RACV Classic 21st April

Loaded up the wombats into the MG and headed off to Flemington on a glorious autumn day for the annual RACV euro classic. It was fantastic to see so many beautiful old well loved vehicles, with some real stunners to be found. The kids had fun with the usual face painting, train rides and farm critters. I've never seen so many MGs, many in concours condition. Plenty of compliments for the MGBGT which justified yesterday's polishing. Got a bit of regalia, had some lunch and then headed home.

The Prom, April 2013

Our kids are so spoilt that this was really their first lot of school holidays where they actually had to hang around our boring old house.

ML and I both managed a free Friday though and we headed down to the Prom via the Royal Botanic Gardens at Cranbourne which I have been wanting to visit for ages, and which was well worth the detour.

Annie and Rorie arrived on Saturday for a fabulous day on Squeaky Beach in a summer that just keeps on delivering for the weekends. Charlotte and I did some cool bouldering together.

We took the boat out on Sunday morning on the Inlet which was a mirror - and with no swell, it was easy pushing on out to sea where we let out the trolling lines and soon had salmon almost jumping into the boat. We got half a dozen in about half an hour and then headed back for a great fish feast on the deck before a lazy afternoon in the garden and three spectacular sunsets.

We had a close encounter with a dazzled koala on the way home.

DP Easter

When I was a kid, we spent most Easters up at Hotham exploring gold mines and catching trout. With the adults either building or putting on the final coats on the club lodge for winter, we were pretty much left to our own devices. The mountains were our playground. It was probably the time when I fell in love with the alpine, and certainly with freedom in general.

These days the kids seem to have it all too easy: Easter egg hunts where a single child can muster his or her own weight in chocolate, or at least enough to keep bouncing from the walls all year (including those 6000 dropped by chopper), horse riding, fishing, polo matches, bikes, shopping, tennis, and socialising in 4-star restaurants with hot chocolates and baby cappuccinos.

Whilst the fire damage is impressive, the extent was far worse in 2003, and it is only the road and signage which has been damaged this time around - we had a very tasty lunch at Sam Miranda winery on the drive up whilst they did more clearing after 85mm of rain the previous night.

Dinner Plain is certainly progressing as a summer and autumn destination, and it was great to see so many healthy looking people out exercising in the alpine air.     

Anyway, we had a great time with the Geebung Polo match on Easter Sunday a highlight. It was great to meet and befriend some of the locals. And hopefully the kids got enough out of it to want to return.