Life is a Journey not a Destination

Managed a bit of a sleep in this morning till 6.30am. Had an easy morning and left just before 10am for Sovereign Hill. This is a 1850s real life museum set at one of Australia’s biggest gold fields. We had a great day and found all the staff (dressed in period costumes) to be very helpful and full of information about the gold rush days.

The girls enjoyed panning for gold and going for a ride on the horse and cart.

It was very cold day and it was nice to stop inside for lunch and warm up.

The snow on main street was fun and later the girls enjoyed the snow slide and playing in the man-made snow. Mind you it seemed cold enough to be really snowing.

We left around 3.30pm and headed back to the cabin to warm up. Later tonight we head back to see the Blood on the Southern Cross show.

LATER : The show was really great. It was very cold but we were expecting that.

Had a wonderful day. I got up around 6.30am and read for a bit. Kevin headed off on his bike to Melbourne for a ride and buy himself a warm jacket (it’s very cold here). The girls played at the park and I joined them to do some exercises.

At around 11.30am my friend Adrienne came to pick me up. I’ve know Adi for around 9 years I think it must be. We met online and then have met in real life a number of times when I’ve come down to Melbourne. I haven’t seen her in 4 years so it was wonderful to catch up in real life. The years just slipped away and it was just like we had chatted the other week. After a tour around Ballarat, we stopped for coffee/hot chocolate and chatted, then went to the Fine Art Gallery. Neither of us were that impressed but we did like a “few” pieces. We then had a lovely lunch at a cute little Italian cafe. I had a very delicious pasta with cheese & brocolli sauce. Finally we had a wander around a local shopping center but being late on a Sunday afternoon a lot of the shops were closed, then a cup of tea back at our cabin. We were together for 5.5 hours and chatted and laughed the entire time. I so wish I lived closer to Adi so we could spend more time together. We just get on so well. Oh, well, at least I’ll get to see her again when I come to Melbourne next Feb.

The girls, Kevin, Nan & Pop went to Kryall Castle. They all seemed to have a good time.

Amy and I were up bright and early at 3.30am (yes, that was 3.30am). She crawled into bed with me and played her DS while I read. Around 4am I got up and made her some banana on toast and I had a tea and a couple of anzac cookies. Christy woke up about 6am (just I was thinking I might get a bit more sleep). They watched a bit of TV and we had some breakfast and got packed up. About 7.45 we ventured over to see Nan & Pop. They were just getting up and organised so the girls and I went for a walk around the van park and the girls had a play at the park. It’s very cold!!!

We hit the road just before 9am. We passed by lots of lovely countryside today and were amazed at the large number of lambs.

Around 11.45 we stopped for some lunch and continued driving on to Ballarat where we arrived about 3pm. Kevin had already arrived and checked into the cabin.

The park here is really nice. The girls were excited to see a good size play park and jumping pillow. After Mum & Dad got their van sorted (they are just across the road from our cabin), they joined us for some afternoon tea. The girls went off to do some organised craft for a bit.

It’s just after 6pm now and we’ve settled in for the night as it’s very cold outside. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be an early night after our very start this morning.

We’re on our way!!!! (all those you know the song from Brother Bear can sing along).

Kevin set off at 8am with not quite the same fan-fare as Ewan McGregor :-).

We left around 9am after a bit of excitement with Nan getting stuck between the gate and caravan. Luckily she was okay, though a bit sore.

Today was just lots of driving. I drank tea (no surprise there) and knitted. The girls played their DSs and completed some activity sheets I had printed out for them. We stopped around 12pm for lunch in the van.

We later stopped near Gundagai to see the dog on the tuckerbox. And once more for petrol.

We arrived in Wodonga around 4.30pm. Our cabin is basic but fine for the night. Shortly we’re going over to have tea with Nan & Pop, then I imagine we’ll have an early night.

Tomorrow : Driving to Ballarat

1. ayres rock, 2. ayres rock, 3. Uluru, 4. Mid Morning Shadows, Uluru

The countdown is one. In just 24 hours we hit the road. The girls and I are travelling with my parents in their 4 wheel driving, Kevin is riding his motorbike. He will join us most nights. My parents will be staying in their caravan and we’ll be staying in a combination of cabins and units. We’ll be flying back from Alice Springs and Kevin and my parents will make their own way home via Queensland. I’ll be taking my laptop so you can expect lots of blog updates while we’re away. You can also follow Kevin’s motorbike journey on his blog.

I’m fairly organised. Just need to pack our clothes and get all the animals organised (we’ve got a friend coming to look after them all).

Day 1 - Wodonga

Day 2 - 3 Ballarat

Sovereign Hill & Blood on the Southern Cross show

Day 5 - Anglesea

Day 6 -7 - Warrnambool

Flagstaff Hill and Shipwrecked show

Day 8 - Let the driving begin Kingston

Day 9 - Mount Barker

Day 10 - Port Augusta

Day 11 - Coober Pedy

Day 12 - Erldunda

Day 13 - 15 Yulara (Ayers Rock)

Day 16 - 17 Kings Canyon

Day 18 - Erldunda

Day 19- 24 - Alice Springs

The girls and I fly home, Kevin and my parents continue on returning home in a few weeks.

I’m a bit too busy this week to think of much to post except what I’m doing on a daily basis - which is a really a bit too boring to put into words- basically organising and packing for our trip. Instead I thought I’d share some more flikr photos that make me happy. 1. Applecross Hills from Ardarroch in Summer, 2. Durris-Pastures, 3. Butterflies, 4. White and blue, 5. Seascape - Paradis pour tous, 6. mr. bullock, 7. The Rock, 8. Pendragons realm, 9. P5192709.JPG, 10. Harewood Flowers, 11. IL CAMMINO (e non ci penso più), 12. in the swamp, 13. Ditte enjoys the sunset, 14. Doon Castle & Loch, 15. Findhorn Beach Sunset, 16. Ballachullish sunset, 17. Tree of Awe, 18. The Blackmount ,Rannoch Moor, Stormy Skies., 19. Untitled, 20. Gorge Wildflower, 21. IMG_4727NN, 22. And then there were seven, 23. Isle of Wee Cumbrae, 24. She rises above the rest, 25. IMG_4822NN

Another short week as we leave for our 3 week Ayers Rock trip on Friday morning. Meals will be very simple as I have a lot to get done this week and I’m on Canteen at school on Thursday.

MONDAY : Leftover Pasta with Mushroom Sauce (from Saturday night)

TUESDAY : Vegetarian Rice Pilaf (freezing some for trip)

WEDNESDAY : Bean patties in homemade (if have time) tortillas

THURSDAY : Cheese & Veg Ravioli with Organic Tomato sauce

For more great menu ideas visit the organising junkie and I’ll be back with more menus in about 4 weeks.

I had a great time away with my friends. Mandy and I drove down on Friday afternoon, arriving about 2.30pm. Sam & Sue were already there. Maureen arrived shortly after we did and Leanne arrived about 7.30pm. We started scrapbooking pretty much straight away. This year I decided to put all our Surfers Paradise photos in a photo album scrapbook.

On Saturday morning I went for a walk with Sue & Sam along the beach and rocks. It was lovely being out in the fresh air and stretching our muscles. Doing squats, lunges and push-ups is just so much better with a views of the ocean.

The remainder of the weekend was spend scrapbooking and knitting. We did lots of talking and eating and I enjoyed a nice, long soak in the spa bath on Sat. afternoon. It’s such a great group of women. We all get along so well. Can’t wait for next year.

Well, I’m off for the annual girlfriends weekend away to Culburra. We’ll be scrapbooking, knitting, chatting, laughing, eating, lounging by the open fire, walking on the beach and generally relaxing. Should be fun!!!

Here’s a photo (not the best) from a few years back but you can see the view from the scrapbook table.

On Wednesday night we went to see Disney on Ice - I think it was called Mickey and Friends this year. The first half had quick tellings of the Lion King, 101 Dalmations and The Little Mermaid. The second half had longer tellings of Peter Pan and Lilo & Stitch. The girls loved it. I think Kevin and I are getting a little past it. We’ve been every year since they started coming to Wollongong and I guess we’ve kind of seen it all now - there wasn’t anything new or amazing. Anyway, I think we’ll have to think a bit more about whether we go or not next year.