Good old fashioned fun

Well we had an old fashioned family day at the local show. Chas and I had both entered photos and both one prizes - he entered two and got a 1st prize I entered into 6 classes and got a 1st, 2nd and 3rd and a show champion. We then wandered into the animal nursery then up midway to the carnival. Ty had a ride on the train, the roller coaster, the dodgem cars and the jumping castle.

The circus came to town

Kirsty and I took Ty to the circus on Saturday afternoon. The last time I was at a circus Kirsty was about 10, the animals looked unkempt and the performers worse, dirty with worn out costumes. I was very dubious about going but Ty really wanted to go and I can't resist him so off we went. Well I was blown away by this small family run circus. It was very professional and the animals were well cared for and healthy looking. They had three lions, some monkeys and some ponies. The kids could have a pony ride at half time and get their photo taken with the clowns. They had the usual side show stuff, the showbags were actually good value, the food was great and the rides were reasonably priced. Well done to the Stardust Circus and the West family - if they come to your town make the effort to go see them, it's worth it.

One month on

Alex is growing so fast. Ty is a wonderful big brother. This pic was taken at home last week, Alex is 6 weeks old and a very happy and settled baby. The sun was setting and the light was so soft we had a ball with Ty taking his photo - all he could do was belly laugh at us. Tuesday I had the boys for a few hours so we used the time to empty and refill the pool after cleaning it out the night before and filling it with channel water to check for leaks. At first Ty didn't want to get in as it had "yucky" water - but in the end the chance to get wet was too great and in he got. Alex snoozed in the pusher and I relaxed in the sun watching Ty play - all round a perfect day.

Alex Kohan Andrew

Isn't he the cutest? It amazes me just how alike he and Ty are, if you compare their photos it is really difficult to tell them apart, it's really amazing. I had him for a couple of hours on the weekend it was fabulous, loved it.

Introducing

Alex Kohan Andrew Read
Born September 11th 2009 at 0137 hrs at Bendigo Hsopital
Weighing in at 8lb 3oz

Day 6 Home at last

We were up early and headed off to surprise my mate Nancy and meet her new baby ( well almost new - 8 months old). We sure did surprise her. We had a couple of cups of coffee a good natter and played with her gorgeous boy. We headed off down the Hume and Chas indulged me and went via Glenrowan so I could take a picture of Eyeore with Ned Kelly. We had lunch at the Billy tea rooms - dad and daves as we call it. I had my usual - meat pie peas and chips - they have the best peas in the world, Chas had a devonshire tea and we hit the road again. We made Maneroo around 3 and Kisrty and Ty were home to greet us which was lovely.

Day 5 Lest We Forget.

Arrived at the Memorial as it opened at 10, found it reasonably easy - only did the state circle 3 times before we found the right exit across the bridge. we spent a lovely 4 hours wandering around. There were some new displays and I particularly enjoyed the 1945 and beyond displays which weren't open when we were there three years ago. We decided we would head to Yass for the night as there was nothing else we wanted to see in Canberra. We hit Yass at 3 and decided to try for Gundagai. We hit Gundy around 4 and decided to aim for Albury. We made Albury around 6.30 and found the Fountain Gate Motel and headed to the SSand A club across the road for tea.

Day 4 Just Chillin

We decided to have no plans, we enjoyed the space at the Carrington so much we opted for a chill day in Bungendore - with a short half hour trip to Braidwood. We did some circle work on the highway picking up a couple of signs that had blown out of a vehicle along the way. Did some washing and headed back to the George for tea, great meal. Hadl an early night and plan to head to Canberra tomorrow to see the War Memorial, then head toward home Thursday.

Day 3 Whose a happy boy then?

Hit the track early, Chas had a ball driving laps on the mountain - I had a nervous minute when he left me at the esses so I could take some pics of him on the track - but he came back for me. We checked out the National Motor Museum which was pretty cool. I was fascinated with the grafitti from some very famous race drivers in the loos - in fact I checked the door to make sure I was in the right loo. We hit the road again to Bungendore on one of the prettiest and steepest drives off the mountains. we made Bungendore just on 3 and headed straight to the antiques store to see if his chairs were still there. Miraculously there were 4 left - there were 6 three years ago. Deal done after some negotiating we set off to find a bed and some food. The bed proved easy - very lovely room at the Carrington with space to move and no wall beside the bed. Finding food however proved slightly more elusive. The Carringtons restaurant and bar were closed on a Monday night so we headed to the Harvest Royal for the $10 roast - recommended by everyone - mmmm sign on door closed tonight due to unforseen circumstances, we had a beer - no atmosphere at all, so we head to the Lake George - they don't do meals on Mondays but great atmosphere we had a great time and opted for toast and cold meat for tea back in the room. Not sure what the plans are today beyond breakfast.

Day 2 from the mountain

We hit the road early after a very noisy night thanks to the idiots next door. Headed to Parkes for a bite to eat then north to the "Dish". On the way back in we discovered a little known gem the antique tractor museum there is more machinery than I have ever seen in one place and a fantastic photo display of the building of the dish. The quality of the photos is amazing. We soon hit the road again to Orange where we spent some time exploring the antiques stores. Soon we were back on the road to Bathurst where we headed to check out Mt Panorama - tomorrow we will be driving "the track". After that we have no plans - we'll see where the day takes us.

Well our outback adventure began today. We hit the road early and had breakfast at Hay. We checked out Shear Outback - it was pretty cool - we watched a sheep being shorn and checked out the history of shearing. Then we spent half an hour checking out the Interment camp museum at the railway station - worth a look if you are there but otherwise wouldn't bother. We headed to Hillston - I had booked a room at the pub for two nights - but one look and I knew we wouldn't be hanging around - scary pub - dead town - took us 5 minutes to see what there was to see and we hit the road. We ended up in a little town called Condobolin - friendly people - not at all scary - nice pub with meals and a very nice motel across the road. The plan is to hit the road in the morning and spend some time at the dish in Parkes then we will spend the night in Bathurst so we can drive the track at mount Panorama, after that with two spare nights uo our sleeve we might end up anywhere.

How slack am I?

OMG I can't beleive I haven't posted since November. I've been busy working on photo books from our trip - but I do promise to finish transcibing my travel diary and uploading some pics while I'm on holidays in the next few weeks.
Cheers H

Elie Sunday 12th October 2008

Elie was very special. I recognised Lochty cottage from thr photos and the lovely lady at the local shop confirmed for me that I had the right place. We wandered down to the harbour and the lady's tower and dressing room which were just gorgeous. Crossing the scottish border was very special to me the day before.

A cottage by the sea

Saturday 11th October 2008

We arrived at Pittenweem around 7pm after several distractions along the way. We spent some time at Lindifarne but sadly couldn't wait long enough for the tide to roll out so we could drive to the island and check out the castle.

Actually finding Puffin's Neuk proved to be a challenge - I had forgotten to print out the directions - but wasn't worried - shouldn't be hard it's a tiny village - WRONG. ASked for directions - no one had heard of it - sent us to Puffins Cottage - WRONG - back to the pub where a lovely young fella called Ryan let me use his internet to get the website up and check for instructions - recognised the cottage and offered to tale us - well we found the complex with Ryans help - but still no name on the flats - tried every door with the key until we got one door open - threw in the luggage and returned young Ryan to the Anchor Arms and his mum Francis. Turned out to be a blessing Francis was a fabulous cook and the meals at teh pub were FANTASTIC a real find. The view from the cottage window was everything Anne adverstised.

I set about doing some laundry - emptied teh suitcases and washed everything we weren't actually wearing - the dryer didn't work - or rather I couldn't get it to work - hence the jeans hanging on the Abby Wall Road fence - I ironed most of the other clothes dry.

magical Hogwarts

Alnwick castle was very special, for any Harry Potter fan everywhere you looked seemed familiar. I couldn't resist the white owl he looked so at home on the castle wall.

YORK Fri 10th

York was fantastic, we took advantage of the park and ride system and caught the bus to the castle, then walked to the shambles and got back on. The views are spectacular no matter where you turn there is something to see. The shambles are narrow and twsity and the buildings almost touch across the street. Chas climed the castle. There was one point while we were waiting for the bus that three buses tried to squeeze into the narrow street at once - interesting to say the least

Antique Heaven Thurs 9th

Chas was in his element at the Newark on Trent antiques fair. There was so much stuff I would have loved but we just wouldn't have been able to get it home. They had everything from furniture and nick nacks to vintage clothing. I must have tried on 50 antique rings but couldn't find one to fit "bugger" Chas bought a couple of little brass things for his shed and I bought some silver charms and a dinky little red double decker bus matchbox car for Ty. We were footsore by the time we got back to South Scarle. We had lunch at the fair - the servings were HUGE, three types of potato and enough sheppards pie to feed six men it was amazing. Needless to say we didn't have tea - we just headed to the Grey Horse in Collingham for a few pints. Greystones was gorgeous Sheena was wonderfull. The room was exactly as it was in teh pictures, the floor actually slopes down quite significantly which was interesting - as the bed sloped a bit as well - felt like I was going to role out all the time.

Avebury Wed 8th

wow this place is AWSOME you can feel the energy when you arrive, the stones are all around you, unlike Stonehenge you can just get out of your car and meander through them. There are several paddocks with circles but our favorite was this one that had the path. you could close you eyes and imagine the ancient druids using it for their ceremonies.

Tewkesbury Surprises

we arrived in Forthampton not really expecting to find anything much but we ran into Peter the treasurer of St Mary's church and he told us to wander around as we liked, we were about to leave when we stumbled across Chas's grandparents Chas and Fanny's gravesite.

Stonehenge

Wow Stonehenge is something I have wanted to see IRL for as long as I can remember. I did2 circuits the first it was quite overcast but by the 2nd the sun had come out and it was just glorious. The sun was setting and the difference that the light changes made to the stone were unreal. We are off to Avebury today then up to Tewkesbury and then to Newark tonight.

UK at last

Well guys posting at last. The trip wasn;t as bad as I thought it might be - we both coped really well - we were buggered by the time we got to Dover last night but we walked into town and had a drink and a feed and walked back which I think helped. We both slept really well and woke around 7am. We wandered back to town and took photos of the streets - they are awsome - windy narrow - cobbled, the buildings are gorgeous. Then we headed to Dover to see the cliffs and the castle. The cliffs are just magic, this pic was taken on the way to Margate from the car. The castle was fantastic, we did a tour of the secret war time tunnels from where they orchestrated the rescue at Dunkirk. The English drive like maniacs park on either side of the road facing any which way - which confuses the hell out of you when there are cars parked both sides and the road is so narrow only one car can go through at a time - we kept thinking we were in one way streets - the WRONG way, but they are patient and courteous and let each other through. After the castle we headed for Glenda and Rons, we were late but I couldn't contact her as I had no bloody service on the phone, we had no idea where we were going and couldn't ring for directions so I found a lovely policeman who gave us great directions - we had been very close 3 times. We had a ball asking questions about how life was in each country and Glen cooked traditional roast beef with all the trimmings and made her famous Black forrest trifle it was YUMMY. We are off to Southhamton in the morning and stonhenge in the arvo and then off to Tewkesbury for the night

Cheers all

A miracle occured

I managed to get all the stuff on the bed into the cases and didn't even have to use the extension zip. The customs man may smile if he checks Chas's case though and wonder why he needs a makeup bag and 2 pair high heels - but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do to get her shoes there. The bags are packed and tagged so we are ready to go. We are just about to take Snow to Skip and Jacks, then there is only the lap top and bits to pack in the morning and it's done and dusted YAY.
Not sure I will sleep tonight for the excitement. Next post will be from the UK.

2 more sleeps

I just finished the ironing and have revisted my to do list from a few weeks ago - have completed the lot except for actually putting stuff in the suitcase so I can relax for a short time. I had a text from Leah in Scotland yesterday and she is going to spend the day with us and come to Loch Ness with us which will be really cool. Next post will be from the UK.

3 weeks 6 countries 7 planes 2 buses 1 train 1 boat 1 helicopter

One hell of a holiday. Only 4 more sleeps until takeoff. Packing is proving a bit of a challenge, I "need" more stuff than will fit in my case. Shoes are the biggest issue - now don't get me wrong I am NOT a shoe person BUT unlike blokes who can pretty much get away with boots for most occaisions, I need walking shoes, boots and flats for night time and dress shoes for the wedding. Now shoes take up a considerable space in the old case. I wonder if Chas will notice a couple of pairs of shoes in his case ??? Tomorrow I will iron everything and fold it all properly and hopefully it will all fit in OK. Currently charging all the electronics batteries ready for the trip and only need to head up the street in the morning for a couple of things, disposable under water camera for Maid of the mist tour at Niagara Falls, spare batteries for Chas's camera and I am done.

"pruning" time

Spring may see young men's thoughts turn to fancy but it turns old mens thoughts to chainsaws and fires. We have been concerned about a couple of the trees for a while now so we hired a tree feller to assist us to "prune" 17 of the native gums. The biggest challenge was the sugar gum on the fenceline - truely scarey to watch it sway in the wind and listen to it crack more down the centre on a windy night. The boys trimmed a mere 37 foot from the top - leaving at least equal to that standing. They managed to leave controlled devastation in their wake, and Chas has been busy all week making piles of branches and leaves to burn. Well today was such a beautiful day that he just couldn't resist setting fire to a couple of piles.

28 days and counting down

It's hard to believe that there is only 28 days to take off. I picked up the tickets last week so it seems more real now. Started gathering stuff up and have the cases out on the spare bed. We pretty much have the route planned, at least we know the first couple of days. We have decided that we will take the ferry to France and back - we wanted to go to Dunkirk but there is no foot passengers so it looks like we will be going to Calais instead or we might decide to take the car over and back. Glenda is getting excited - we will be seeing her for dinner and she has said she will cook traditional english roast beef and her black forest trifle - YUM
Bridgete and James have asked me to do a reading at the wedding and I am soooo excited - and was really honoured to be asked. B said she will email it to me shortly so I can practice.

Only 12 weeks to go

OMG Chas came in yesterday and told me there is only 12 weeks to go until we go away. I have been counting down my ticker - todays is 2 months 2 weeks and 5 days - seems like ages away - but 12 weeks is just around the corner. Deep breath needed - tick off whats to be done:

Luggage- done

TSA locks - done

Toilet bags - done

Passports - done

Pay - done

Foreign currency - done

Book accomadation -done

International roaming phone- done

Double adapters UK/US - done

International bank Card - tba

Pack clothes -tba

Pick up doccuments - tba

Disney Passes - tba

Book Jet Port parking - tba

International Roaming internet -tba

Wedding Clothes - done

Present - done

Scrapbook samples Aussie - done

new phone battery - tba

Ok I can breath again - not too much to be done - what's left needs to be left until a couple of weeks before we go

Practice Flight 29 June 2008

Chas asked for a scenic flight for his birthday so I arranged a flight over Echuca, Barmah Lakes and Torrumbarry. Flight day came slightly overcast but still. We met our pilot at the airfield and took off for a visual extravaganza. The plane was a small 4 seater high wing Cesna. I went armedwith my camera and was very pleased with the detail captured by my Olympus E510.

The smallest plane I had ever been in was an 18 seater to Dubbo from Sydney so I was very excited. I opted for the back seat and had a great range of view, Chas sat next to the Pilot and couldn't move around as much.

We flew over our property and got a couple of good shots, then headed to the Bramah lakes - I couldn't believe how dry the Murray is, there is a road through the centre of the wetlands.

We flew over Moama and out to Torrumbarry, Perricoota Station, Headworks Road and back over Moama and Echuca.

Highly recomend the trip with Aus-air

Saga of the passports

Well you would think it would be easy ------well you would!
First drama Chas and I don't use our first names, all my legal documentation is in my birth certificate name - not his - no - every legal document the man had was in his second name. Now you turn up at an airport in 2008 with your passport in one name and you photo ID - ie liscence in another - YOU AIN'T getting on that plane.
So began the saga of the name change.
Now if you were born interstate you can send a notorised copy of your birth certificate with your application to Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria - BUT if you were born in Victoria you have to send your original to BDM -where they have the original- well idiot me sent a copy - recieved a letter stating that I had 28 days to reply with the original or my application would be shredded - I got the letter day 30.
I got straight on the phone and rang BDM and this wonderful man called Bob told me not to panic he'd been on leave so was a week behind on the applications - just send it tomorrow. I could have kissed him.
Phase one name change complete - passport application filled out, he gets a rare opportunity to be in town during business hrs can I meet him up the street with the applications - lucky I had the file at work as I was calling in to visit a mate to get the applications witnessed. I raced over to my mates she signed the papers, arranged to leave work for 20 mins and bolted up the street.
Processed his - no worries next was mine.........................
Well having changed my name when we married I knew I had to take my marriage certificate. BUT the certificate that was adequate to change my licence, nursing registration, bank accounts etc was not good enough for the passport officr NO. Next application form BDM for a registration of marriage certificate. Several doccuments notorised by a very patient police officer and off it goes to BDM Vic...............................
3 days later I get a call - Hello idiot - it was Sue from BDM - (I had talked to her a couple of times sorting out his name change) - where did you get married ????? You are NOT registered in Vic --ohhhhh sh#*t - I live in a border town and we got married on the OTHER side of the river ................................................. so here we go again - new appliaction - visit the still very patient policeman - cause the paper work for NSW is different -----of course -----another fee and off it goes. (Sue by the way refunded my Vic fee)
Finally I get the certifucate - go to the post office - don't supose you do passports on a Saturday ----- well yes BUT neither of us can do them ----------so back again on Monday - send off application AT LAST

3 months and 1 day to go - UK US here we come

Since Canberra we have been heads down bums up and working hard. My friends Bridgette and James are getting married in October in Orlando so we are taking the opportunity to travel using the wedding as an excuse. Chas was reluctant at first but I convinced him to come with me.
His stipulations were to visit a tractor importer near Southhamton and to go to an antiques fair. Mine were stonehenge, Averbry and Alnwick Castle (Hogwarts) in the UK and NewYork in the States. So off we headed to Harvey World said we wanted to be away 3 weeks, the only date that was crucial was the wedding date and that I wanted to go to New York City. We left them to it and Kristi came up with a great itinery, after a little negotiation we finally set the dates, booked the flights and applied for passports - but that is a storey all on it's own. Off to the book shop for the lonely planet guides for the UK and a map, then the real planning began.