it was 2.5km each way) and take advantage of the coastal breeze and being able to have our feet in the water. It would have been hot going back along the path, but on the beach side it was quite pleasant. The kids jumped off the edge of the sand dunes for a while then we started back. Walking on the beach sand was surprisingly difficult, even the wet sand was quite soft so we sank into it with each step - hard work on the calves and shins and achilles tendons. Along the way the kids found a small shark that had been beached and was trying to get back into the water. Liam kept Luna away and Caitlin ran back to tell me - I found a long stick that had broken off the sand dune foliage, and was able to gradually push him back into water that was deep enough for him to swim away. </div>
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Once we reached the main beach, we all went for a swim in the ocean. Tony had a quick dip then walked back home with Luna, the rest of us swam for a bit longer. Amelie did really well in the waves that were a bit rougher than she's used to and the rest of us really loved being in the ocean again. We played for a while in the small puddles of water made by the waves on the flatter sand, then walked back over to the lake. Caitlin and I rinsed off in the lake although the sandy bottom was a bit slimy, covered in swan poo. As we headed back over the footbridge we saw there was a cleaner area we could have swum in - maybe next time.</div>
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Back to camp and we all had a shower in our little ensuite and relaxed for a while. The kids and I played cards (Kaboom) and Tony had a nap then read his book. Later in the afternoon Caitlin and I walked into town to go to an op shop - I needed a shirt with sleeves that I could wear over my swimmers, and Caitlin needed a new bikini top. We walked a long way and found the op shop closed early when we arrived. We popped into Target instead and I got a shirt, and then some food for dinner from Woolworths. The others met us back at the playground near the footbridge, we played for a while then went and got some ice cream. We sat outside the shop and enjoyed our ice cream then wandered back to camp.</div>
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Tony cooked sausages on the bbq for an early dinner. We were all pretty tired after our long walk. Caitlin took Luna for another walk along the lake edge, and we all had an earlyish night.</div>
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AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-29244334372458746112019-12-18T08:06:00.002+11:002019-12-18T08:06:36.841+11:00Christmas 2019 Trip: Home -> Lakes EntranceAfter a busy morning at home packing the car (I'd finished the trailer packing the night before) and making sure the house was ok to leave, we were on the road around 12.45pm. Pretty impressive since we hadn't really done any preparation until the day before and we were also out half of that day. Luna was very excited to be coming with us - although it will take a bit of time for us to adjust to having her as I had to pack the car really differently. She was happily set up between the girls and can see out the front window and get lots of pats.<br />
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We drove through the hills down towards Pakenham, stopping at a rest stop (near Gumbuyah World) to retie the shovel which had worked it's way loose from the side of the trailer. I was feeling very excited and relaxed (a nice combination) - great to finally be on the road and loving being somewhere new even if it was just a roadside rest stop. Luna had a bit of a walk and then we kept going, this time listening to Superpowereds rather than music.<br />
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We'd looked at some free camping options close to Lakes Entrance - the one we liked was almost another hour past the town, and didn't have toilets, so we decided to stay in a caravan park in town instead. I found a basic park with good rates and booked in as we drove.<br />
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Everyone was excited as we started to glimpse the ocean, and even more so when we had a good view of the entrance to the lakes as we drove down the hill. Tony and I stopped here for lunch on our honeymoon 17 years ago, otherwise none of us have ever been here.<br />
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At the caravan park the guy helped us get the trailer in the best position - he opened gates behind our site so that we could drive through without having to reverse. All the sites have their own ensuite shower and toilet which is a nice touch. As Tony and I set up the kids took Luna for a walk down to the beach. Set up was quick and fairly easy, although when we put the annex up I realised I'd left a bunch of the poles at home (some of them were damaged at our last camp when the annex got hit by a big wind gust and I'd put them aside to fix them and then forgotten about them). I was missing a couple of poles that I needed but I managed to make do with what I had.<br />
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Once set up we went and joined the kids - a lovely walk along one arm of the lake then across the footbridge to the ocean beach. There were lots of swans in the lake. Luna was a bit scared of the waves but happy to sit on the sand and watch the kids play. Caitlin buried her paws in the sand which confused her at first then she figured she could just stand up and get out of the sand. Tony went and ordered fish and chips and the kids built tunnels and dug holes and did handstands, then we joined him back near the lake to eat. We watched the sunset over the lake and Tony walked back to the beach to watch it set over the ocean. We had a bit of a play on the exercise equipment near the lake then wandered back to the tent, set up the beds and went to bed as soon as we could.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8hL4ZHTyAIH9Qc9SP4C-NNwOOLqYFKmlOX03okzO3fUQdJTn8ZTvXf14Uy1N4RGSIPy5-EFPrmpGTX0YSPpOVlh9dSxDLtzJFFr_1mPESx4pMGMvz7C9hWw9u2Mdo_ENg2i9X5kGSZY/s1600/IMG_9302.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8hL4ZHTyAIH9Qc9SP4C-NNwOOLqYFKmlOX03okzO3fUQdJTn8ZTvXf14Uy1N4RGSIPy5-EFPrmpGTX0YSPpOVlh9dSxDLtzJFFr_1mPESx4pMGMvz7C9hWw9u2Mdo_ENg2i9X5kGSZY/s320/IMG_9302.jpg" width="320" /></a>AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-31691097481349545632018-06-23T09:09:00.000+10:002018-06-23T09:09:00.521+10:00Brisbane Trip Day 35 - 38: Bimbi Park -> HomeThe wind was strong on the first night - I was surprised that it didn't scare me, I usually am uncomfortable with wind. It was loud though and at times I was awake listening to it and hoping that everyone's tents were safe. (All the homeschoolers were fine - one hire vehicle that some backpackers were staying in ended up with a large branch on it, but no one was injured).<br />
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The heavy wind continued for all of the next day, then eased overnight which was a relief to everyone - it had most of the adults feeling a bit jittery and exhausted, although it didn't slow the kids down.<br />
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I was pretty tired after our 5 weeks away and was happy to sit at our tent up the back of the camping area and chat to whoever wanted to come to see me. I spent much of the first couple of days talking with our friend who was camped with us, and with others who came up to see us. It was great to sit and relax and not have to think too much.<br />
<br />
The kids were very happy off with their friends. Caitlin and the rest of the teens wandered around the camp, played games, went for walks, sat in the lounge area of the camp kitchen, took lots of photos of themselves and each other, played on the swing, and forged stronger friendships. Liam and his friends chatted a lot about fantasy games and stories, played tag games, explored the camp grounds, and occasionally played on their DSs. Amelie played mainly with a couple of girls camped near us, they played with pokemon, did roadworks on the path in front of the other girls' tent, played mini golf and ran around a lot.<br />
<br />
Various people had fires at night which were great to sit around and chat (for the adults) and the kids came back and forth with marshmallows. The boys played games with torches of an evening. Amelie was quite tired each night and ready to go to bed reasonably early.<br />
<br />
On the 3rd day our campsite friend packed up and headed home - his son (Liam's friend) stayed in his tent next to us for the rest of the camp. One of Caitlin's friend's dads also went home, and the friend moved into our tent. Another of Caitlin's friends had his swag next to our tent (his dad had stayed the first night), so we had quite a tribe of extras with us.<br />
<br />
Each of the kids and their friends spent time hanging out at our campsite, as well as at other campsites and in the kitchen. At one point all the teens and most of Liam's friends were at our tent, and someone started massaging someone's shoulders, which quickly turned into a massage chain - I had a great massage from Caitlin's friend.<br />
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On the 3rd evening I walked up to the top of the nearby hill, it was great to see the view from there and watch the sun head towards the horizon. There were glimpses of the ocean, and views of the forest in all directions. I was also able to get enough mobile reception to catch up on messages that had been sent while I'd been at camp - although this brought me back to the real world a bit and reminded me that our trip was nearly over which felt a little less relaxing than camp.<br />
<br />
The next day I went for a longer walk by myself to the lighthouse. The walk itself was along a wide path, mainly through open fields, and occasionally through the forest. It was a sunny afternoon and quite a pleasant walk, although longer than I'd expected. I stopped to look at a tiny graveyard my friend had told me about, with the graves of adults and children from lighthouse families who had died while stationed there. The view of the ocean from near the lighthouse was quite beautiful. On the way back I ran into Caitlin and her friends doing the same walk as me. When they came back they spent time up on the top of the hill watching the sunset and taking gorgeous photos.<br />
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I spent several hours each afternoon sitting at my tent chatting to friends and drinking cups of tea. The weather was sunny and warm and it was a very pleasant way to spend the time.<br />
<br />
On the last night the wind picked up a bit again and it started raining. I got up and sorted out the potential for leaks. Packing up in the morning was tricky with the wind and rain coming on and off. The kids hung out with their friends and I chipped away and the packing up, and we were ready to go around the middle of the day. I was taking home two of the other kids so we had to pack the car and the trailer differently, it was pretty crowded but we got everything and everyone in. Throughout the morning we said goodbye to people as they headed off and we said bye to the last few families before we went as well.<br />
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We drove home via the Great Ocean Road which was beautiful, although very slow because of the frequent roadworks. Coming through the countryside before Geelong someone indicated to me that there was something wrong with my trailer - I stopped and checked and one of the straps across the back had come loose and was dragging on the ground. I tied it back together with cable ties and secured the carpet and trailer again.<br />
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We had a fairly easy trip around Melbourne, and we stopped at Bundoora to drop Caitlin's friend off with family. The rest of us kept going and arrived home in the evening. Very exciting to see Tony again after so long, and to see the dogs and cat.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-51421732230077960782018-03-31T05:19:00.000+11:002018-03-31T05:22:35.550+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 34: Melbourne -> Bimbi ParkWe all slept pretty well and were up in the morning to play with the kids and chat to my sister before getting ready to move on. I thought about unhitching and going to Aldi, then decided we'd just shop on the way. We left around 10.30 and headed through Melbourne, aiming for Colac. I noticed petrol was quite cheap but the service stations I saw were small and were going to be tricky to navigate with the trailer, so I decided to get top up after getting out of Melbourne.<br />
<br />
We listened to Percy Jackson again and had a good run through Melbourne and out past Geelong. On the road to Colac we encountered roadworks and it became a very long trip along what is usually an easy, straight road. Eventually we arrived in Colac and stocked up on the groceries we would need for homeschool camp. While I was in the carpark I received a few phone calls and messages about Luna - she had been wandering overnight and had ended up with our neighbour, and another friend was looking for her to take her back to her place for a couple of days. I sorted that out as best I could, then went to get petrol, which was not cheap at all.<br />
<br />
Heading out of Colac I was feeling a bit flustered as it was much later than I had hoped at this stage, and I followed a sign to The Great Ocean Road rather than following my GPS. I had planned to drive through Lavers Hill as this was the least windy road. We had been driving for a while, along a road that was pretty good, when I realised I had cut back across to the Skeynes Creek Road, which is the one I most wanted to avoid because of several hairpin bends and a steep descent to the ocean. By this stage it was too late to go back the other way so I decided to keep going and just take it easy. The wind was also quite strong and there were lots of small branches on the roads, which made driving a little more taxing.<br />
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The descent took a while (I took it slow) but it was manageable, and the tight turns were ok. I felt pretty good once I'd got to the bottom. There were great ocean views from time to time as we came down, and then we drove alongside the ocean for a while as we approached and left Apollo Bay. I was pretty tired by now and found the last little bit of the drive up to Cape Otway quite difficult. I drove fairly slow which was occasionally stressful when there were people behind me. As we drove down the Cape Otway road we came to more roadworks. While we were stopped, the lady with the Stop sign came along and pointed out some koalas to everybody, so most people got out of their cars to have a look. Back in the car we finally made it to Bimbi Park around 4pm.<br />
<br />
I went to check in, and helped a friend negotiate the correct rate for her site (it defaulted to the base rate being for 2 adults, then added both children on to that price, rather than including the first child in the base rate). Caitlin wandered straight down to find her friends, and as I drove past the camp kitchen, Liam and Amelie jumped out to see friends as well. I drove down the back and found where I was camping with another friend, and he helped me get set up. Other friends were around as well and it was great to finally be there and get ready to relax for several days.<br />
<br />
Once set up we wandered back to the kitchen for a quick meeting about the camp (mainly just asking us to be respectful of a visiting school group when they were praying), and saw a few more friends, then back to camp to finish getting organised - cook some dinner, have a cup of tea, chat with people as they wandered by. The kids were back and forth, playing with their friends and coming back to check in or eat every now and then. It was still very very windy which made things slightly less peaceful. I decided not to put my annex up until the wind died down, I did not want to spend all night worrying about it flying away. I chatted to my campsite friend until Amelie was ready for bed and then we went inside the tent, I read for a little while and then we tried to sleep and not get blown away.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-70512403505584772712018-03-29T08:29:00.000+11:002018-03-29T08:29:44.222+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 33: Wodonga -> MelbourneI woke a bit after 7 and went down the street to get milk and a few other supplies, and to fill up our gas bottle before we go bush. When I got back Amelie was just waking up. The others were up soon afterwards and we had breakfast and started to get organised. Pack up went fairly quickly and well, until I tried to get the pegs out of the hard ground - some were tricky, and some were so stuck that I didn't know if I'd be able to do it at all. Eventually I managed to wriggle them free and could finish putting the tent away. We paid for our site when the caretaker came around, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was only $10, not $20, because we hadn't used any power. Racehorses were training on the track and on the grass near us, so the kids went and watched them for a while.<br />
<br />
We set off a bit before 11 and listened to Percy Jackson again. The trip down the Hume Freeway was easy and fairly quick at first. I stopped for petrol and to check the air in my tyres, then we continued on. As the Freeway came down past Broadford and got closer to Melbourne, the wind was blowing sideways across the road and the driving became a bit more difficult and a bit slower.<br />
<br />
We made it to my sister's place a bit after 2.30, and there was room in front of her house and driveway and a bit of next door's driveway for me to pull up with the trailer. We had to wait for a few minutes while the construction workers had a forklift on the road, then we were able to pull in. Amelie's best friend and her family met us at my sister's, and she went to the Museum with them. The rest of us spent the afternoon inside at my sister's, playing with the baby and the 4yo and catching up on each other's news. Liam is a big hit with his cousin so he was very busy playing cars and doing puzzles. Caitlin was more than happy to play with the baby.<br />
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Amelie came back in the evening, very happy to have spent time with her friend. We had pasta for dinner and then the little kids went to bed, my kids watched some videos and played on their iPads. I chatted more with my sister - I was so incredibly tired, any plans I'd had of getting things more organised for camp just didn't happen. We had a fairly early night, Caitlin slept on the couch, Amelie and I in the bed in the spare room and Liam on our foam mattress on the spare room floor.<br />
<br />
<br />AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-91353672974404203412018-03-28T07:25:00.000+11:002018-03-28T07:25:01.905+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 32: Bathurst -> WodongaCaitlin brought Amelie in to me in the middle of the night, Amelie had been a bit bothered by the dark I think. Sleeping with her in a single bed was a little bit uncomfortable.<br />
<br />
I was up around 7 and saw the beautiful sunrise over the hills and trees, looking through the gorgeous big window they have in their dining area. I had a bit more of a chat to my friend as she got ready for work, then got the kids up and gave them breakfast, said goodbye to her kids, put our stuff in the car and hitched up the trailer. My friend had given Caitlin some horse blankets that she no longer needed, so I also reorganised the trailer a little to fit them in.<br />
<br />
We set off sometime after 9 and drove through Bathurst and on towards Cowra. The countryside on our drive today was beautiful - very dry and dusty, lots of hills, some rocks, trees scattered around. It was all interesting. We stopped at a rest stop between Cowra and Young so that I could get a cup of tea, we all used the toilet and had an early lunch, and I adjusted some straps on the trailer (the bikes were wiggling loose a bit). A friend from home rang while we were stopped so it was a good chance to have a chat to her.<br />
<br />
As we drove we listened to Percy Jackson and Greek Gods - which was a entertaining and amusing telling of Greek mythology - we all learnt lots and it's sparked many discussions already. Driving through Young I remembered stopping there once for a coffee with Tony - lots of memories on this road as well. We stopped in Junee (at a park that I remember stopping at before, but it was in a different place than I recalled - I thought it was near the railway station, but it was before we crossed the railway line) because a friend wanted to talk to me about homeschool camp - he was concerned about the bush fires around Camperdown and wanted to work out a plan for whether we would still go or not. We decided we'd keep an eye on weather and fire conditions and if the fire danger was low then we would go to camp as planned. The kids played in the playground while I talked and it was a lovely relaxing stop. There were a few freight trains going past which also added some interest.<br />
<br />
We continued on to Wodonga and stopped at the Showground. I rang the number on the sign and the guy said to set up and he'd come and collect payment in the morning. They only allow 8 campers per night and I think we were the 8th. The spot that was left had a bus parked very close to the side where I would need to put my trailer, and I didn't want to encroach on the leisure space of the motorhome on the other side. So I reversed in very close to the bus, I don't think I could have been that accurate at the start of the trip. I also went a bit further back than the bus was, so we could both still walk around our vehicles.<br />
<br />
I set up the tent, Caitlin helped with the tricky bits then went to sit on the grass to talk to her friends on the phone. The others played on their iPods for a while. Once we were all set up, Liam, Amelie and I went to Bunnings to get some lanolin spray to use on the tent zip (I wanted it before we got to camp in case it was cold and wet, because the zip sticks even more then, and I wouldn't be able to go shopping once I was at camp) and some other things (contact spray, WD40, and oil for the bike chains). We found these all in the one place which made it easy. There was a KFC in the Bunnings carpark, and I was very tired after a 6 hour drive and not much sleep the night before, so I bought a family pack for dinner, and Amelie bought all the kids frozen drinks.<br />
<br />
Back at the tent we sat on the picnic rug (on the slope because I hadn't left us much flat space behind the tent - I figured for a quick stop without the stove we could manage) and ate our KFC which was delicious and just about the right amount of food for us. Afterwards Caitlin sat in the car for a little while and talked to friends again, the rest of us went to bed - I was ready for sleep by 9,30, the first time I'd been in bed before 11.30 in almost a week!AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-55496755124141486682018-03-27T07:19:00.001+11:002018-03-27T07:19:24.205+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 31: Blue Mountains -> BathurstIt was a bit of a windy night, and the noise from the trains slowly heaving up the mountain could be loud - they didn't ever wake me up, but a couple of times I was already awake and heard them go past. The morning was beautiful and fresh, with the sun rising and lighting up the trees across the grass from us.<br />
<br />
There wasn't a lot to do to pack up and it went pretty smoothly (although the wind made it slightly difficult at times and I also had trouble with the zip on the trailer cover). My friend from the night before came past at one point, she was walking to Springwood and it was cool to see her one more time.<br />
<br />
We continued to drive through the Blue Mountains, and saw the new Hydro Majestic Hotel and it's majestic view. We stopped for petrol in Medlow Bath, and then approached Victoria Pass, which I had been anxious about for almost a week. The grade here is 14% in some parts, and I knew it was a tricky, steep road. My friend's husband had given me some tips the night before, so I put the car in 2nd gear and just took it very slow. The speed limit for trucks was 40, and I went slower than that - it was fine, I didn't feel the trailer pushing me at all at that speed. There were a few tight bends in between the 2 steep parts, and I managed them fine and got to the bottom feeling very relieved and a great sense of achievement!<br />
<br />
I would have liked to stop in Hartley and have a look around but we already had enough stops planned for these last few days of driving. Tony rang us when we were near Lithgow so I pulled over and we all had a chat to him on his birthday. We kept going and turned off to find my friend's place - a friend from my BHP days. We parked the trailer in front of her shed, and then drove in to Bathurst to meet her at her daughter's school, which was having a Highland Gathering.<br />
<br />
We found her watching the bagpipe display (her daughter was competing) and sat on the grass and watched that and the strong man competition. We were all hot and exhausted and I sent the kids to get themselves an ice block. Amelie accidentally got the wrong one so I sent her to get a 2nd one - it was hot and windy and it was much more bearable if we all felt happy. After their ice blocks the kids went for a walk to look at the games and rides. I stayed and talked with my friend for a while, it was so good to see her. She and her youngest son decided to go home for a while, so I went and found the kids and saw Caitlin and Liam competing by running attached to a bungee cord and trying to put blocks as far away from their starting point as they could. Caitlin's long arms and legs and speed made this a lot easier for her. Amelie got her face painted (a cat on one side of her face, it was really well done) and the others played some skill games (throwing or shooting balls at things). We had a bit more of a wander around and then discovered that the meat pies were half price as it was nearly the end of the day, so we had one each.<br />
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We headed back to my friend's place. I hadn't been to her house before, it was huge and spacious - she and her husband had designed and built it 15 years ago and I loved it. We had a bit of a look around, and went down to feed bread to the sheep and the very old (30 years) horse. Her boys were riding their motorbikes, and the 15 year old took Liam then Caitlin on a ride - they loved it. The kids played on the trampoline and the swing, and Caitlin helped feed the horse, then we went inside while my friend cooked dinner. We chatted and the kids played and we had a delicious lamb roast with her and her kids. We had ice cream and blueberries for dessert and then sat in the lounge for a cup of tea. It was relaxing and easy to be there and I'm so glad we detoured inland to see her.<br />
<br />
The girls slept in the bunk beds in the youngest son's room (he slept in my friend's room) and Liam and I slept in single beds in the spare room. It was really dark once all the lights went out - no street lights this far out of town and they turned all the lights off before they went to bed.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-60886115733462986482018-03-18T07:50:00.000+11:002018-03-18T07:50:01.102+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 30: Sydney -> Blue MountainsThis was the most urban place we'd stayed in for a while - I was woken up by people on their morning walk going past the front of the house and talking loudly. It wasn't early though, probably around 7.30. We had a relaxed morning, hanging out in the kitchen/family room, eating breakfast and chatting and playing games. The kids spent some time on iPads and all the boys and Amelie played Minecraft for a while (although Amelie's world wasn't working properly) and we played Love Letters again, with people swapping in and out of the game as other things were happening. Our friend's daughter had dancing so she went off to that, and the boys all went with her mum to pick her up, bringing back a big box of delicious donuts from Grumpy Donuts. I was in the shower when they got back out, and returned to the kitchen to a very yummy treat.<br />
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Our hosts were going out around 11.30, so we organised to leave at the same time. I got everything in the car and locked the front door and just as I drove off remembered that I'd left my water bottle in the bed - I figured it wasn't worth the hassle of organising to go back inside to get it, so we gifted it to our friends.<br />
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We drove around and over the Harbour Bridge which was quite exciting, then I chose the wrong lane as I exited the bridge but still easily found my way to my brother's house in Greenwich. We parked on Greenwich Rd, finding a lengthy parking space fairly easily, and walked around the block to my brother's. His son was a little unsure about all these people coming in to his house, although he eventually played with Caitlin for a little while. When he wanted his Maman and Caitlin offered to go with him to find her though, he wasn't interested, he wanted Papa to take him. He went down for a nap before lunch.<br />
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My brother cooked the most magnificent steaks and sausages on the bbq, as well as some awesome chips and his wife made a salad, and we sat on the balcony to eat lunch. They had a friend over as well and she was fun and interesting to talk to. I had a great time catching up with all their day to day news and the kids joined in at times, and looked at the view or retreated with their iPods for a while. Their cousin woke up after a while and still wasn't keen on playing or talking with the kids, but did give them all a high-5 when we were saying goodbye.<br />
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We left a bit before 4 and the drive up to the Blue Mountains was quite easy. We pulled into a free camp at Woodford and discovered that all the vehicle camping is on the road, only tents can go on the grassed area (there are large rocks around the edge of the grass). At first I wasn't sure where we'd be able to set up, and we were thinking of getting out our little tents, then I decided I could probably manage to get the tent up in the one bay that was available (everywhere else I felt like the tent would be in the way of through traffic).<br />
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The bay was definitely big enough and I had no trouble backing in. I wanted to set up quickly so we could go to my friend's house (I'd said I'd be there around 6 and it was 5.30 when I unhitched). I had a moment of worry when I unhitched and the trailer rolled backwards - I caught it and managed to unlock the toolbox with one hand and get around to the wheels to chock them before it rolled any further. We did a very quick (38 minutes, including the beds) setup in hot, late afternoon sun. I was covered in sweat and very red in the face. The set up was a bit tricky too because half of the bay was asphalt so we couldn't peg all the corners down, so I used ropes on a couple of the corners. The slope was a bit inconvenient too so the tent looks a bit wonky - but for a short overnight stop it was fine. The zip decided to play up just as we were about to leave - I zipped up the fly door instead and we went to my friends.<br />
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We were greeted at my friend's house by her 3 legged dog who wasn't sure about these strangers in her house - she settled down after a while and spent a lot of the night licking Amelie and Liam's legs. We sat out the back and had nibbles and drinks and then a BBQ with sausages and chicken skewers. Great food and fantastic conversation. Both my friend's adult daughters were home and I loved catching up with them (I've known them both since they were born). It was a very relaxing and funny night. The kids spent some time looking at the birds and talking to one of the girls about them, and Amelie watched Beauty and the Beast (the new one). I remember watching the original Disney version with my friend in this same house, about 25 years ago! They had recently renovated their kitchen and changed some other things in the house so I was happy to see all the changes and we reminisced about what the house originally looked like.<br />
<br />
We didn't leave until after 11 - Amelie was already asleep and everyone was pretty tired. It had been a very enjoyable evening. We drove back to camp and pretty much went straight to bed, all three kids were asleep within minutes.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-18240786619416770242018-03-17T09:19:00.001+11:002018-03-17T09:19:22.547+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 29: Newcastle -> Sydney<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I wanted to make sure that I saw the girls
and their Dad before they left for school and work so that I could say goodbye,
so when I woke quite early I didn’t try to go back to sleep. I had enough time
to go for a walk and this time went straight to the granny pool for a swim. The
sky was grey and there was a light breeze blowing in from the ocean – the feel
and smell of the air reminded me so much of swimming at Merewether Baths on a
cloudy morning. The water was cool and refreshing and got to about chest deep
near the gap in the wall, where the water flows in from the channel. I swam
around for about 10 minutes then went back to the house to say goodbye and
thanks for letting us stay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After I’d had some breakfast I chatted to
Tony for a while, then Caitlin said that the oldest cousin had missed her bus.
I drove her to school (which also gave the girls a bit more time together) and
then stopped at Woolworths on the way back to get some more bread and milk. The
bridge was up again as we left Swansea. At home I was just about to start
packing when Tony rang again, it was great to have a chat of more than a few
minutes with him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I didn’t start packing until 9.40, then had
everything done, ready to go by 11.40 which I was very happy with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was hot and sweaty so had a cold shower and
got changed, we checked that we had all our stuff and were on our way by just
after 12.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We stopped for petrol at Doyalson – last
year I’d bought a Pokemon DVD at this petrol station so Amelie wanted to see if
they had more. There weren’t any DVDs that interested her, she and Liam bought
some chocolate. The drive down to Sydney was fairly easy, there was a lot of
traffic but it mainly kept moving. Getting through to Leichhardt had a few
moments of tricky traffic with the trailer on, but we made it fine. As I
approached our friends’ house I saw a parking spot about 2 ½ cars long, in
front of a boat. It was long enough for me to drive into it, then reverse back
at bit and wiggle back and forth to get the trailer fairly straight (and mainly
off the cycle lane). It was only a few houses away from where we were staying
so I was very pleased with the spot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Our friends weren’t home until after work,
so we had some lunch at the car, then walked down to the Light Rail station at
Lilyfield. We stopped on the way to buy Opal cards, and I bought a scratchie as
well which we did at the station – we didn’t win anything but the kids enjoyed
scratching it. The train was very crowded and took a long time to get to
Central. Once there we caught a regular train to Circular Quay – we sat
upstairs which was exciting for kids used to Melbourne, single level, trains
(and I always love catching Sydney trains). Getting off the train at Circular
Quay we had a great view over the Quay, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
We stood at the edge of the platform and looked at the view, and noticed a
street artist down on the path below – he was completely dressed and painted in
gold, and appeared to be hovering in mid air – he had one hand resting on top
of a pole, and was sitting cross legged about a metre off the ground. We headed
downstairs to see if we could see how he was doing it, but he was packing up by
the time we got there. From what we could see, the pole was firmly anchored in
a base plate, but there was no other support – so we think he was balancing
just on the strength of his arm on the pole.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We wandered around to the Opera House,
looking at the markers showing the 1788 waterline. We admired a street artist’s
painting of the harbour and gave him some money. At the Opera House we sat on
the ledge around the edge of the point and looked at the Bridge, the boats and
ferries going past, and the sails of the Opera House. We walked across the base
of the steps and went down to the pontoon at Man-of-war steps, Amelie didn’t
like being on the moving pontoon, so she played with some soft, sparkly sand on
the path back on dry land. Caitlin and Liam had a look around, then we walked
back up the Opera Houses steps and sat on one of the sloping parts in front of
a window. It was tempting to run up to the top of the slope but there was a
sign saying not to, so we sat at the bottom and looked at all the different
aspects of the sails that we could see from there. We went over and touched
some of the tiles and looked at the different patterns and how different they
looked from a distance compared to up close. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Amelie wanted to see the Botanic Gardens so
we wandered over there and the kids played around a sculpture of mother earth,
Caitlin climbed a fig tree, and we went to look at gazebo that was installed recently,
which had lots of symbolism about the colonial impact of Governor Macquarie and
his wife. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon so the backdrop was incredible,
with the harbour and boats and bridge always in sight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We wandered back towards the station,
stopping briefly to share a cup of delicious lemon sorbet. We got to the
platform just in time to jump on a train – one of the newer ones that I don’t think
I’ve been on before. We admired the old fashioned style of Museum station as we
went through, then got off the train at Central. The light rail train was just
pulling in as we arrived at the platform, we were able to get on and get seats
this time. The trip back seemed much quicker, and we wandered up the hill in
much cooler temperatures, just before sunset.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Our friends were sitting on the front steps
waiting for us when we arrived. We had a drink of water then sat out the back
for a while and the kids played tennis with small plastic rackets, until the
mozzies got too bad. We had delicious pizza for dinner and all the kids got on
well. (Our friends’ 2 kids and another friend of theirs who was sleeping over).
The younger kids played with loom bands for a while and did some puzzles,
Caitlin sat with the adults and we played a game called Love Letters. The boys
played Uno then started to watch our game, and we switched out players so that
everyone had a turn. My host and I had a cocktail and it was a fun night, full
of laughter and catching up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-36933733199947093702018-03-16T08:10:00.000+11:002018-03-16T08:17:20.861+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 28: NewcastleOnce again I was up first and went for a walk to the beach. The water was clearer today, less seaweed and no muck. It was sunny and beautiful in a different way to yesterday. There was one surfer in the water and I decided to go in - the undertow was strong and the waves were breaking fairly close to shore. I thought about going past the break but didn't feel confident given that I was there on my own. I stood in waist deep water for a while and it was lovely, then hopped out and kept walking. I walked to the end of the beach and all the way out to the end of the break wall. There was a big swell coming into the channel - it was really cool to see the waves from behind as they rolled past me. There were some good splashes on the edge of the break wall but nothing really breaking over onto the path.<br />
<br />
I chatted for a while with a couple and their dog (the dog didn't want me to come too close to it's humans, until we started talking and then it came over to me for a pat and was quite happy), then wandered back home. I had a shower and some breakfast and chatted to the kids as they woke up.<br />
<br />
At 10 an old friend from BHP came to visit, we sat out the back and talked for a couple of hours, it was fantastic to spend some time with him. After he left I tidied up a bit, talked to a friend from home on the phone, then we had lunch and got ready to go out to see another friend (Caitlin's godfather).<br />
<br />
We drove down to his house in Wyee and had a lovely afternoon chatting, looking at his garden and the work he's done in the yard, talking politics and lots of other topics. The kids played with his girls and came in and out of our conversation. They played Uno and hide and seek and read books and played with stuffed toys, then Amelie and his girls watched TV until we left. Just as we were getting ready to go his wife came home from work, I'm so glad we got to see her as well.<br />
<br />
Back home and the cousins were out at the beach so we relaxed for a while, when they came home the kids played on the trampoline and chatted. The youngest cousin was here and she and Amelie danced to Moana again. My BIL set up a fire in the backyard and the kids sat around that and ate their dinner, some went inside afterwards to watch tv together, some stayed outside. I chatted to the other adults and it was a lovely quiet evening. After the little one and her mum and brother had left, the kids all stayed inside and my BIL sat outside near the fire until quite late, talking about lots of deep topics. I had thought about packing some of our stuff tonight, then decided the conversation was more important.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-7021500732442453282018-03-15T12:25:00.001+11:002018-03-16T08:19:41.259+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 27: NewcastleI woke early and went for a walk along Blacksmiths Beach. The sky was quite dark and made the ocean a steely grey metallic colour, with the sun shining through the clouds on the horizon. There was a coal ship silhouetted in the rising sun and it was gorgeous. I considered going for a swim - the waves were pretty big, there was a lot of seaweed, and there was a layer of some sort of muck just beyond the break, so I decided to give it a miss. I walked up to the break wall and a little way out - the waves at times were crashing onto the wall so I didn't walk any further, just stood and admired the view for a while. On my way back to the house it started raining - not heavily, but enough to get fairly wet. It was refreshing though, not cold.<br />
<br />
I had a quick chat to Tony while I got ready to go out, and at 10 we headed off. I drove via Eleebana to show the kids the house that my grandparents used to own - it's changed a little and I would have like to take photos but there was a lady glaring down at me from the top balcony so I did the very difficult multi-point turn to turn around at the end of the road (and I did use the driveway a little, which my grandparents didn't ever like people doing) and didn't linger there. I got a bit confused in Warners Bay, trying to figure out which road I needed to take to get me up to the bypass - I ended up on Warners Bay Rd and came out just before Charlestown which worked OK. Driving down into Merewether was exciting as always, so many familiar places and the view of the beach as I came down Scenic Dr is always amazing.<br />
<br />
We met 2 of my uncles in the carpark at Dixon Park beach (easier to park there than at Merewether). It was warm and sunny by now, we took a while to all get sunscreen on and find our hats, then we were ready to walk down to Merewether Beach. I was surprised at how many people were there, walking, swimming, sunbathing, surfing or at the cafes, for the middle of a weekday. It was great to chat to my uncles about music and their recent travels and sport and Newcastle. We had gelato at the surf club and once we'd finished eating we walked down to the baths. The kids changed into their swimmers and went for a swim (Amelie was reluctant at first, I think the size and ocean water put her off a bit) and I took a heap of photos of one of my favourite places in Newcastle. The baths have recently been refurbished so many things were different, like the ramps into them and the walls and the seats around them. The lap markers were the same and the fences looked similar - it was fun to explore and just soak up the atmosphere. I sat and talked with my uncles and Amelie got out and lay in the sun for a while, the others swam to the far side of the baths and climbed out and explored the rock pools, finding a sea slug and some fish. The waves were big although not big enough to break over onto the rocks there - they were splashing against the edge and making quite an impressive spray.<br />
<br />
The kids got out of the pool and went to play in the rock pools along the edge of the beach, and Amelie joined them. We sat in the shade and watched them and chatted some more. When the kids came back to get changed I realised I didn't want to leave without swimming in the baths myself, so I ran down and dived in and swam across and back. It felt fantastic, so refreshing, good to be swimming laps again, and great to be swimming in such a familiar place. I'm really glad I did a quick swim.<br />
<br />
As we were about to leave a massive school group (from St Paul's, Booragul) arrived so we were happy to be on our way. We walked back to the cars and said goodbye to my uncles. From there I showed the kids the unit I lived in in Merewether, then drove in to Nobbys Beach, past lots of places that I pointed out to the kids. We drove around past Newcastle Beach and then through Cooks Hill, Hamilton South and Adamstown, then past the house I lived in when I was a baby, then back home to Blacksmiths.<br />
<br />
We relaxed at the house for a while and I popped out to get some groceries so I could cook dinner. Once the girls were home from school I took Caitlin and her 13yo cousin out for coffee - we looked in Swansea first (and had to wait at the bridge to let a yacht go into the lake) but everything was closed, then tried Belmont and found nothing, so went to Belmont 16 footers - which is where we ended up going last time we were up here and I took the girls out. We ordered hot chocolates and chai, and a piece of chocolate mousse torte to share, and sat overlooking the lake and the sailboats while we ate and drank. The girls played cards (Spit) while we waited for our drinks to arrive and while we chatted after finishing them. It was a lovely afternoon out with 2 gorgeous young women.<br />
<br />
Back home my BIL took all the kids down to the beach (he had the bus from school so could fit them all in) while I cooked spag bol. The kids came home happy and wet, changed their clothes and watched TV together. I dished up dinner and sat out the back chatted to my BIL. Liam joined us after a while and we saw possums coming down out of the trees - the kids fed them some fruit and enjoyed hanging out with them. They noticed one of the possums didn't have a tail and we discussed how that might have happened. The cousins went off to bed and I followed soon after and wrote and read for a while, and the kids came in to the tent as they were ready.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-21722725521941208482018-03-14T08:34:00.000+11:002018-03-14T08:34:36.038+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 26: NewcastleIt was the eldest cousin's 13th birthday today, so Caitlin and I made sure we were up early enough to say Happy Birthday before she went to school. I spent the rest of the morning sorting out my photos and emails etc, while the kids watched Netflix and YouTube videos (and chased the chickens out of the house anytime one of us left the back door open). In the afternoon I walked over to the hardware store to see if they had a new fuse for my fridge cord - we thought we'd fixed it in Brisbane (the fuse had slipped out of place) but the fridge still wasn't working. I plugged it in to 240v power here and it worked fine, so I knew it was the cord. The hardware store didn't have the fuse so suggested I try the automotive place. He looked at the fuse and said it was fine, and said he'd have another go at getting the fuse to stay in the right place. He tested the cord and said the fuse was working but the power wasn't getting to the other end - so I came home and opened up the new cord I'd bought, and that works fine. I spent a bit of time organising to see people during the rest of our trip.<br />
<br />
The girls came home from school and their dad from work, and the kids all hung out in the front room for a while. Amelie and I made a birthday card. The youngest cousin and her mum and brother came over, and we had chocolate mud cake for birthday cake. The kids all moved out into the back yard and played on the trampoline and the adults sat and chatted for a while. The other mum and I went down the street to get fish and chips for dinner (we walked to the closest one, which was closed, so we came back and drove into Swansea. On our walk we met a scared, scruffy looking dog, who wouldn't let us get close enough to pat him - he didn't have a collar on and he looked lost, I hope he is ok).<br />
<br />
When we got back the girls were dancing to the Moana soundtrack in between jumping on the trampoline. We ate our dinner and hung out in the backyard until the mozzies got too bad. The boys had moved inside earlier and were playing on the iPad. Once the visitors left everyone wound down pretty quickly. I sat out the back for a while and chatted to my BIL, mainly about the Uni cricket club days, and some of his memories of Tony as a kid, then I went to bed and read my book. The kids all came in soon afterwards. A very relaxed day before a week of seeing different people every day!AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-52785006276111802142018-03-13T09:14:00.000+11:002018-03-13T09:14:09.979+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 25: Armidale -> NewcastleIt was even colder this morning - 6.7 degrees when I got up. Beautiful and crisp though. I started sorting our stuff a little and was about to make a cup of tea when some people arrived at our tent - a man and lady from the New England Lapidary Society, saying that they were setting up for their gem show and would I be leaving today. I said I was and asked what time they were starting - they said 9am. It was just before 8 at this stage so I said that I wouldn't be out by 9, but I'd be as quick as I could. They went around to all the other sites and told people that they had to leave - several of them had paid for another night, or even the whole week, and were understandably quite upset. The gem people were quite rude about it too 'Well we have this area leased, so you'll have to go'. (The caretakers had been away on the weekend and volunteers had helped out, and we figured they must just not have known about this previous booking).<br />
<br />
I started packing up at 8.10, and we were all ready to go at 10.20, one of our quickest pack ups ever. By this stage the caretaker had come down and apologised to everyone and said that the lapidary people had no right to go from site to site - and that they didn't start their show until Thursday, they were just marking out the sites today, so everyone could stay a few more days if they wanted to. Some people had already packed up enough that they decided to go anyway, others decided to stay and move in a few days.<br />
<br />
We all went to the toilet and on the way back we stopped to chat to several people (and met a very cute puppy), so it was 10.50 by the time we left. It was a beautiful sunny day and not cold any more. I really enjoyed the first part of the drive to Uralla - I've driven that road many many times and it was exciting to see it all again. From Uralla I kept going to Tamworth rather than turning off to go the Buckett's Way - I figured the highway would be easier with the trailer on.<br />
<br />
The drive to Tamworth took a lot longer than expected. We were stuck for a good while behind another camper trailer who was driving quite slowly. Twice the truck driver behind me leaned on his horn because I hadn't overtaken the trailer when he thought I could have (neither times felt safe to me). I was glad when we had an overtaking lane and the 2 trucks behind me were able to get past us both. At the next overtaking lane I was also able to get past the slow trailer and was able to drive a bit faster - although I'm often quite slow on windy roads. Before Tamworth the road has a few very steep sections as the elevation drops quickly - this time the speed limit for buses and trucks was 60, so this was possibly steeper than the scary hill a couple of days ago. There was no one behind me as I came down these 2 hills, which made it less scary but I still didn't enjoy it at all, I found it rather stressful. I appear to have gripped the wheel quite hard too because my forearm was very tight and sore afterwards.<br />
<br />
We eventually made it to Tamworth and drove past the Big Golden Guitar, then continued south. The road from Tamworth to Muswellbrook had a lot of of roadworks and we were frequently stopped or slowed to 60 or 40, which made the trip take a lot longer. There was another steep hill coming in to Murrurundi. As we came into the town I noticed a dragon fly stuck in my windscreen wipers, so we pulled over opposite a park so I could let him free. I also wanted to check my brake lights on the trailer as on Saturday the connection from the car seemed to wiggle loose as we drove - everything was still working today. We all went over the road to use the one toilet available - Amelie was amused that there were 3 different toilet paper dispensers, all different designs, all fully stocked. There were more roadworks as we continued south and we eventually made it to Muswellbrook around 3pm - way later than I had expected. As we drove in we could see open cut mines on the other side of town - whole hillsides that had been exploded, it was quite striking.<br />
<br />
We stopped at the park next to the railway station and I made us some sandwiches. While we ate we saw 3 long trains go past with a variety of engines on them. We explored the park a bit and had a rest, then continued on through town and got some petrol, and stopped at Aldi to buy a 4-pack of Choc-mint ice creams (it took us a while to get to Aldi because first I turned left out of the petrol station instead of turning right across the highway, and tried to get there the back way, then ended up turning right onto the highway further down, and then missed the turn into the street I needed and had to go far enough up the road to find a place to turn around.) Eventually we had our ice creams and were on our way again.<br />
<br />
The drive to Singleton was easier, and I enjoyed driving through both Muswellbrook and Singleton and seeing all the old buildings. And lots of memories from both towns. Beyond Singleton, just before Branxton, there's a new road which skips all the rest of the towns and makes the trip to Newcastle much quicker. This was much easier driving and we made good time. It was exciting to come into Newcastle through Wallsend and point out more familiar landmarks, including another street where I used to live. The trip out to Blacksmiths went smoothly and we arrived at my brother-in-laws around 6pm.<br />
<br />
The kids were all excited to see their cousins and we sat and ate pizza with them and then I sat out the back and had a cup of tea while chatting to my BIL. Once I felt rested enough I went to get the trailer - when I'd arrived there were lots of cars in the street so I was worried that it would be difficult to even get the trailer to the driveway - by the time I was ready to try, everyone had left (there is a yoga studio across the road so the cars were from the yoga class). We'd moved the couch out of the garage, last time it made it a just a bit narrow and a bit tricky to turn the trailer at the end to avoid the garden. With great directions from my BIL, I backed up the street, into the driveway and through the garage, with really no problems. We unhitched in the garage and pushed the trailer the rest of the way into the yard, and quickly had the tent up. After a bit more of a chat I put the beds up and enjoyed listening to Liam talk to his uncle about movies and books and science and puzzles.<br />
<br />
Caitlin hung out with her cousins (either on the trampoline or watching tv) until they went to bed, then she rang some friends. Once everyone else was in bed, Liam and Amelie watched Dr Who and Pokemon on Netflix, and I went to bed to read for a while. The kids came in not too long afterwards.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-34872834392624840572018-03-13T08:20:00.000+11:002018-03-13T08:20:23.207+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 24: ArmidaleThis was definitely the coldest night we've had on the trip so far, and a bit of a shock after such warm nights in Brisbane. We used all the blankets and it wasn't too uncomfortable. I was up early and there was a fog covering the show grounds, with the sun shining through and silhouetting all the show buildings, it was very pretty.<br />
<br />
I had a cup of tea and breakfast and the kids joined me as they woke up. Once I'd eaten I started work on my car window - being a Sunday I figured there'd be no one around to fix it, and also I didn't want to pay someone again, I was sure I could figure it out. It took me a while to get the door panel off, there were a couple of screws I didn't find until I looked up a diagram online. With the panel off I could see what the problem was - the window had jumped the rails and was jammed between the window column and the door frame. I tried to shift it out but it wasn't budging at all. I thought I just needed more strength, so asked the guy in the camper trailer next to us if he could help. He was a young guy, and a mechanic, and happy to help out. He'd also had a similar problem with his own window. My window though was well and truly jammed and he couldn't shift it with strength. He tried a few things and eventually found a screw that loosened the window enough to move it back and out of the jam, then put it into it's rail. He put everything back together for me and the window worked perfectly. I was very grateful.<br />
<br />
By now it was nearly 11am so we quickly got ready and headed off to explore. We drove around Armidale and I showed the kids places that I remembered. Amelie was impressed with all the churches. I wanted to show them the 3 houses I'd lived in, on the first pass I couldn't find any of them - everything looked so different. We got petrol and drove up Elm Avenue to the uni, I was pleased to show them this beautiful road that I walked up so many times. There were a few yellow leaves here and there, but it was mainly showing it's summer glory. Driving back through town I found 2 of my houses and I think the driveway of the third.<br />
<br />
We set off along the Waterfall Way to the east. I love this countryside - with the elevation so high the sky seems to go forever and the clouds sit differently to what we are used to. The land is pretty dry, with beautiful dead trees in all the paddocks, and lots of large rocks strewn everywhere. It's pretty tough land, very beautiful. We saw 3 eagles on our drive out to Wollomombi Falls.<br />
<br />
At the falls we wandered around the picnic area a bit, got a glimpse of Chandler Falls, looked at the gorge, used the toilets then checked the maps and decided to do the walk that goes towards the tops of the falls. The walk was quite pretty, through wooded hills with a mix of living and dead trees and interesting undergrowth. The first lookout gave us a good view of the gorge - it was deep and immense looking - lots of places where we could see that rockfalls had happened, huge slabs of rock lining the walls where there hadn't been falls, and the river way way down below. The day was hot and at one point the kids were thinking about heading back. We could see a cool looking metal bridge up ahead though so kept walking towards that. The bridge crossed the river, above (and a few hundred metres back from) the top of the falls. It was gorgeous, the river trickling between lots of big rocks, and the river banks sloping up to grass and then trees and the blue sky above. We had a play around on the rocks and saw some rock skinks (one swam across the river to get away from us). We found a spot in the shade and sat and ate some lunch (tuna, avocado, ritz and saladas). After eating we explored a bit more above and below the bridge, then kept walking to the lookout at the top of the falls. It was pretty as well, we could see several arms of the falls coming from a rock pool at the top, and had a great view right along the gorge. We couldn't see the bottom of the falls though, they were way below us. After resting a little and admiring the view, we continued on to the lookout for Chandler Falls (two rivers meet at the bottom of the gorge, and they both have massive waterfalls dropping into the gorge just before the meeting place. Wollomombi Falls are the tallest in Australia, over 200m). These falls were also impressive. Not a lot of water in them at the moment, but we could see it falling in steps all the way to the bottom. The gorge here was similar although had different things to look at - a slightly less recent rockfall, different trees, more farmland at the top. We could also see the top of the ridge between the 2 rivers.<br />
<br />
The walk back was pretty again although we were all quite tired. The views of the gorge from the lookouts, and even the river at the bridge, looked different because the sun had moved and the shadows were very different. Back at the car we had a big drink of water and a snack and felt a bit refreshed. We drove down to look at the camping ground (which I hadn't realised was there) - it looked pretty and was quite cheap, although the sites looked pretty hard and possibly were all gravel, so it might be tricky for us to set up there.<br />
<br />
I'd planned to keep heading east and see Ebor Falls, Dorrigo and maybe even Bellingen, but we'd spent quite a bit of time here and got started later than I'd thought we would, and we were all feeling tired. So instead we went back towards Armidale, then went out to Gara Gorge. The last several kilometres of the road were gravel, and parts of it were the most heavily corrugated I think I've driven on. I had to drive at about 10km/hr in one bit so that the car didn't feel like it was going to fall apart. It seemed to take a long time to get to the gorge, through some very pretty countryside - then suddenly we were on paved roads again as we entered the National Park. We stopped at the Blue Hole and got out to have a look. I remembered people swimming here, and while it was attractive to look at, it didn't look inviting to swim in. No one else was there and there were no obvious paths down to the water either. We found a path through the grass that led to a big rock so we stood there and watched the birds and the skinks and enjoyed the peaceful surrounds.<br />
<br />
I'd seen people coming out along the road who had been swimming, and several cars came past from further into the park, so we went down there. There were a lot more cars at the next carpark. We walked down to the river and saw kids in the water, and people walking back up the path in wet clothes, so I popped back to the car and got the kids swimmers. The other kids had said there was a better spot to swim further down the river. Liam and Caitlin clambered over the rocks to explore, which was fun (although Liam scratched his shoulder quite badly on a tree). They came back up and the 4 of us walked down the path a way until we found another place to reach the river. The rocks rose up quite steeply either side of the water, and the valley was narrower and more full of trees than the valley we'd had lunch in. This was beautiful as well, in a darker way. The water was reflecting in shimmery patterns on the overhanging rocks, it was very cool. The kids sat on the edge of a rock with their feet in the water and the fish nibbled on their skin, and I found a beachy area where I could wade into the water. It was cold, though bearable. The kids joined me (we had to duck under a tree branch to get to the beach) and Caitlin made her way over a rock to sit on a submerged (slippery) rock. I'd walked in to about my waist and Liam came with me, then swam out to a rock in the middle of the river. Caitlin made her way out there as well, then when she came back in I went out. There were lots of big rocks under the water and while the water was clear it was in the shade and hard to see, so we didn't swim around a lot. It was lovely though, being in the water and looking up at the rocks and the trees (and the extra reflections that the ripples we were making created on the rocks). Amelie played in the water near where we came in, it sloped down quite quickly there so it was easy to get right in to the water.<br />
<br />
We got out and talked to a couple who were making their way up the river going from rock to rock - just where we were there wasn't an easy way to get across or around so they walked through the water. I sat with my feet in the river for a while and enjoyed the fish nibbling on my dry skin. We got dressed and walked back to the car. Amelie read the history of the water flume that used to be here - there was hydro power here once. It was interesting too to look at the debris stuck in the trees and see how high the flood level is here when there's been a lot of rain.<br />
<br />
The drive out was a lot easier - the sun was low in the sky and was highlighting the corrugations in the road so I could avoid them as much as possible. We called in at Coles when we were back in town to grab milk and eggs and a 6-pack of beer for the guy who fixed my window. We drove around a little more so the kids could see the attractive main street and the fountain in the mall.<br />
<br />
Back to camp and we all went and had hot showers, then had egg and cabana sandwiches for dinner. We tidied up (and I did the dishes so they weren't slowing us down in the morning) and once again were all in bed between 9 and 9.30.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-76392113880354708202018-03-11T08:38:00.002+11:002018-03-11T08:38:58.419+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 23: Brisbane -> Armidale<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Our friends were leaving for dancing at 6.30am
so most of them were up before 6. Caitlin and I were as well, hanging out with
them before they left. Amelie woke in time to hug everyone goodbye, and Liam
woke enough to say good bye, then fell asleep again. Once they were gone I had
breakfast and had a shower, then started putting everything in the car. I woke
Liam because I needed him to eat so I could pack the rest of our food. We were
pretty well packed by 9, then our host pulled the trailer out of the driveway
with his ute (it was going to be too heavy to pull over the steep lip of the
driveway with my car) and I hitched up out on the street. We were in the car
and had said goodbye to the kittens and the youngest boy, ready to go by 9.30.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Not far into our drive we saw 2
wedge-tailed eagles – an exciting start to our journey. We were all sad to be
leaving our friends, although confident that we’ll see them again soon and it
will be like we never left. The drive south was all new to me, I’ve never done
this inland trip from Brisbane. The mountains we were driving towards were
fascinating to look at, so many craggy peaks and interesting shapes. We were
very slow going up and over the gap, but managed it ok.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We stopped in Warwick for petrol, and
continued on towards Tenterfield. The land here was less lush and green than in
Brisbane, although not dry. We saw lots of cactus by the side of the road. Liam
and Amelie had a nap. Driving through Tenterfield I still felt ok, then soon
after started to feel tired so stopped at a rest stop (near Bluff Rock) and we
had a toilet break and a bit of lunch, and I made a cup of tea. I put my window
down to get some air in the car when we stopped, and then it didn’t go back up.
I managed to get it about halfway and we had to do the rest of the trip like
that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I felt better back in the car and the drive
was interesting and mainly easy. I had downloaded a heap of music in the last
week so we were listening to that, it was a pretty cool mix. We stopped in Glen
Innes for Caitlin to run into McDonalds and get 3 soft serve cones, I made
myself another cup of tea. I was feeling excited by now as the terrain felt
familiar – I think I may have driven to Glen Innes once, but it was more that
it felt like New England<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and felt
comfortable. One part of the road near Guyra was tricky, it was a long, steep
downhill section. I’d had a truck behind me for ages – I’d lose him on uphill
stretches then he’d catch up in between. He was right behind me on this section
and it scared me – he was supposed to only go 80 down the hill, but I think he
wanted to go faster. I was only going 80 because I was quite scared, the
trailer was pushing the car and it felt much faster than I would have liked,
and the truck was on my tail the whole way. At the bottom there was an
overtaking lane and he went past me and I felt much better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Arriving in Armidale was quite exciting,
very keen to have a look around and see the places I remember. There was a hint
of autumn in some of the trees and it looked pretty as we drove in. We came in
from a slightly different direction than I’d expected, but I soon got my
bearings, and was excited to drive past 2 of the streets I lived on while I was
here. We easily found the showground and rang the caretaker to check us in. She
came over and charged us $15 per night, I was expected to pay $20 so that was a
nice bonus. I’d thought it might take us 6 ½ hours, with rest stops and driving
slower because of the trailer, and I was right!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
picked a spot and backed the trailer in, and the kids went off to explore. Once
I’d unhitched I made a quick call to Tony before he went to work, went to the
toilet myself, and then started to set up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Caitlin had a shower and the others wandered around and talked to people
with dogs. There’s several other people staying here, including some show people
who are staying for the autumn festival next week (Armidale show was last
weekend). Once they’d explored enough they played on their ipods in the car –
it is a lot cooler here than in Brisbane and they were staying out of the
breeze. We’re lucky that the last 4 days or so in Brisbane were only mid
twenties instead of mid 30s like the first few days – otherwise we’d really
really be feeling the cold here! We rummaged around in the car and found
jackets and long pants which we hadn’t needed for a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Set up was pretty easy and it was nice to
be back in the tent again. Once I had the beds up we walked into town – it’s 3
blocks along the same street from here to Coles. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Before we left I covered the open window with
a blanket). The kids found an abandoned Coles trolley and took turns pushing
each other in it along the path. Amelie skipped ahead. The sun was setting and
it was very pretty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We bought some food for dinner (ravioli and
soup) and breakfast (hot cross buns) and a couple of other supplies and headed
back. It was completely dark now and everyone was tired. Back at camp we
quickly cooked our dinner and ate it. I put the blankets on the beds and made
sure everyone had enough to keep warm, and everyone was in bed by about 9pm
(which is only 8pm for our body clocks).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-73790851013614733112018-03-11T08:37:00.000+11:002018-03-11T08:37:38.052+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 22: Brisbane<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We had another quiet morning, chatting,
playing with kittens, playing Roblox, watching YouTube, I did some work with my
photos. Caitlin and one of the girls wanted to go shopping again, so I dropped
them off at Riverland in Ipswich, then I went to Jaycar to get a new cable for
our USB charging box for the car – it stopped working when we were on our big
trip and I’ve been using the fan charging cable ever since. The guy there was
very helpful – looked at it and said it might be the fuse, so checked it, changed
the fuse for me and charge me 40c. I got back in the car and it worked again –
very happy! I got petrol and milk and headed back home for a cuppa with my
friend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The girls were ready to come home around
midday, and we decided to all go into Ipswich and meet them there and have a
play at Queens Park. My friend took the boys and picked the girls up at the
library, Amelie and the oldest girl and I went in my car. We were almost there
when it started raining, so I popped back home to get my clothes inside – I
want them dry when we leave tomorrow. Back to the park where we found the
others. It was a very cool playground. The girls borrowed my camera and took
some modeling type shots, they had a lot of fun. Caitlin and one of the girls
were wearing the same coloured skirt, they looked good together. Caitlin had
found some high-heeled boots at the op shop so was very happy to finally get
some. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It started raining fairly heavily and we
moved under a gazebo to have some sausages and cake for lunch. Liam’s shorts
had got caught on the flying fox so I rummaged in the car to find more pants
for him – most things were at the house but I managed to find something
acceptable. As the rain eased all the big kids went back out to play, and
Amelie danced for my friend and I – to Shake it Off and You Belong With Me. It
was pretty awesome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We wandered across the road to the Nature
Reserve where there is a free animal zoo. We saw wallabies, wombats, snakes,
lizards, turtles, bilbies, spinifex hopping mice, and birds. Very cool. At the
end of the walkway is a petting zoo where we patted a steer, a sheep, and
looked at some goats. It was a lot of fun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The boys and Amelie went back to the park
and the rest of us went to look for the Japanese gardens. At first we went the
wrong way and found an orchid greenhouse which was quite pretty. We located the
gardens and had a wander – pretty paths and bridges and trees and ponds and
streams and lilies. There were lots of water dragons – at one point we saw 12
on the same area of grass. We even saw some swimming which was a bit exciting.
There were turtles in the main pond who swam right near us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">My friend left to take one of the girls to
dancing, and I went back to the park to collect the boys and Amelie, the other
girls followed soon after. After a bit more of a play I did 2 trips to take
everyone home. I had a cup of tea and relaxed for a little while, then started
on sorting out the car – getting all the rubbish out of it and reorganizing
things so I could put our bags back in. Once that was done I packed all our
bags and got everything together inside so we wouldn’t forget anything in the
morning. It took a bit longer than I’d hoped but really wasn’t too hard. One of
the girls cooked dinner and I did get to sit and relax once I was all packed.
The boys played more Roblox (they had 2 ipods connected to the xbox so they
could all play the same game), Amelie watched YouTube and the big girls did
yoga and gymnastics together. They made up some 2 person yoga positions, then
the boys came outside and they started to incorporate them into the yoga as
well, and ended up with a 5 person position. It was really cool to watch them
work it out, come up with the ideas then play around with who should be where,
and adjust as necessary. The mozzies drove us inside after a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">My friend came home around 11 so we had a
bit of a last chat before I headed to bed, everyone else went fairly soon as
well as we all have an early start in the morning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-52323082891566930592018-03-09T09:20:00.001+11:002018-03-09T09:20:17.323+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 21: BrisbaneIt was another quiet morning at home. The kids gradually woke from their various beds (they all seem to have settled into their own spot, after all the bed switching over the first few nights). I spent some time on the computer and then curled up on the couch with my iPad, then we watched some movies as the kids emerged - Chasing Liberty, and When We First Met. We started I, Robot then people kept getting distracted so we paused it for later. Lots more chatting, making and eating dehydrated food, cups of tea, Roblox, Minecraft, playing with the kittens. I transferred Caitlin's phone to a new plan so she has unlimited calls - will make contacting her friends (and us) a lot easier.<br />
<br />
In the afternoon the older girls were going to dancing. I felt like going out as well so was keen to take the boys to a river or lake or somewhere and have my friend meet us there with Caitlin. No one wanted to go and I was tempted to talk them into it, when one of the girls suggested I take them to dancing. This worked for everyone - all the other kids were able to stay home, my friend had a night off the drive to dancing, and I got to go out and explore.<br />
<br />
We left around 2pm (I took her car because we were picking up some other girls and there wasn't really room for people I didn't know in my messy car). I love talking to these girls, they are interesting and informed and curious. We picked up the other girls and I dropped them all at dancing and then I had about 3 hours to do whatever I liked. I kept driving along the road that dancing was on and found an information centre. I popped in and said I had 3 hours to kill, what kind of things were there to do and they looked at me like that was the hardest question they'd ever been asked. They suggested a couple of picnic areas but warned me that they might be a bit isolated and creepy at this time of day. We had a bit of a chat and they gave me a map. I wandered a little around the park where I was (Pine River) - the playground was amazing - and wanted to go down to the river but it seemed to be blocked by a DiscGolf course. I drove further north towards Petrie and saw a BCF, so went in to buy a replacement cord for my car fridge (it's only been 2 weeks since it stopped working...). I drove up to the river, traffic was heavy but flowing. The first park I went to didn't feel inviting, so I drove over to the other side of the river. There was a guy standing in a gazebo and I felt uncomfortable walking past him so I walked the other way, under the railway line and alongside a football field. There were occasional places to stop and look at the river, some cool mangroves and 2 bridges to walk under. It did feel isolated so I didn't linger - I did take some cool photos though. The river wasn't super pretty, it was nice though.<br />
<br />
I headed back down the road to a big shopping centre (Strathpine). I wandered around for a while, browsed a book shop, then realised I needed to eat. I had a chicken burrito from Zambreros which was delicious. I was heading to Aldi to buy a cheap drink when I walked past a massage place -they did a 20 minute foot massage for $25 and my feet have been SO sore on this trip - so I treated myself and it was amazing. So relaxing and nurturing, I'm so glad I did it. Walking felt much easier afterwards, and I was quite relaxed and happy. I browsed in Aldi, bought and ice coffee, wandered around a bit more and went to Big W to get more charging cables for our devices. It was nearly time to get the girls so I went back to the car (and could now play my music because I could charge my phone and not risk running out of battery). On the way back I stopped at an electrical store to try to find a charging cable for our multi-USB box, they didn't have what I needed but had some suggestions for me to try. I arrived at dancing and read in the car until the girls came out. We had another great chat on the way home.<br />
<br />
Back at the house I joined my friend in the bedroom watching tv again and the girls all ended up with us as well, talking about our days and lots of other things. We watched The Revenant while we talked (and played with kittens) - it got pretty intense, certainly not a relaxing movie but so well made and acted. The boys were still playing Roblox and the girls wandered off to watch various things on Netflix (Caitlin and one of the girls are watching Brooklyn 9-9, the other has been watching Married At First Sight). Amelie and I went to bed and she watched youtube videos for a while and I played on my iPad until I was ready to sleep.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-51168918380771365312018-03-08T08:20:00.000+11:002018-03-08T08:20:36.294+11:00 Brisbane Trip Day 20: BrisbaneNone of us had any plans for today, nowhere to be at any particular time, and it was quite pleasant to know we could take our time over getting up or doing whatever we wanted to do. I spent a while on the computer and chatting to my friend and the kids. As the big girls got up they decided they wanted to go shopping, so in the late morning my friend dropped them at the shopping centre in Ipswich. She came back and we kept chatting, she was dehydrating a heap of food so we sat in the kitchen while she did that. The other kids played Roblox and Minecraft and Amelie played Pokemon a bit on her DS. As usual there was also playing with kittens when they were in sight. The girls rang and asked if they could catch the train to Redbank, which we said was fine. I did a little bit of organising of our stuff so that it won't be too hard to pack up when we leave, and started to think about how much longer we'll stay. My friend and I spent some more time laying on the bed and watching TV, and we both ended up having a nap in the late afternoon. Another friend of hers called around for a little while. I'd just woken from my nap when the girls surprised us by walking in the door - they'd caught the train and bus home themselves - we were pretty impressed that they navigated the public transport system on their own, the other girls had never done it before and Caitlin doesn't know Brisbane at all. They were pretty proud of themselves, although very very tired.<br />
<br />
The boys and Amelie spent some time outside playing on the trampoline and with water balloons. The big girls decided to put up the roof top tent on the bus, but it had lots of ants in it so they decided not to sleep there. The boys played in it and on the bus for a while. My friend and I moved out to the lounge room to watch the big TV while the kids were all busy. We ate dinner and the boys played xbox in the bedroom for a while, and the big girls watched netflix in another room - by the end of the evening all the kids were on the lounge with us. Another very relaxing and very fun day - we're all feeling good and really loving spending time with this wonderful family.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-60948788478845192162018-03-07T08:57:00.000+11:002018-03-08T08:10:56.329+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 19: BrisbaneAmelie and I were up early, I did some stuff on the computer and she watched YouTube videos. The boys had stayed up playing Roblox for most of the night, so they were unlikely to wake until much later. I had a chat with my friend and then left the kids (most still sleeping) with her while I went into Ipswich to meet another friend for coffee - someone I'd met in Seattle, and I hadn't seen her since her now 18yo son was 3 weeks old. We sat and chatted and had a chai and caught up on lots of stuff - mainly current things rather than filling in the last 18 years, but there was a little bit of that too. The morning went really quickly and we were there for about 3 hours!<br />
<br />
I came home and found all the kids awake. My friend was watching TV in one of the bedrooms and I joined her in there, we started talking and turned the tv off, and she and I stayed there for the rest of the day. The kids came in and out - especially the big girls, at one point we had all 3 of them lying on the bed with us - and they joined our conversation or talked about other things, showed us some YouTube videos, asked us questions. Amelie came and snuggled for a while then wandered off. We watched The Huntsman:Winter's War, which I hadn't seen before and really loved. My friend had to pop out to help another friend for a little while, when she came back we continued hanging out and chatting on the bed. Her partner cooked dinner and after Amelie had eaten she came in and watched Pokemon while we talked, then she went back out where the boys were playing Roblox. The kittens were in and out as well and we spent time playing with them on the bed. It was a lovely, really nurturing and fun (and funny) afternoon, I felt great and very happy. We eventually wandered out to the kitchen and had some dinner ourselves, did a bit of food organising and chatted some more and headed off to bed when we were ready. Amelie slept with me because she'd seen something scary on TV, the other kids are finding a bed in the lounge room wherever they can and everyone is loving the communal space.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-50794119266918109012018-03-06T09:59:00.001+11:002018-03-06T09:59:50.119+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 18: BrisbaneWe all had a quiet morning, with the kids gradually waking up one by one. I popped down to Aldi to get milk, and got petrol, and called in to the Lifeline Op Shop where I found a couple of interesting looking books. Back home I sat outside for a while and read my book, some people watched tv, some played iPads and some chatted. We tidied up a little bit, then the kids did the watermelon challenge - putting rubber bands around a watermelon until it explodes - it took a long time because it was a long, oval watermelon, and the explosion was pretty exciting. The kids and my friend had watermelon in their hair and clothes, it was quite funny. The kids then used the pieces of watermelon to rub on each other's hair and skin, and I was watermeloned as well. They turned the hose on then, and filled balloons with water, so soon everyone was wet and watermelony. It was a lot of fun, with a lot of laughing.<br />
<br />
I had a shower to de-fruit myself and the kids gradually got cleaned up. My friend cooked some lunch and we sat and chatted, then I went back down the street to the chemist to get something for Amelie's mouth ulcer, and to fill Liam's asthma medication prescription.<br />
<br />
One of the girls had dancing, so Caitlin and her sister went with her and my friend, while I stayed home with the boys and Amelie. The kids played Roblox on xBox and iPads, and had some really involved games. After my friend's husband came home, we took the 4 kids to a new Splash n Play park nearby. Most of them were reluctant to go out - I was so hot and sticky though that I really felt like some water play would be helpful, and it would be good to see somewhere new. The water wasn't flowing when we arrived, however there was a very cool adventure playground, with lots of high rope bridges and some fun looking slides. At the splash park we found buttons to press to start the water. I walked through some of the sprays and felt so much better. Only one of the boys put his swimmers on, the other 3 kids didn't want to get wet. They did run through the water a little and found a way to navigate through the splash park without getting very wet. They played on the playground for a while then we all played cops and robbers. I was the prison guard because my ankle has been hurting a lot lately and I didn't want to run. Another girl Amelie's age came along and she joined in the game. It was tricky - the robbers would climb put to the top of the playground, but could then get stuck there as the cops could get to any exit point quicker than they could.<br />
<br />
After a while the kids moved over to explore the splash park and cool off a bit. They ran through the water for a while then decided to dam a little stream - at first they used their bodies and could get a bit of a water build up, then they used towels to block off the drain and they created quite a pool at the end of the stream. They all had a lot of fun and kept saying what a great place this was. There was a storm coming so we headed off just before 6. A guy had come over and told us he'd seen a snake in the garden, so the boys were keen to get a glimpse of it but it remained hidden.<br />
<br />
On the way home I bought Go Buckets for the kids from KFC, then back home to more Roblox. I did some work on the computer and we all hung out quietly until the girls came home around 10.30. The girls then did face masks on me and my friend, and on themselves, which was pretty relaxing. We talked and had a late supper. Amelie fell asleep but the rest of us were up until after midnight.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-65037883281696896202018-03-05T15:35:00.000+11:002018-03-05T15:35:01.694+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 17: BrisbaneWe were all up by around 7am today (after our restful day yesterday). I'm surprised too that I am sleeping really well - that is quite unusual for me! We all got ready - the other kids to go to dancing, and we were going to visit a friend who I met when I lived in Canada. We've seen each other a few times since we both got back to Australia, but not since my wedding, 15 years ago!<br />
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We got to my friend's house at 9am and immediately felt welcome and comfortable. We had a cup of tea, ham and cheese croissants, and scrolls for breakfast. Delicious and very relaxed. My kids and her youngest went and had a swim in the back yard while we chatted as if we'd not had such a long break. Her husband was in and out of the conversation, checking on the kids and watching the V8s. The kids came back inside and played some other games, jumped on the trampoline for a while and then they all played with her son's Mip robot, racing it around an obstacle course they set up with shoes and bags. It was a lot of fun. I had a wonderful morning and our 3 hours there passed so quickly.<br />
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They were going out at midday so we said goodbye and headed off. We drove up to Redcliffe to meet our host friends. It was about an hour from my Canada friend's house - I'd been given good directions by my host friend's husband, and I enjoyed driving around parts of Brisbane I hadn't seen in a while, or never seen at all. We drove over a very long bridge as we got close, that was pretty cool. At Redcliffe we drove around the carpark for the swimming area a few times until we found a spot, then went and met our friends.<br />
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There's a large manmade lagoon near the shore at Redcliffe, which is where we swam. The kids all swam around for a while and I cooled off then sat and chatted to my friend. The kids all played some games in the water and were in and out. My friend went to pick up one of her kids who was at a birthday party, and the rest of us went in the water again. The kids retrieved a hat from a drain at the edge of the pool - it was a huge team effort and they were very proud (and Amelie happy to have a new hat). They sat on each other's shoulders and wrestled, and worked on the flipping trick I taught my kids at SeaWorld Resort. The boys and Amelie went over to the park and I sat and chatted to the older girls for a while. Liam and one of his friends went to explore the rocks now that the tide had gone out, and the other boy took Amelie to the kids pool. When my friend came back the older girls cooked some sausages on the BBQ and the rest of us swam. The water was fairly warm but it was refreshing. There were clouds coming over (a possible storm was forecast) and one of the clouds was in the exact shape of the Starship Enterprise!<br />
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Once the sausages were ready we hopped out and ate them (the kids devoured them so quickly!) and the kids went back in the water. My friend and I sat and chatted until some of the kids were keen to leave. The 3 older girls wanted to stay - so I took the 3 boys and Amelie and my friend followed a bit later with the girls. It started raining as we were leaving, and we hit very heavy rain as we crossed the long bridge. There was a lot of lightning around as well. I drove pretty slowly because of the rain and low visibility. I was pleased that I pretty much knew my way back, I'm feeling more and more confident about my directions around Brisbane. I'd downloaded a heap of music on to my phone and was able to listen to that while I was driving, it was very enjoyable. The boys started the trip playing Terraria and Amelie was playing something else - gradually the car became quieter and Amelie told me that all the boys were asleep (it was 7pm). She drifted off herself not long before we arrived home - so it was a very quiet trip. They all woke as we stopped at the house, and came inside to watch tv. We watched Big Momma's House 2 and despite the naps everyone was still pretty tired. All the adults were in bed by 10.30 (or earlier) and the kids seemed to head to bed soon after that.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-9994781256890529272018-03-05T15:18:00.002+11:002018-03-05T15:18:44.536+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 16: Brisbane3 of our hosts had dancing all day today, so they left the house with their mum around 6.30am. Amelie and I were up not long after that, and the other kids woke later in the morning. We had a very much needed, very relaxing day. I spent a long time on my computer, catching up on my blog and email and Facebook, and sorting photos, tidying up my hard drive and so on. The kids watched Netflix movies and TV, played Xbox games and iPad games. Lots of Minecraft and Terraria and watching YouTube videos. And of course a fair bit of time was spent playing with the kittens. One of the boys stayed home with us, and he had a couple of friends come over, the boys all played on the trampoline and in the trees for a little while. It was hot and very sticky, so we all tried to sit or lie under fans and keep a little bit cool. Late in the afternoon Caitlin walked down to the shops. It was too late for the op shops but she bought herself a drink and snack and walked back. The other kids and my friend were back late evening, and we spent more time chatting and watching movies (Hotel Transylvania 2). The kids have been rotating who gets the good bed in the lounge room - they've sorted out sleeping partners (Amelie with the oldest girl, Caitlin with the other girl, their 2 boys together, and Liam on a single sofa bed). It was the boys' turn on the good bed, and the some of the girls were going to sleep on the air mattress. It kept going down though and one of the boys discovered if he threw his body down on it, Amelie (who was rested there) would fly up into the air. That led to about half an hour of tossing people up in the air from the air mattress, it was a lot of fun to watch! (and definitely the most energetic part of the day for us). We all drifted off to bed eventually.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-80626729945241309482018-03-03T12:14:00.001+11:002018-03-03T12:14:17.467+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 15: BrisbaneWe all had a good sleep and woke up happy to be where we are. One of the boys cooked us breakfast - chicken fillets and kievs, quite tasty. The kids watched Netflix and played Minecraft and Terraria, I chatted to my friend and organised some of my stuff. We all played with the kittens on and off.<br />
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Late morning I headed to Frew Park, near the city, with my kids and 2 of the others. There's a park there that's really great for older kids, lots of parkour options and fun things to climb and slide on. The kids played and I met up with a school friend - I'd seen her at our 20 year reunion (Amelie was a baby and my friend was pregnant with her first) and before that not since the late 90s. She had her 3yo with her and he played while we talked. My friend and I went up to the cafe for a light lunch, and my host friend arrived with her other kids (and food for all the kids). It was a very enjoyable few hours, catching up with my school friend and getting to meet each other's kids. The kids all really enjoyed the playground too.<br />
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My friend left to pick up her son from school, then my host friend and 2 of her kids left to go to dancing. The rest of us played a bit longer then drove home. The traffic made it a much longer trip as there was school traffic then peak hour. I'd never driven in Brisbane before and I'm enjoying getting to know my way around. Back at home the kids played on the trampoline, played with nerf guns, watched Full House, played Minecraft, played with the kittens and relaxed. I organised some music and apps on my phone and iPad and played games on the couch. The girls did some gymnastics on the trampoline. It was hot and humid but a very relaxed evening. My friend came home quite late and we chatted briefly before everyone headed off to bed.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137870964445377848.post-49720616929241089692018-03-03T12:06:00.000+11:002018-03-03T12:22:17.913+11:00Brisbane Trip Day 14: Gold Coast -> BrisbaneAnother early morning for me and I sat on the balcony using the computer. The kids eventually stirred and we ate chocolate croissants and donuts for breakfast. Tony FaceTimed us - with Winky (the cat) on his knee looking healthy and happy - she'd been missing for a couple of days and it was a massive relief to see her. I'd been having such a good time and also feeling bad that I was so happy while the cat had potentially disappeared. I had a shower then packed while the kids watched some YouTube videos. I was all packed up before 9.30 - it's so much easier when it's just our stuff and not the tent as well! I took one load of stuff down to the car, then got some ice for the eskies (there was an ice maker in the corridor) and loaded myself and the kids up with another load to take to the car. The kids sat in the foyer and I asked the concierge to bring down the rest of the luggage, then I went and checked out. When our luggage arrived I went to get the car, and loaded it all in. I moved the car back down to the carpark near the trailer and headed back inside.<br />
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We headed back through the gift shop and up to the monorail station - Amelie was excited to finally get to go on the monorail. We did one circuit around SeaWorld and enjoyed seeing everything again, and it was fun seeing it from that perspective. Back at the resort the kids sat in the foyer while I went down and hitched up the trailer. It was SO hot - mid 30s at least, and very humid. I'm glad I didn't have to do a full pack up. The kids came down once I was ready, and we drove out to Paradise Country, the 4th attraction on our unlimited access tickets.<br />
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The drive from Wet n Wild to Paradise Country was a longish road with lots of speed humps. We drove through the paddocks holding the horses for Outback Spectacular, that was pretty cool (we'd seen the horses from the top of some of the rides on Monday, that was also cool). I pulled into the carpark and realised that it wasn't a loop and there was nowhere to park the trailer, so I had to back out. I got most of the way then a guy came and helped me with the last little bit. I parked in the 'additional parking' area and managed to find somewhere in the shade that would be easy to get out of.<br />
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The walk to the entrance was quite long, sunny and very very hot. Amelie really found it hard and I did wonder if it was worth it. We went in and tried to find a water fountain but there didn't seem to be one. We went down to the animal nursery and fed some goats and sheep, thankfully in the shade, then went into the barn and fed piglets, alpacas, ducks, more lambs and kids. It was fun, especially helping one of the keepers try the piglets on apples.<br />
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We decided we'd experienced enough so made our hot way back to the car, and drove back to Wet n Wild. I dropped the kids off and found somewhere to park the trailer - it was a fair way from the entrance but it was, again, in shade. Once inside we parked our stuff on the tables, got into our swimmers and refilled our soft drink cup (we had to pay a reduced amount to reactivate it). Liam and Caitlin went to the wave pool and Amelie and I went to the Junior slides. I did the mini tornado with her, then the mini half pipe, and she did all the other junior slides. One of them she was sitting and sliding slowly down and a kid came barrelling down headfirst behind her and ran into her - he and his parents thought it was hilarious, Amelie wasn't so amused.<br />
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We played together on the water playground for a while (I wasn't allowed on the slides there but could climb and walk around). We went into the Junior pool and the other kids came back. Liam and I went on the tube river and floated around once while the girls went on the junior slides again. They met us at the river and jumped in for a circuit as well. It was very refreshing and relaxing.<br />
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Amelie wanted to go on Mammoth Falls again, so we headed over there for a fun raft ride down the half pipe. We had a quick swim in the wave pool then back to get dressed again, feeling much cooler than we had been earlier in the day. I'd promised the kids a bucket of soft serve ice cream if we got the chance, so we took it in turns to add ice cream (vanilla, strawberry, chocolate and choc mint) and toppings (caramel, chocolate, lime, and sour worms, jelly beans and gummy bears), refilled our soft drink again, then reluctantly left our last theme park. (We'd thought about going back to Movie World again, but it had been such a perfect day yesterday that none of us really wanted to spoil it). I was impressed on all 4 days, at all 4 parks, at the staff - everyone was friendly and helpful and enjoyable to talk to.<br />
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We ate our ice cream as we headed towards Brisbane. The traffic was heavy but was moving the whole way. The ice cream was delicious and the toppings good, but the lollies were a bit much and most didn't get eaten. We saw DreamWorld on our way past and compared some of the rides there to what we'd been doing. There were still no caravans on the road - really odd. As we approached Ipswich we finally did see a caravan being towed - the first one (and no camper trailers) we'd seen since just north of Byron Bay.<br />
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We arrived at our friends' house around 4.45pm. My kids and the other kids were so excited to see each other and settled straight into playing on the trampoline and in the backyard. We spent a relaxed evening in and out of the house, watching Netflix, playing with the kittens and playing games. My friend and one of their kids came home from dancing later in the evening - it was so good to see her. The kids set up lots of mattresses in the lounge room and they all slept out there (all 7 of them). I slept in one of the kids rooms after a long long chat with my friend.AnnieLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06121098227840632211noreply@blogger.com0