Brett's Birthday

 For Brett's birthday, we celebrated by going there for dinner and making Brett cook.  We are considerate like that.  Apart from the amazing ribs for the main, the other standout was a crepe cake he had decided to try.  We had not seen such a thing but it came out well.

Wine Tour to Seymour

 Two of our favourite winemakers, Jen Pfeiffer and Sam Plunkett were releasing experimental lower alcohol wines at an event in Seymour so we decided to make the trip.  We were glad we did.  We were treated to a detailed overview of the winemaking process and the complicated process of reducing the alcohol while maintaining taste.

Then we had a buffet lunch and a tasting of the soon to be released mid strength wines.  They are releasing a Bubbles, Sav Blanc, Rose and a Shiraz.  We enjoyed the taste well enough and thought the Rose and Shiraz were the standouts.  It will be interesting to watch development of this style.

I have enjoyed Sam Plunkett's red wine for many years now and Claire particularly likes Jen Pfeiffer's Sav Blanc so it was great to meet with both these winemakers and hear their history.

For some years we have been intending to visit Seymour to see the Veterans' Walk so this was our opportunity.

We stayed in Seymour over night and had a great meal at "The Prince".  The place is owned by the people that operate the Tooborac Pub and Brewery and the Tooborac Pie shop.  So the evening meal was a very local event!

Queens of Ringwood

 A Queen Tribute band was playing at the Karalyka Centre in Ringwood so we went along with Terry and Tricia.  Our assessment was that the staging and music were great but a singer trying to be Freddie Mercury didn't quite work.  Would have been better to have a concert of Queen songs.

Snow Men

 During the school holidays, Mark took Cooper and Lachlan for a snow experience.  Even though they were running on suspect fuel -

they got the hang of it fairly quickly and with little damage!

Mark's Birthday

 For his birthday this year, Lisa gave Mark flying lesson at the Lilydale Airfield.

Apparently students get to fly the plane!  Not sure if they get to land it.

He obviously escaped without serious injury as the family had lunch in the Yarra Valley to follow.

Adam and Kate in Canada

 James and Angel headed for Canada during the Uni break.  They are visiting the west then heading across to the East to met up with and tour with Angel's family.  Adam, Kate, Pat and Sophie also headed for Canada and planned to meet up with James and Angel at Banff. At Banff they stayed in cabins.

Bear Spray is an essential piece of kit if you are hiking in the area.

The connections all worked for the meetup.

The scenery around Banff must be some of the most spectacular on this planet.

Closely followed by Lake Louise.

But the jewel in the crown is Moraine Lake.

Cooper at the Top End

 Cooper finally got to Kakadu and was able to see the wetlands and crocodiles.  He also climbed to overhangs to see rock art.

Back in Darwin they saw the war museum and sunset over the Timor Sea.  There was also a Crocodile Curry that Cooper found VERY spicy!

Their return flights were very delayed so instead of arriving in Melbourne near midnight, they arrived at 7.30am.  Needless to say, the first order of business was a good sleep!

The Bellarine Peninsula

 While at Ocean Grove, we went to see Point Lonsdale and the lighthouse that I had not seen for many years. It looks over Port Phillip Heads, one of the most dangerous pieces of water in Australia.  Even on this very calm day the swirling water could be seen from the lighthouse and the pier.

Then we headed for Barwon Heads, the exit point of the Barwon River to Bass Strait,  The bridge linking Ocean Grove and Barwon Heads was made famous in a TV series "Seachange".  At this time it was old and in desperate need of repair but the proposal to tear it down was met with a massive community backlash so the old piles were replaced and a second footbridge added.

From the footbridge you can look out to the mouth of the river and see the very old "At The Heads"restaurant that we have visited in the past.  I doubt that planning permission would be given for this restaurant if they wanted to build in this location today.

Ocean Grove

 While Adam and Kate and the family were away in Canada, we took the opportunity to use their house at Ocean Grove for a couple of days.  The weather cooperated as far as it could with very cold but clear days.

Of course, the first port of call was the beach and at this time the puffer jacket was an essential.

It is a spectacular coastline but the winds coming off the Southern Ocean kept us cool.  Ocean Grove is well served with small restaurants so our evening meals were managed by wandering the streets and deciding on the spot.

One night it was Chinese and the other was a Beer and Burger place.

Cooper On a Roll

 Cooper's tour of the Centre is certainly covering some ground.  They have now seen Kings Canyon , Simpsons Gap, Alice Springs, the Devils Marbles and Nitmiluk Gorge as they continue north.