Ocean Grove Trip

I hadn't done much preparation for our camping trip (we've been quite busy lately, and I'd just spent the weekend in Sydney for my sister-in-laws 40th), so we packed our clothes the night before, I put the awning canvases and the tarps back on the trailer the night before, then we did the rest on the Tuesday morning before we left and were away by 11. We got petrol and came back for a few things we'd forgotten, then were properly on the way by 11.30.

I stopped just out of Geelong because I was feeling pretty tired. I had a snack and walked around a bit, then the kids got frozen slushies from Hungry Jacks and we bought some fruit and veg from a little shop at the roadhouse. We continued on and reached Ocean Grove a bit after 2.

3 of the other homeschooling families we were camping with were already there, and another family joined us each day then went home of a night (they only live half an hour away). I set up the tent while the kids played with their friends, then the kids all did the watermelon challenge - putting rubber bands around a watermelon until it explodes. The top of the melon cracked and popped open and it felt like a bit of a let down, so the kids kept putting rubber bands on even though we thought it probably wouldn't explode now that the pressure had been let out. They put a few more on and it suddenly exploded upwards, covering one of the girls completely in watermelon and hitting everyone else, and spreading many metres out from the blast zone. It was hilarious and a lot of fun.

The kids rode their bikes and played in the playground and after a while LiAM and another boy went over to the beach (his mum and I went too). They built a big wall with a hole behind it that they tried to keep filled with water, as the tide was coming in the waves were filling the hole and knocking down the wall and things became more challenging. It was cold and windy on the beach, quite grey. The boys had a lot of fun and came home a little bit wet and very happy. The boy's family went home after we got back, they were only staying the one night as they had things on for the rest of the week, so LiAM was a little disappointed that his friend had left, although we will see them again soon.

I went to the shops to get food for dinner, we had hotdogs for tea in the camp kitchen. The others were around too, getting their own dinner and we chatted and played. After tea Caitlin went for a walk to the beach with the older girls, and the rest of us went to bed and read for a while, Caitlin came in not long afterwards.

It was sprinkling in the morning and I hadn't put the annex up because I thought it wasn't going to rain. I moved things that I didn't want to get wet and went to the camp kitchen for my cup of tea. Gradually everyone else woke up and wandered to the kitchen and we had breakfast, the kids played games and we had a nice easy morning as the weather cleared up. There was more playing in the playground and lots of bike riding, then in the late morning we all headed over to the beach. It was sunny by now, but the wind was still pretty cold. 2 of the older kids went out surfing, and I went in the water with my 3 kids and Amelie's friend. It was very cold, and the 2 younger girls soon went back to play in the shallow waves at the edge. Caitlin, LiAM and I went out a lot further - it was shallow for a very long way and the waves weren't big, it was fairly easy surf to swim in, just really really cold. The kids had wetsuits on so they coped with it a bit better than me. Eventually I felt like my reflexes were getting a bit slower because I was so cold so I went back and sat on the sand in the sun to warm up. The kids played in the sand and after a while Caitlin went back in with the older kids and was able to go out further to where the water was a bit deeper (and it wasn't as rough there as I'd feared). They had a go at boogie boarding but the waves weren't quite right.

Amelie had had enough of the sand after a while so she went back to camp with some of the others. Her friend's mum had brought kites along, and LiAM and the other younger kids flew them on the beach for a while, the wind was strong and the kites flew really well. We wandered back to camp and had some lunch, the kids played in the playground and rode their bikes and the mums sat and chatted. In the afternoon we went strawberry picking at a local farm, the strawberries were fresh and delicious and it was a lot of fun. Afterwards LiAM sat with me and the other mums and dipped all his strawberries in cream - very enjoyable.

We all had dinner together that night, a few of us went to get roast chickens and hot chips, and we had a bit of salad and stuff too and we all ate in the camp kitchen together (it was really well equipped, and had lots of little tables and a great big table which fit most of us around it (there were 13 people altogether). After dinner Millie's friends went to bed, and once it got dark the rest of us walked over to the beach to see if we could see the Aurora Australis - it was supposed to be a good night for it but it was cloudy and so not possible to see anything. The kids had a play on the sand in the dark and it was cool to be there watching the surf and the night sky. When we got back Amelie and I wandered off soon afterwards, everyone else went back to the kitchen for a games night and played cards and other games until about midnight.

It was raining again in the morning, a bit more heavily this time, so again I had my cup of tea in the kitchen and the others wandered in one by one. We had breakfast then played Racing Demons, which the kids had learnt the night before. After a while we switched to playing Burn, and some of the others joined us. Amelie went to play with her friends in the playground, and everyone else played Burn for a few rounds (9 of us) which was a lot of fun.

By now it was midday and quite sunny again. We all went over to Barwon Heads to get ice-cream - it was delicious! We wandered around the shops for a while, while Millie and her friends went to the playground, then the rest of us met them there. The playground was right on the river, overlooking the bridge between Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove, a beautiful spot to play. Caitlin and LiAM explored the sandbanks in the river then LiAM and I walked back into town so he could buy something from the bakery.

The older kids wanted to go to the lolly shop in Ocean Grove, and Amelie chose to stay with her friends on the condition we could go to the lolly shop again tomorrow. Caitlin and LiAM selected their lollies and I grabbed a few too, then we headed back to camp (with one of the other boys in our car, he'd been with us all day). The mums sat and chatted again at our campsite while the kids rode their bikes and climbed trees, and when Amelie and the others came back they played in the playground.  The others (except Amelie's friends) were leaving this afternoon so they finished packing up then we talked at the car while the big kids rode their ripsticks.

LiAM wasn't feeling well and had a nap and Caitlin crashed on the couch in the kitchen once everyone else had left. I cooked some dinner and the kids played, LiAM had a shower and then joined us as well. We had a relatively early night and read Harry Potter for a while.

It was sunny on our last morning so I went for a quick walk near the edge of the river then had my cup of tea at the tent. As the kids woke up they had breakfast then they went down to the kitchen to play cards while I packed up. Amelie's friend's Mum packed up as well, then she took all the kids down to the other playground while I finished off. We all met in the kitchen for lunch and then headed off. We drove over to Portarlington to the lolly shop there and met up with the family who'd been coming over each day. We bought our lollies then sat outside at a cafe with them in the warm sun and had the most magnificent milkshakes we've ever tasted. I reversed the trailer out of the tricky spot that I had parked in (feeling much more confident about my reversing now) and we headed to Geelong where we called in to see Amelie's friends again. The kids all had a wonderful afternoon playing with all their games and activities and I had more time to chat to their mum. We left around 6.30 which meant we missed the traffic on the Ring Road and had an easy trip home, arriving just after 8.30.

Day 39: Batchelor and Millie's Birthday

Millie’s 7^th birthday!!!!!

Millie woke quite early and came up to our bed, we chatted and giggled about it being her birthday until the others woke up, then we got up to do presents. She had already received her back pack and the crocodile from us, we gave them to her again, and also a ‘camel crossing’ sign to hang on her window, and a jeweled gecko. Caitlin gave her a bubble wand and a Barbie fairy, LiAM gave her a pack of Frozen snap cards, and there was a card with money in it from Grandma and Grandad. She was thrilled with all her presents and had a lot of fun opening them, then playing with them. The kids played Go Fish with the cards for a while, then we went to the reception area for the 7.30am bird feeding.

The owner put out bird food in several places, and over time birds started to appear to feed (they were easily spooked though and kept flying away then slowly coming back). We saw cockatiels, galahs, lorikeets and blue-faced honey eaters. I enjoyed watching them for ages, the kids wandered off after a while and went to play mini-golf. Tony headed back to the tent to make pancakes as a birthday breakfast.

We hung around the tent eating and playing with Millie’s presents for most of the morning, and Caitlin rode into town to buy a birthday cake and some candles for Millie. She wanted to eat the cake after dinner, but really wanted to used the candles now – so I put a candle in a chocolate bar for her and we sang ‘There’s a cat licking your birthday cake’ and she blew the candle out and ate the chocolate.

When we were ready we went down the road to a butterfly farm. Our friends from Katherine were there when we arrived but we only got to wave hello, they’d left before we had a chance to talk to them. We saw butterflies in all their various stages of development, then spent ages in a large enclosure with the fully grown butterflies – including a huge green one that Millie named Emerald, who flapped and hovered more like a bird than any butterfly I’ve ever seen.  From there we went into a little farm area where we could feed carrots to rabbits, and pat ducklings and chicks. There were several rabbit enclosures and the kids got lots of cuddles. The last section of the farm had pigs and goats, 3 or 4 pigs and maybe 8 goats – these ones were much friendlier than the ones in Katherine, and they were mainly nannies or kids. The pigs and goats enthusiastically ate the rest of our carrots, and kept looking for more. It was fun to be right in there with them.  After we’d finished with the animals we were allowed to have a swim in their pool – the water was cool and so amazing to swim in on such a hot day. More than half of the pool was only knee deep, with a deeper channel around 2 sides of it, so it was easy for all of us to swim in and feel comfortable. There was a man-made waterfall running into the shelf next to the pool, so Millie stood under that and was excited at having a shower under a waterfall – one of her birthday wishes! She’d also wanted to swim in a pool, play with puppies (she was happy enough with ducklings, rabbits and kids), see a real waterful and be able to talk to relatives on the phone.

I made some sandwiches in the car then everyone got out of the pool and we ate on the way out to Litchfield National Park. We saw plenty of huge termite mounds, and drove through a few areas where they are burning off, so we turned the fan off – LiAM finds it so hard to breathe when there is smoke around. We went to Florence Falls – there’s a short walk from the carpark to a lookout where we could see 2 waterfalls falling down into a pool below. Then the walk continued down about 150 steps to the valley floor, where it was lovely and cool. It was only 400m and then we were at the pool at the base of the falls. It was so peaceful and green and an amazing place to be.

Caitlin arrived before me and came back to tell me there was a python in the rocks – a crevice not far from the pool had a large (about 7 feet long) olive python – he was lying there when Caitlin saw him, and moved from one side of the rocks to the other while I watched, coiling himself up and possibly going to sleep. He didn’t seem bothered by all the people standing around taking photos of him – it was so cool to watch.

We made our way into the plunge pool – the water was a great temperature and we’d taken our snorkels so could look under and see an incredible number of fish. There were rocks of various sizes on the bottom which meant there were lots of places that Millie could stand up and still be in the main pool. I hung out with her for ages, swimming around a bit and watching the waterfalls. Tony and LiAM and Caitlin went a bit deeper and came back and forth. A guy climbed up the rocks and jumped in from progressively higher points – he was a good climber and at one point everyone in the pool was watching him. Caitlin and Tony swam towards the falls but Caitlin found it hard going so they came back, then Tony went over by himself. He was able to go in behind one waterfall and be right at the base of the other. When he came back I went over – I had a couple of moments of feeling scared as the water got choppy close to the falls, but it was easy enough to keep going. Swimming in behind the water was pretty cool, it looked amazing and felt exciting. The other falls were more of a cascade, and looking straight up at them from the bottom was an incredible view.

After I swam back, Caitlin went over with Tony and was even able to sit up on one of the rocks right next to the falls. LiAM went over next, on Tony’s back, and everyone was glad they’d made the effort. Millie didn’t want to get that close, but was thrilled swimming in this pool with the waterfalls there, and said she was having the ‘most awesomest birthday ever’. I moved with her into a shallower part of the creek where she could sit in a tiny little waterfall, (just water flowing between two rocks, about a quarter of her height) which was pretty cool too.

Tony said it was the most amazing place he’d ever swum, and we all had a fantastic afternoon there. The kids tried to catch some fish, and we all spent ages watching the fish swim around under the water. There were a couple of rocks that were easy to climb on and jump into a deep part of the pool, and lots of rocks to just sit or lie on and watch the water. Eventually we headed out of the pool and back up the stairs – it was weird to feel the temperature get hotter as we climbed, down in the valley it felt impossible to believe it was a 36 degree day!

We drove back to the caravan park (with more Harry Potter) – the car was fine, no overheating, even with the air conditioner on. We think the trick is to wait until we get up to highway speed before we turn AC on and then it seems to be fine… We got changed into dry clothes, then went to the tavern for Millie’s birthday dinner. I had wild caught local Barramundi, which I’d been wanting ever since we got into Barra territory, Tony had a rack of lamb, Caitlin a schnitzel, LiAM had nuggets and chips and Millie steak and chips – the food was all delicious. We ordered a jug of lemonade, and played a few games of Keno (we didn’t win anything) and had a really lovely evening.

We got back to camp and I realised I’d left my handbag at the tavern – luckily it was still hanging on my chair when I got back there, everything still in it. And the driving back and forth didn’t cause the car to heat up either, so it was a car-trouble free day – just adding to the mystery really! Once I got back again we set up Millie’s cake – all they had was fruit cake, so we put red frogs and smarties on that to make it pretty, lit 7 candles and sang happy birthday, then ate fruit cake and lollies for dessert. She’d spoken to Grandma and Grandad while at the tavern, and had a few texts from friends and family, and felt like she’d gotten everything she wanted from her birthday.

Everyone was so tired that we didn’t read when we went to bed, Caitlin fell asleep immediately and everyone else was not far behind.

Queenscliff 2015 - Day 4

I was able to get up early on my own again and head down to the beach. Having swum there a few times now I felt more confident and was able to go in a bit further and relax a lot more in the water. Another beautiful, refreshing, exhilarating swim. I also took some photos and really enjoyed my morning alone on the beach. I felt that my knee was up to the walk around the headland - the tide was too high however and I didn't fancy walking through water so I chose not to try this time.

Early morning at the beach

Rocks near the rock pools

Back at the house we were due to drop the keys back to the real estate agent by 10am, so the morning was spent packing, having breakfast and cleaning up. We got everything done pretty much on time and then spent a bit more time out the front of the house saying good bye and not really wanting to leave. I had a flat battery so that slowed us down a little while we pushed my car out of the driveway and jump started it. Mum and Dad headed off to catch the 11am ferry across to Sorrento, and the rest of us drove down to the beach for one last swim. It was warm and sunny again, a beautiful morning to be on the beach. Millie spent a lot of time digging in the sand and running around near the water's edge, the other 2 and I swam a fair bit, and chatted and with F and played with T in and out of the water. The others headed off once T had had enough, and we stayed a bit longer, really getting the most out of our time at the coast.

Eventually we went back to the car and changed out of our swimming gear, then went into town to the lolly shop which we'd been waiting for all trip. The kids each filled a large paper bag with their own selection of lollies, and I got a few for Tony and I to share - it was a very joyous time and the lady in the shop loved watching how excited they were as they chose their lollies and chocolates and filled up their bags.

On the way out of Queenscliff we stopped at the Marine Discovery Centre - and found it wasn't open to the public at this time of year. There was a little walk we could do around the back of it so we walked along there for a while - it was hot in the sun, but there were interesting signs to look at and a bit of a view across the bay. Back around the front of the centre the kids wanted to look in the foyer of the business side of the centre, so we went in and they found some fishing charts - for determining what size of each species it was ok to catch and which fish should be returned to the water. They took a copy of those and spent a lot of time in the car examining the pictures of the fish.

We continued out of town and stopped to have a look at a few caravan parks (we might be staying down this way again in February) and at the Adventure Park near Geelong (which we will definitely be visiting in February) then stopped for lunch at Subway on the way out of Geelong. We had a relaxing lunch, everyone got exactly what they wanted, then back in the car for an uneventful trip back home from there, arriving around 4.30 and able to settle in for a quiet afternoon at home.

King Valley Trip -> Day 3

We slept a little better the 2nd night even though it was still very cold. No one slept in for very long in the morning and we had crumpets and porridge and hot chocolate around the fire. Caitlin and LiAM and I went for a walk back along the river, as the light was better today - it had been cloudy all day Monday and this morning the sun was out - so Caitlin got to explore the river as well, and I took some better photos.

Morning on the river

Autumn colours

Once the air started to warm up a bit Caitlin was back in the water. I had been thinking about it the day before, and seeing as it was sunny and the fire was raging I decided to give it a try - I knew I'd be disappointed if I didn't get in the water at least once. Caitlin was very excited when she saw me coming in and happily gave me her kayak. The water was painfully cold, but sitting on the kayak wasn't too bad - until I got the shakes from cold and from fear of falling in, and I was wobbling a lot which increased my chances of falling in... I managed to calm down and stop wobbling and kayaked up and down our little area - I love kayaking and it's been a long time since I had a go, so it was very exciting and a lot of fun.

I didn't stay in long, and happily dried out in front of the fire. Millie wanted to go in again although in the end decided not to. LiAM and Caitlin were in and out all morning. Caitlin also did a bit of bike riding. The kids played on the river bank and around the fire and Tony and I played with them or relaxed or pottered around.

We put our bike rack on the car, then tried to put Tony's bike on but it was a bit tricky, and he didn't have a helmet with him, so we decided to leave the bikes home for today. We wanted to visit Bright (we'd driven through before, but not spent any time there). We set off in the early afternoon, and listened to a combination of Frozen and Saddle Club on the way. It was a clear afternoon so I suggested going up Mount Buffalo on the way - something I had wanted to do when we were in the area 6 years ago but the mountain was covered in smoke from burning off fires. Everyone agreed to the mountain detour, so I happily headed up the mountain once we got to Porepunkah. It was a 35km drive to the top of the mountain, and it was windy and a little scary at times - driving up we had the mountain rising steeply to our left, and dropping away sharply on the right. Even though it was across the other side of the road, knowing that drop was there had my heart rate elevated and my breathing quite shallow. LiAM didn't like it either. Thinking about driving back down made it worse! It was a long drive and Caitlin started to feel a little unwell, so we had windows down and everyone snuggled under their jackets for warmth, so that Caitlin could get a little fresh air. The views on the way up were impressive - some out across the valley, and others of rock formations on the mountain itself, or waterfalls, as well as a lake and some plains - it is a beautiful mountain. The last little bit of road (3km) was gravel with very tight hair pin bends - and we finally made it to the carpark at The Horn - the top of the mountain.

I had one strong moment of vertigo when I walked to the (well fenced) edge - I stepped back a bit and let my head adjust and then I was fine. Looking across the top of the mountain range was pretty cool. LiAM was happy to look at the view then wanted to go back - he wasn't a big fan of the height either. We wandered around at the end of the carpark for a while, then headed up the 1.5km track to the The Horn. It was steep in places and all up hill, Caitlin and LiAM and Tony charged ahead and Millie and I took our time. Great views on the way up as well as cool trees and rocks to check out in close up. The view from the top was a 360 degree view across the top of mountains. Definitely worth the drive and the climb. We could even see Mt Kosciuszko across in NSW. There was a distance marker there showing where all the mountains were and how far away they were - made everything seem much closer compared to the distance it would take to drive to them!

View from the carpark

View from the top of The Horn (showing the windy road we'd come up)

At the top of Mount Buffalo

As we were ready to go back down we noticed some cloud coming in over the next ridge to the north west. By the time we were halfway down we were completely in the cloud - I love bushwalking in cloud and really concentrating on the details of the trees and rocks close to the path, it's just as spectacular as being able to see the view. The carpark was a bit spooky - looking over the edge into complete whiteness - very cool. We sat and had a picnic at the picnic table - and by the time we'd finished, the cloud had moved on, although was still in the valleys so we could see the tops of the mountains, and were looking down on the top of the cloud. Also very cool.

Cloud rolling in

View from the carpark in the cloud

View from the carpark once cloud moved on

I decided to drive back down - I knew in theory that I would be able to do it, even though it scared me, and I wanted to tackle that fear. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, even the bits next to the drop off. I took it very slowly and felt much better once we were back on flat land, I'm pleased that I did it though.

We got to Bright around 4pm and went for a walk along the main street. We popped into the lolly shop at the end of the street and the kids each picked something to buy, we also got some mini marshmallows to use with bananas and chocolate in the fire. We walked down the other side of the street and stopped in the other lolly shop, the kids had ice creams and Tony and I had a coffee. Nice to sit in the warmth and have a treat all together. From there we walked down to the river where we found a great playground. It was dusk by this time, however the playground was well lit and there was enough light for us to see the river for a while. I left the others to finish playing and walked up to the supermarket to get some more supplies, Tony and the kids picked me up on the way through after getting some hot chips to eat on the way home (in case anyone fell asleep in the car before we had dinner).

We had run out of gas in the morning and hadn't been able to refill it in Bright (we were there too late in the day) so cooked our dinner on the fire - potatoes in foil in the coals, and some bacon and vegetables in the frypan. Delicious. Millie had fallen asleep in the car so we put her to bed in the tent. Caitlin and LiAM filled bananas will mini marshmallows and chocolate pieces and roasted them in foil in the coals - also delicious.

A very pleasant evening around the fire, then into the tent to read some more Eldest. It was cloudy by this stage and although it was still cold it wasn't quite so freezing. I'd also rearranged the bedding a little - Millie was no longer interested in sleeping in her sleeping bag on the floor, so I added her mattress to LiAM's bed, and I put a large piece of carpet (that we use to cover the trailer) under LiAM and Caitlin's beds which created quite a bit more warmth.

Ballarat Trip -> Day 2

Everyone slept quite well and stayed in their sleeping bags all night. I woke up and went to the kitchen for a cup of tea and realised that I hadn't bought my tea bags with me. I read my book for a while, and everyone else was up by about 8am. We had breakfast and the kids scooted around the park, played in the playground, jumped on the jumping pillow, watched some tv, while I got ready for our day. The park had a 4 seat pedal car for hire, so we had a go on that before we went out. Caitlin and LiAM were able to pedal when the ground was flat, it was much harder when going uphill though, so I walked behind them and pushed when necessary, and I did have a bit of a turn at pedalling as well. It was raining while we were pedalling and everyone we saw made a negative comment about the rain, but it didn't bother us.

Around 11am we walked over to Sovereign Hill. It had stopped raining by now though was still overcast. We bought our tickets (valid for 2 consecutive days) and got the last 4 tickets to the next night's Sound and Light show. Luckily. It would have been incredibly disappointing to miss out on the show entirely. We wandered around to the main street, looking into mining shafts on the way, then checked out the Blacksmiths, the horses in the stables, and the lolly shop - deciding to buy our lollies on our way out rather than carrying them around all day. For now, we bought horse head lolly pops and chocolate frogs with crushed raspberry drops in them (one each). We explored the hotel, then while Caitlin and LiAM went to see the horses pulling the carriage, Millie and I popped in to the Mechanics Institute where she found a display of precious gems and stones which was fascinating. We joined the others and met and patted the horses, then wandered down to the Red Hill Mine, where we did a self-guided tour - the lights and voices are automated and led us through the mine, with holograms in places showing men digging for gold. It was well done and showed a pretty vivid picture of what it was like in the mines. Once above ground again we headed for the gold diggings. We sat on a log and ate our lunch, in between panning for gold in the creek. I'd done it before and had a vague recollection of how to do it but wasn't having much luck. The kids chatted to a European couple next to us who had found a bit. A guy came over after a while and helped me with my method (although he wasn't too critical for my liking) and after that I found several small pieces of gold. Very exciting. Once I'd figured out how to do it, LiAM lined up pans for me to work through and I usually found a couple of pieces in each pan. Another guy came over and asked if he could check the pans I'd finished, and he found a couple more pieces which he let me have.

Caitlin at the stables

Millie panning for gold

LiAM with a gold ingot worth $149,000

We wandered back up the hill, stopped in at the confectionary factory and sampled the raspberry drops and discovered that they sold really big jars of them, then went up to the gold mine and paid for  a guided tour. A quick toilet dash and then down into the mine with a group and a guide. We went underground through pitch darkness on an inclined tram - a bit scary and also quite exciting. This tour talked more about how they went about finding gold and how the mine was structured, and the differences between company and independent mining. The guide asked lots of questions which the kids usually answered, although many of his questions were more aimed at tricking the audience, which I didn't like. There was a seam of real gold that had been placed in the mine, that was quite cool to see. We went on a small train through tunnels to get to the exit tram - a little like riding in mine carts which had a nice minecraft flavour! Back up on the tram, then we climbed the tower above the mine shaft - but it was quite high and the wind was strong and everyone freaked out a little so we went back down. There was a line of mine carts at the base so the kids played in them for a while - Millie in particular had been excited all day at seeing mine carts and realising that they really do exist, they are not just a minecraft creation.

Mine carts!

From there we went and saw a demonstration of real gold being melted down and poured to make an ingot. It was quite interesting and exciting to see the process, then everyone got to hold it. The ingot weighed 3kg and was worth about $149,000 - it felt SO heavy because it was small and dense. The guy who poured it was chatting to us and discovered we lived on a vineyard and that the kids' dad makes wine, so he declared himself Caitlin's best friend and wanted her to come back with wine... We went into the shop and looked at lots of items made of gold, and bought a personalised gold coin for the kids' friend who loves rocks and minerals and gold and was having a birthday this week (we got his name and birthday engraved on it, and a wooden stand to keep it in).

Up to the candle making shop from there, where we purchased plain white candles and the kids were able to dip them into dye and colour them. It was an amazingly simple but effective process, using 3 vats of dye, to create a candle with 5 different bands of colour on it. LiAM played with the colours a bit more than that, the lady warned him that he'd get brown, but he was happy to add a 6th brown band and was pleased with his result. We went to the bowling alley next and all had a go at old fashioned 9 pin bowling - it was fun although the ball was a bit heavy for Millie to bowl very far. We wandered back down the main street and stopped to buy our massive jar of raspberry drops (and a couple more chocolate frogs). From there we meandered down the rest of the street and then headed back to the caravan park.

Candle Dipping

The kids played with the kids in the caravan next to us, on the jumping pillow and in front of our tent and caravan. One of the boys had just turned 5, and he and Millie played with all their soft toys together. I had a hot chocolate and read my book, then went to get dinner ready. The group we'd met the night before were having a party in the camp kitchen - at least 25 people - and they were too loud for LiAM and Millie so I heated up our leftovers and cooked some noodles and we ate back at our tent. It was getting a bit chilly so the kids ate wrapped up in blankets. We had a shower after tea, Caitlin went to the ladies and the rest of us used the family bathroom. We watched TV until the TV room closed then went back to the tent and read Eldest for a while.