Sydney - a final farewell

As the sun rose in the sky here in Sydney... well I was asleep... But! When I awoke and enjoyed a nice room-service breakfast as well as a quick scan of the city outside it took some time to convince myself to go out side as the downpour over the city continued and is continuing, it eventually sunk in that my last day of my trip was today and I decided that it was a must to go out, rain or shine. I imagined it would be worse then it was but honestly it wasn't that bad, me with my water proof tactical jacket as well as my fancy wax hat from Tasmania and I was ready to go!

It was much easier then last night, to skirt past the Circular Quay and walk down the path to the Sydney Opera House, lined with restaurants and shops it was really a wonderful walk, rain or no rain. Plus a lack of tourists when the weather is shitty made a difference to the photos!























It was a simple day, not muchto report... but it was the site of the Opera house that brought back memories of Dylan and I sitting on the steps - might I add with no tourists in site which I can't believe happened since it was a beautiful day if I remember correctly - unfortunately I could not recreate that photo as there was 1: too many tourists, 2: shitty weather conditions and 3: the best part was missing - Dylan -. I managed to take a stab at the recreation of a photo Brennan and I have from when we were young leaning into the connection point of two pieces of the Opera House, it was easier said then done apparently but I took a stab at it anyways... How did I do Bren?

After my walk I ended up at a pub just as lunch arrived and most importantly just as the cold beer went on happy hour, I got a pizza and a cold XXXX (just for you Dyl) and enjoyed the site of the rain falling around us as I sat in a covered patio area watching buses, taxies, traffic and tourists most of all, pass by in front of us, hustling to get out of the rain and into a dry place.
Best part of the day? A phone call to home with mum and dad recounting on how Dixson won a huge class! Congratulations to Ian, Dixson, Mum and I...

After a hot-stone massage that did wonders to my knee before the long trip home I came back to my room to enjoy some dinner and pack the rest of my crap, it did not take long to pack everything ready to head out tomorrow morning,
I will miss it here very very much, but it is what I go home to that I miss most of all.

Till my next adventure, I bid you goodbye.
Thanks for reading.

Cheers,
-A.G

Sydney; Night and Day

Winter in Sydney = shitty...

I woke up this morning to a very dark... very wet day... Due to that, it gave me a good reason to enjoy a little bit of a sleep in while I waited for the rain to break, after last nights musical entertainment at the bar downstairs in the form of 2 guys playing and singing blues, harmonica and all, I wasn't feeling too bad about sleeping a bit longer and awaiting dry climate.



Unfortunately the dryness that I spoke of, did not come and so after a $35 taxi cab ride I arrived outside the Sydney Aquarium which was very busy and very full of people trying to get out of the rain and out of the puddles it seemed, since the café outside the main entrance and ticket desks of the Aquarium was filled to the brim with wet umbrellas and long line-ups to get hot coffees and hot pies. But there is something to be said for an iPod, a camera, quick feet and high volume, based around the fact that I was surrounded by school groups and screaming children and some adults as well yes.

Either way the Sydney Aquarium was great, larger in comparison to my last Aquarium visit in Melbourne which was under extensive restructuring and repair due to the winter slow months so I was told, either way any building that has dugongs (2 of only 6 in the world that are in captivity), lots of sharks and stingrays and a habitat full of adorable, fluffy, buggy little penguins well that is an automatic win in my books and it ended up being a great way to spend a few hours on our rainy miserable day here.
I braved the storm I suppose you could say and stepped out into the light to moderate rain ready to hit my next stop even though I had yet to figure where that would be just yet. I will say this, the Sydney Wharf area is beautiful, especially in the misty haze of a rain storm.

With my fancy Bombers jacket and my very handy Tasmanian hat keeping the water somewhat off me I spent the next 3-4 hours trucking around the streets of Sydney, trying to find more then anything somewhere to have a cold beer, after the 2nd hour I came across a nice café/diner set on the side of a financial building, not touristy (which was great), not filled with tourists (which was better) and I enjoyed a nice lunch alone watching the throngs of business folk come and go through the busy doors of the large building. I was in a kind of bliss just walking the streets and enjoying my headphones in, stopping into a store if I thought it looked interesting. I still needed to pick up a few things from the tourist shops before my day of walking around ended so I headed towards one I knew of and then started the 14 block trek back North on George St to get back to my hotel. Stopping at a few more shops on the way home I picked up what I wanted to grab and went back to enjoy a little bit of quiet around and some guitar before my dinner/night cruise this evening.

At 6:20pm I started out for Circular Quay where the boat cruise would be taking off from, it was just out my window, I can see it from my hotel window and it really isn't far, just 3 or so blocks which seemed easy! ... At about 6:45pm I was 10 blocks in the WRONG DIRECTION! Soaked literally to the bone, not okay. but I was also the crazy one running through the puddles, across the sidewalks through the now POURING rain! I was ready to just go home and get room service, then I saw the bridge and I realized I was literally a block from the Wharf and therefore the boat.
So, drenched and ready to just go home, I climbed aboard Captain Cook's Adventures tour boat where a very cheery and very fun little lady brought my a good strong whiskey and before I knew it I had a wonderful dinner , listen to the 'cruise line singers' band playing... very cruise-ish mixed with opera wannabe music... but entertaining none the less. Only catch? Lots of love songs, like ALOT, and sappy crap lol thanks for making my choice of going on a romantic dinner cruise around the harbor of Sydney alone even more pathetic. But I milked the pathetic-ness I myself displayed and turned it into a very beautiful trip and a lot of fun. The photos are to prove it.

Rain and all the day was great, running through the streets, dripping wet and soaked to the bones was the best part I think or at least it is the part I will remember the most, much like running through the streets in San Fran (I believe it was) with uncle D and Aunt Kim and pops, after getting stuck in a very random downpour that almost saw us washed into the river!
Anyways, tomorrow is an easy day, I am going to try to find a book store so that I can find the true prize I have been looking for for years now; a very old, very rare edition of "The Divine Comedy" or aka Dante's Hell, that will be posted everywhere if I do actually find this thing!
Then I might take another stroll around the city, sit on the tourist bus for a bit, maybe get off at a few places and go for another walk back to the hotel like before. It is nice to get some stretch into me before the very long flight home. Then in the afternoon I have a trip to the spa and special attention to my knee again before the very long flight, might enjoy some time just relaxing at the spa for a while and finally having a laid back dinner, watching the footy on television, packing up perfectly and then getting to bed early to be out of here by 6:45am and off to the airport to come home.

Great trip, amazing experience, but I'm tired, cold and homesick and I want to go home to my family.

Till next time

-A.G

 

 

 

 

 

 

The end is near

It only takes the site of the hills and trees while leaving Terminal 2 in Melbourne to make you truly miss Australia, before you've even left the country yet. Not that it would take much but it seems that the view from above one of the busiest cities in the world (so they say here) makes for a sad goodbye to say the least.

It was an easy few days, relaxing a little and playing guitar, spending time with Aunt Kim, Uncle Derek and the boys before I left to come to Sydney. But it was a goodbye filled with laughs and a fair amount of alcohol between the 4 of us at least. We spent last night watching the State of Origin game in which Queensland destroyed Blues... bad, oops sorry Brad. Either way the food and the beers and the conversation were all well worth the time. Though it was sad to say goodbye to Sean and Paul it is one step close to home, and the next time I am back, I will be here with Daryl and we will be a little more entertaining I promise!

But for now, I sit looking out the window of my hotel room in the center of Sydney at the beautiful Sydney Harbor all lit up over the shine of the water. It is all very beautiful and all is being imprinted in my memory, but for now here is the view just to let you see it as well.

Busy day tomorrow, Aquarium, market, harbor for lunch, Sydney Opera House, and a tourist bus around the city, a busy day but it will be topped off by a great boat trip around the harbor and a beautiful dinner with the views of the harbor and the city building up around me and the rest on the boat cruise. Then I promise I will have plenty of photos to share but for now I only have a these.

Till next time

-A.G

The Mystery of Tassie

Talk about a busy week... From Bendigo to Melbourne by train, walk to dinner with Paul & Brad at "Blue Restaurant", hotel for little sleep, up at 6am for brekky, pack and read paper, downstairs to the bus, 3.5 hours (with stops) to Ocean Road plus another 1.5 hours to 12 Apostles, home at 8pm, room service and pass out! Up for city walk at 8am, souvenir shop & AFL merchandise shop, Starbucks for hot chocolate and brekky, hotel to read paper and pack, taxi to train station, train (filled with flippin kids), Uncle D picked me up and took me to the house to pack, headed to Melbourne Airport, flight to Tassie... and that's before the weekend started, before our tourist days progressed, before the flight home and before a shopping 'spree' today.

By the time Aunt Kim got home on Friday evening I had my backpack packed and was ready to head out the door, 2 hours of traffic later we stepped into Melbourne airport and grabbed a beer before we headed to the gate and hopped a flight to Tasmania's Hobart Airport.
It was dark by the time we arrived and the 45 minute drive across the famous Hobart bridge and through the busy city to our lovely apartment accommodations was a nice relaxer from being in the air for 1.5 hours. It was late but we hadn't eaten much and so we walked a block to a lovely Italian restaurant where we had amazing food and great service, I can't for the life of me remember what it is called but I'll direct you there if ever you head to Hobart, Tasmania for a visit, VERY worth the walk and the owner was as nice as they came - although he was a Carlton fan and I suspected my Essendon jumper did not go over well when his smile quickly turned into a devilish smirk. By the time dinner was over we were ready for bed.
It was at about 7am that our so called "Sleep in" turned into a very cold morning, no heat had gotten into my closed room - my fault - and so I lay shivering under the covers hoping they would forget I was there for a little longer... no dice, Aunt Kim came in at around 8:02am and ushered me up for brekky and a start to the day.

 

 

Hobart was beautiful! while we were there, sunny and though cold, the rays would warm your face quite easily if you let them. By the time we reached Port Arthur it was mid day and the drive had proved to be just as pretty as it was promised even with the forest still freshly burned from a bush fire 6 months prior.






For those who do not know, Port Arthur was a penal colony from 1833 to 1877 for the hardest convicted criminals of Britain, it was then turned into a tourist attraction.


As the buildings started to fall and decay and the fires of 1895 and 1897 destroys the old prison block as well as the earth tremors it was taken care of for the future tourists and interested visitors to explore the grounds. The prison brings many visitors but seems that it is best known recently for the Port Arthur Massacre which took place on April 28th, 1996 when a man opened fire in and around a Café near Port Arthur Prison killing 35 people and injuring 23 more before he was taken in by police.

Though this grim history it seems is in the front view of the prisons recent years it does not define all that is Port Arthur, the history, incredible magnitude and overall feeling of the surreal past of such a blissfully destructive area of the world.


The buildings are still standing strong in some places and the prison cells are either in full order or stained into the ground almost like blood to soil. It is said that the ghosts of Port Arthur are widely famous, inspiring books, stories and tales of personal experiences that you can choose to believe or not to believe... or maybe you should go see for yourself?

By the time we headed home it was around 4:30pm, but on the highway home we passed a "Tasmanian Devil Conservatory"... who can say no to that, we were given a private tour so to speak of the last 30 minutes the doors were open, you see it was feeding time when we arrived... and you have never had a real Tassie Devil experience until you see two main devils fighting over a bit of wallaby flesh... SO COOL. They sound a little like angry wild pigs when they squeal and scream at each other and as it became clear they are not foreign to fighting for a meal, many had scars surrounding their face and large gashes on either side of their nose, but according to the resident food cart, "ya that'll happen some days, it'll heal eventually"...

It was late when we pulled back into Hobart, but not too late to enjoy a little Tasmanian culture. The "Dark Mofo" festival is on only in winter, only for about a week and trust me the name is fitting to the atmosphere, both inside and out the area is surrounded with large fire hoses that blast a good 10-20 feet into the air when each hour strikes. Inside it was wall to wall visitors trying to get a cold beer, glass of wine or fighting for a spot in line for hot soup, chicken, beef or whatever else they may have served. Walking around the interior are actors, a family of the undead I suppose they were, but what I really was...'put off' by, were 2 tall very skinny and feminine men who were wearing a red floor length, one shoulder dress and a golden crown on their heads. If and when you made eye contact with said men, they would hold eye contact, bending down picking up the bottom edge of the dress and raising it to their chin revealing that on the interior of the dress was hundred of flowers, but also revealing their 5 inch red sparkly heels as well as very tight, red, sparkly underwear... that is when I left the building... art or whatever you wanna call it, that is not in my books of things I need to add to my nightmares. Outside there was other food booths as well as drink booths, we grabbed a "Moo Brew Beer" and stood nearby to watch a 2 man band - one guitar one drums - play some great music though it may have been a little too hard rock and a little mouthy for the 10 year olds sitting front row rocking out to lyrics they most likely didn't understand just yet... but a great 2 man band they were and as they finished their set I walked up and grabbed a few CD's to bring home, congratulating them on a good performance.
We stopped for take away pizza at our favorite Italian spot before walking back to the apartments to watch the rugby league match on tv and head to bed early, morning would come early after all.

And oh yes it did come early, 7:10am to be exact, we relaxed for a bit but headed out around 10am to make our way up the mountain for a nice photo op and then for a drive to Richmond to see the convicts bridge and the overall beautiful town. We did a little site seeing, a little shopping, had a nice lunch and of course had a few photo sessions before heading back to the car and making for the Hobart Airport where we would get a flight home.
Before leaving Melbourne we stopped to visit the only cousin left unseen, Sean, we grabbed greasy and delicious fish and chips and a half chicken and had a few beers with Sean before heading home to get some much needed rest...

Finally, today came around, it was about 8am when I woke up and contacted Daryl for a Skype visit which brightened up my day 100%. I walked to the mall to grab a hot chocolate and visit the post office for 2 boxes and some bubble wrap, then came home to pack all of my CRAP up in boxes, including clothes, gifts, books and a footy that had to be forced to stay put. I now have about 4 sets of clothes, a pair of tactical boots, beer coolies, 2 boomerangs, a footy, and a large amount of presents for about 10 people (and that is only family members...) and a smaller box that was an early birthday present from my Mumz - the first 24 books of Footrot Flats the comics... I've already broken open the box and started on the first 2 books but held off to tape it closed again -, these are to be taken to the post office tomorrow and shipped home to save my back, my mind and the plane on the way to Sydney and then back home. Especially since I added another bag to my pack today that I NEEDED space for... Maton is a guitar factory based out of Melbourne, Australia, made with all gorgeous Australian wood and hand made to perfection.... yes I bought a guitar (sorry), A really really nice one though!... and it was all Uncle D's fault, he took me there after all!
Anyways, tonight is based around cathing up to my blog that I neglected so heavily over the passed few days, playing a BEAUTIFUL new guitar, and enjoying a little "down" time before I gear up for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup playoffs at 10 am tomorrow morning, luckily no one is home at that time so I can yell and holler at the screen all I want!

I swear I'll keep up with it till I get home... then I'm going to disappear for a week, lock the doors, shut the blinds, pull up the covers and make Daryl cook, clean and deal with everything for a few more days while I rest.



talk soon... promise ;)

 

Cheers,

-A.G

Bus around Aus

G'day from Australia,

To recap, I took a train home from Bendigo on Wednesday afternoon, I am very grateful for the hospitality and regular feedings I was given at Matt and Kate's place and thank them very much - again - it did take a bit of my will power to not pack Ziggy into my backpack even though I'm sure he would have stuck out just a little.
I arrived at the Westin hotel in Melbourne and decided that instead of heading to the market like I was going to - it was closed anyways - I would have room service and watch a terrible movie and have a hot bath and wait for Paul and Brad to call to let me know where we were going to dinner. It was about 730pm by the time I headed off to dinner at "Blues Restaurant" - which is obviously Brad's favorite place - and though I know that Mum will get mad at me for this... I went outside the hotel to grab a cab and after trying to get 2 and having 1 tell me he wouldn't turn around, I decided that it would a nice walk instead, so a 25 minute walk through the china town area I guessed and passed the Melbourne Gaol and I was walking into "Blues Restaurant" ready for some grub and a beer. By the time I got home I watched a big of sports highlights and went to bed, getting ready for a very early morning to get ready for a bus tour!!

By 6:30am I was up and getting by bag packed, camera's ready, water bottle and clothes, by 7:14am my breakfast had arrived and I gobbled down a few pieces of banana bread and a bit of scrambled eggs with sausage and headed for the lobby where I waited and waited and waited. I was told to wait on the other side of the street by the Express Concierge and by the time I saw the bus I was on the phone with the tour company making sure they didn't forget me!
Settled on the bus finally we headed for one more pickup and were on our way to Great Ocean Road, it became immediately apparent that there were only about 4 of us that spoke English on a 20 person bus, myself, the driver and a couple from Queensland, everyone else was Asian and there were 2 boys that were Swedish if I was correct about the language they were speaking - could be wrong but I know they weren't French, English or german - so while the driver talked away the whole time before and between our short stops on the way it was obvious that most of the people if not all of them did not understand exactly what he was saying, especially since when he said "And on your RIGHT hand side is the Melbourne Art Gallery...blah blah blah (mini history lesson)" they all immediately shot to the LEFT of the bus and started taking photos of what was the Southern Cross Railway station... a little strange if you ask me but that's nothing my headphones couldn't help me ignore.
By the first few stops I had started getting frustrated, trying to get photos with yourself in them while you travel alone and no one around you speaks English was a lot harder then I expected, the one Asian guy I got to take my photo almost completely missed the beautiful scenery behind me and specifically zoomed in on just me and open water... thanks pal! At the other stops it was simply just 5-10 minute stops and I even made a puppy dog friend at one of them.

By the time we got to Great Ocean Road I couldn't have cared who I was travelling with as long as I got to keep looking out the window at the gorgeous coast line with its rock faces, splashing waves, fishermen and surfers and the curving road that I found fun and scenic - one of the other passengers decided that "Fun" was not the correct way and proceeded to throw up in a puke-bag that the driver had handed out as he explained that if you get ROAD SICKNESS this trip was a BAD IDEA, ah the beauty of not speaking English... - and the stops we made gave me a great view for photos and just to see it all.

We stopped off at a local ground called "Koala Cove" this is where we got a glimpse of a few 'wild' Koala's in the trees around the country roads. I use quotations around the 'wild' part because honestly it was a little bit more as if they were placed there or lured there by Park Rangers of some sort, there were 4 of them, I only saw 2 and they were so close to the road that if they had have tipped and fallen from the tree - which wouldn't actually happen but the cartoon playing inside my head at the time was funny enough - they would fall right onto the road and therefore right onto all the tourists taking photographs underneath the trees. They are wild however and they do come and go, our tour guide and driver "Peter" informed us that at some times of the season - though it varies - there can be as many as 15 Koala's in that immediate area, though today, in the colder months I suppose, there was only 4 but still 4 beautiful Koala's that I got great photos of anyways. Along with the Koala's asleep high in the trees there was a large assortment of birds from parrots, to pigeons, to ducks that would bite tourist fingers as they tried to feed them people food (well deserved) and a few visiting little budgies that would fly through the crowds picking up the scraps. After 20 minutes of getting pushed around by Asian tourists trying to catch the parrots it was time to head for the hills.


We headed up through the forest into the high hills for a nice walk through "Mait's Rest Rainforest" named after Maitland Bryan who was the districts first forest ranger. The walk was beautiful, around 1.5 kms long and by the time we started up and down the windy hills of the rainforest my knee was ready for a cold beer which was great timing because as we boarded the bus Peter the driver informed us that we were heading up the hill another 30 minutes for a hot
lunch!

I decided to sit with the only other English speaking people on the trip, a couple from Queensland that were great company and we had a cold beer together, enjoyed lunch and then got back onto the bus and headed towards the 12 apostles.












We reached the 12 apostles with lots of time to spare, spending time walking around and enjoying the sites would come but first we were ready for a helicopter ride! The ride was only about 10 minutes and 6 of us were crammed into this little 130 B4 helicopter but it was worth it to see the coastline from the air. More breathtaking then I could have imagined!

After the helicopter tour we headed for the platforms that look out over the coast, the photos came out amazingly and the views will always by in my memory.


As we stopped at our final destination which were the coves - there was 3 of them including the only one that was named "Shipwreck Cove" since that is what had happened... a shipwreck just at the mouth of the cave.

A miners life

G'day from Bendigo,

It was a nice change from a busy morning and the endless shifting of moving feet to just enjoy a little normal life for a bit, one where I didn't feel like I was half a world away from my real one, something I needed to ease the ache of home sickness and dull it for if only a few moments...

Therefore, this morning after a light breakfast and a little read I caved in... and played with the dogs.




Ziggy the collie and Polly the jack russell are outside dogs and belong to Matt and Kate, they are also full of beans and ready for a game of fetch when someone takes the patience it takes to retrieve the toy from Ziggy.
It was apparently just what I needed, a little quiet and a lot of time to play with the kids as maybe that is what I miss most almost as much as Daryl (and sometimes more so lol, no offence hunni).
It was a good game of fetch in the back yard for about an hour and a half before dad came home and the attention went from my game to fussing over their dad, but not before I got a good cuddle in from both of the fluffy monsters.

The day had to begin eventually so after a quick lunch and a little down time for Matt who worked the morning, we started into town to hit the Central Deborah Gold Mines.
The walk through proved to really not teach us all too much due to the lack of signs and explanations and our attempt to sift for gold - in plastic bowls instead of metal sifters which I thought was a jip! - didn't get us rich or even pocket change, must not be our "calling in life" I suppose better that way.

 

It was the tour below with our special tour guide "Laurie" who was about 55-60 years old and had a big grey handlebar mustache and a great sense of showman ship and humor that was the best part. After getting some information up on the surface including watching a few "modern day miners" travel down the real mine elevator - that BARELY fit 4 men -, these men were going down to lower levels probably far lower then we went to help put safety measures in the mines, fixing things that need to be fixing and I suppose putting in precautionary measures for those of us who walk on the surface of the mines. We headed down to wear we got equip with hard hats, miners lights and hopped into a large elevator that took us down to the 2nd level... 62 meters below the ground. Now it only took about 14 seconds to reach 62 meters below the surface but it hits you all the same as you are walking through the mine tunnels and you can almost feel the amount of rock and stone and earth above you, if you can deal with that it seems your just FINE.

 

The tour was great! With examples of some of the working machines and jokes along the way, information that will never serve a purpose in my life but still is worth hearing, Laurie seemed to take a liking to me as he usually turned to me for jokes and other information that maybe others seemed not as fun to poke at, it could have been because I responded "Canada" when he asked where I was from... maybe that's like a big target here? Anyways...

The tour around the mines was truly amazing and I am a little sorry I didn't take the longer one - our was only about 80 minutes -  that was about 2.5 hours and took you deeper or even the one that was 3.5 hours and took you way down to I believe the 17th level which is 410 meters under the surface... sounds a little creepy but would be incredible to see! Maybe I'll leave that to when Daryl and I come back in a few years, as I'd like to have someone to hang off of when I feel like the world is literally going to CAVE IN ON ME.

Laurie also informed us just as the tour was beginning - we were standing on the "plat" where the miners would get off the real elevator and where the rock carts would be put onto another elevator and sent topside - that if the power were to go off it would take about 30 minutes to climb ladders from the level 2 - 62 meters down - to the surface above the mines, he also mentioned that from level 17 - 410 meters below the surface - it would take roughly 3.5 hours to climb to the top... no thanks.

After saying how much we appreciated the tour to Laurie we headed into town for a few beers and a game of pool at the local pub before returning home where we are now in the warmth of a heater, writing a blog and reading the news, Matt is just about to take the dogs for a nice walk though I hope they are at least a little tired from our almost 2.5 hours of play time this morning - which I doubt - and then its dinner, shower and some tv for the evening... not a bad day in Bendigo, not a bad day at all.









Happy Fathers Day to all and especially my Pops - who I really hope got the present my 'messenger' dropped off and the note  - and my big brother Dylan who is having his first fathers day ever with my gorgeous nephew.

Ta for now

-A.G

Backtracking

G'day from Bendigo,

Sorry for the delay... Due to the fact that Uncle Len lives in the 1990's and has DIAL-UP INTERNET .. - sorry Uncle Len haha - I didn't have much of a connection to try and update each as too all of our adventures, so here is a quick (or somewhat longer) recap:

The day after our steamboat rides - Tuesday at the wharf in Echuca - we were hit with a crazy rain storm and due to the severity of the storm and the cold rain we decided it would be a reading day and we ended up staying in and reading our books virtually all day, except for the 20 minutes it took for Uncle Len and I to take Cosmo the kitty to the vet for a vaccine and a check up. Then back home for dinner, tele and bed. The end...



As for the next day, we decided to take a trip to Gunbower - even in the shitty weather - where Dad and the rest of the Grange family all grew up, we even stopped by the old family home and I listened to Uncle Len tell me about all the trouble they got into in the past as well as point out just about everything in the town which was smaller then I'd even imagined it, but I commend Uncle Len on his incredible memory of the 'good old days'.

We took a trip around town seeing the old church, swimming hole, cop station, friends places, footy grounds and of course the pub. We decided it was a decent necessity to stop and have a beer at the Gunny Pub, and that turned into 2 or 3 beers including a photograph of me behind the bar of Gunny Pub pulling a beer for us.






On the way out of town we stopped by "Torrumbarry Weir" where the Lock and water level barriers are, we saw a little bit of the information on how it was made then took a walk down to the weir to look at the flowing water and enjoy the fresh - chilly - air! And of course, pose for a few photos along the way.
Stopping to grab a picture of the "Torrumbarry Pub" for dad on the way back to Echuca and we were home for tea before nightfall even with a little scare from a few kangaroos.






The next day was special to me, I promised dad I would stop and give our love to Nana and Granddad before leaving town and I brought a few Canadian tokens to remind her of us when I left. Uncle Len was very handy, wiring down the Canadian Mounty beaver and the Toronto key chain so that the bear sat up and guards Nana's headstone like a true Mounty, we had a few photos and a little bit of a cry saying goodbye - till next time - to Nana before jumping back in the car and driving around Echuca a little bit. I saw most of the town including where Uncle Len works in his fancy office and a bit of the outer skirts of the neighborhoods.
We were back to the house by early afternoon and gearing up for a busy evening when little Ellie Grange came bounding around the corner looking for Pa and Nan and her toys! Next came Thomas and Meg and finally Justin with Charlie in his arms and Haley holding down the packs. If you think your house is loud, get 4 kids all 7 and under into it and you will wish you could go back to your once "loud and distracting" home.
It was wonderful seeing everyone though, especially considering last time Pops and I were here Thomas was just a little fella and Meg was still in her mums tummy! It didn't seem like long ago until all 4 of them were playing on the living room floor.
We had a delicious dinner and some ice cream cake and all headed outside to watch the kids roast marshmallows on Pa's fire. Even little Charlie crawled all over the lawn with the other kids before settling into the patch of rocks lining the path and replacing them all to where he thought they should go! Eventually little Meg started to run out of batteries and Haley and Justin decided to pack up and head the hour back home, so we all waved and gave the kids a hug goodbye and watched them pull out onto the road, retreating inside where we were READY FOR BED!

Finally it was Saturday and though the morning was not much of a sleep in it wasn't long after our bacon and egg sandwiches that we were packing up all my stuff to head to Bendigo. My time in Echuca was done but I didn't have to say goodbye just yet! We arrived in Bendigo to drop our stuff off and went outback where I got a good fix of puppy time with Ziggy the border collie (massive one at that) and Polly the jack Russell, I tore myself away in time to pack right back up into the car and head to Melbourne.
I had a nap on the way from Bendigo to Melbourne which is around 1.5 hours, but I was fully away for our trip around the city to where I thought Uncle Len was going to turn around and go home! We spent 2 hours driving around and only a handful of times did we actually know where we were or where we ended up on a street that was not CLOSED or UNDER RENOVATION or anything of the like, by the time we ended back up where we were supposed to be we were in need of a cold beer and a hot meal.
We sat at the 'University Café' and had a VB (Victoria Bitter beer) waiting for Kate and Matthew to join us before heading to a pizza joint up the way for a great pizza dinner. We were just in time after paying the bill to hop into Kate's truck and end up a few blocks away from Etihad Stadium. All decked out in scarves and ready for the game we walked across the train station to Etihad and took our seats for a great game of Footy.
The Essendon Bombers vs Gold Coast Suns, both teams were great and it really was a treat to watch the captain of the Suns 'Gary Ablett' rip around the field, he really is an amazing athlete! As well as the Bombers rookie, only in his 2nd game ever who played outstanding, including getting I think a total of 13 marks and 3.2 goals!
By the time we rounded up and got back on the road it was pushing 12:30am as we pulled up to Matt & Kate's and all settled down for bed.

Sleeping alone, in a cold house is not something I favor, but as the sheets heated up it was nice to have all the space to myself without kicking Daryl, Mackenzie, Bo or Maverick and startling myself awake, instead I was woken up atleast 10 times by what seemed to be every dog in the neighboring houses, all barking at whatever it is they felt necessary to bark at...


It was fine when I woke up and went out to give Ziggy and Polly a cuddle, that seemed to fix every right away... Oh and the fact that Matt gets the NHL Playoffs on his big-ass tv!!! We had Pancakes for breakfast and sat down to watch game 2 between the Hawks and the Bruins, which ended up heading into OT before the Bruins put one passed the Hawks and ended the game, a great game and a great surprise considering I'm literally halfway around the world!

Lauren and little Emily joined us for Chicken sandwich lunches and a little of the hockey game while Matt and Uncle Len dealt with a pain in the ass oven vent. But it had to end eventually and after a few photos it was time to say goodbye, Uncle Len as it seems all Grange family member do, has a soft spot for goodbyes as do Dad and I and Aunt Kim so they headed out quickly after a good hug and we waved them bye down the road.

Considering it is a beautiful day it seemed like we were somewhat wasting it by sitting inside, so we took the car to town, stopped by an old book shop - where I got 3 more beautiful old books - and then walked through the park, up the street a few blocks and sat at a pub for a beer (big surprise eh?).

The walk around town was nice and by the time we got back to the car it was around 3 o'clock and we were all lazy and tired and headed home so that Kate could mark her exams and I could write my blog and Matt could walk the puppies, a good day all around matched by great food and great company. Now I have tomorrow morning to sleep in, sit on the stationary bike for an hour or so and then Matt will be home for his 1.5 days off and we'll head out to the mines and etc. This time I'll keep you posted.

Ta for now

-A.G