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While catching up with family we watched grandchildren

Burnie Challenge Before





 

competing in or training for their various sports including athletics, soccer, Aussie Rules where they all are doing excellent, Marion also entered the "Burnie Challenge" with her daughters and g/children where she became known as nanny frugal, It  is a 5k obstacle run (I chickened out because it was cold enough without getting in the water & mud as well, so I became the photographer)  It was a great day but cold !!!  Later in the week we stayed at a friend's place for a couple of nights and while there he made a booking for a hair cut so I said book me in too, it turned out it was the barber I used to go to about 25yrs ago so I thought I would walk in and sit down without saying who I was but as I was walking up the driveway (He works from home) his head popped out the window and yelled what the hell are you doing here you ugly bugger, typical barber never forgets a face.
  

Burnie Challenge After



When we left for Tassy we had no intention of purchasing another car but after a browse through a car yard just to fill in some time before visiting we ended up with another one, we brought the "Pajero" without trading in the Cruiser so at one stage we had two vehicles and only room for one on the boat so we did some quick advertising on "Gumtree" in Tassy and hoped for the best but had the cruiser sold within a week, and the best bit we are hardly out of pocket with the change over, we also now have a full set of rear seats in storage which the new owner didn't want the next problem was finding where to put all the gear that we had so one wk was spent sorting out all our stuff amid still doing the friends and relies things, we are happy with our new purchase even though the cruiser was still going great, It was a good chance to dump a lot of gear we had that wasn't getting used, the young salesman who sold us the car must have enjoyed it because it was his first sale and I did mention to him that if he keeps his present attitude he will do well.   With our time on the big!! island almost over we did a quick visit around all the family then boarded the boat back to that other Island (We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our relatives and friends for their hospitality during our trip).

While we were wandering around the boat someone called out my name and when I responded I didn't have a clue who it was but after some explanations it turned out to be my ex sister in law  who I hadn't seen for about 30yrs since she separated from my brother who has since passed away, there was so much to catch up on so she (Christine) and her new husband invited us to dinner, their shout !!!! so there was a lot of past happenings to catch up on. The dinner was great, full a la carte but Marion decided it was too much and fed hers to the fish ( It was a fairly rough trip) we disembarked about 7am and made our way through Melb. along beach Rd. where just about every Melb. cyclist was out getting a Sat. morning training on the one road, we were going to Macca's at Frankston but decided we would go to my sons place because we had  had enough of Macca's while in Tassy.

We spent the next couple of days repacking the van and making sure all the electrics worked on the new car and getting a final catch up with family here, we also spent a night with the friends who looked after our van while in Tassy and we are very grateful for their hospitality. Hooking up to the van with our new car for the first time was a bit nerve racking because we had to negotiate through Melb. and hope for no problems, all went well though and we ended up in Shepparton Vic. and staying  for 3 nights at the lake c/van park, (the lake being so much different to when I once lived there) just to unwind after a hectic previous 2mths,I even managed to get a 6k run in, after Shepparton we moved on to Wangaratta and stayed for a night I would have stayed longer but we were due at our house sitting job at Rutherglen the next day, we weren't due at the house until after lunch so we took a longer detour to Corowa NSW just over the border and had lunch there at the Community Centre which was once the Corowa bowling club, all the NSW clubs on the border which once thrived suffered a huge downturn when Victoria got Pokies.

We made our way to our house sitting position after doing a walking tour of Corowa main St. and met the people and our new cats then settled in for the next 6wks, we had a busy day the next day because we were going for a bike ride with their Wed. cycling group I was looking forward to getting on my bike again and the weather was beautiful, they meet at different locations each week (near a coffee shop) so I decided to ride to the day's meeting place which gave me an extra 20k for the day, they usually ride 20k then finish with a coffee, there are some great cycling trails around the area so I am looking forward to some nice weather, it is also a very popular wine area and Marion has already brought some wine for her cakes ??? . That night we went to the local Rotary Club meeting and was shouted to a meal by the house owners, we seem to be getting spoilt lately, they weren't leaving until Sat. so we had plenty of time to get aquainted, we then had to drop them off at the railway station for their trip to catch the plane to their overseas destination, since then we have been fitting the car out with all the gear that we removed off the Cruiser before we sold it, we did go to Albury for a day trip and went to see the Hume dam then stopped at Wodonga for a coffee (ours) and brought a few bits and pieces for the car to finish it off. We have had a couple of rides and today we did the group ride meeting at the Corowa community centre, it was a  bit cold but it didn't rain although threatening to.

Once the car is finished we should get up to the snow for a day trip but I must say I am looking forward to making our way north again (warmer).
We had our day trip to Harrietville past Bright but did not make it to the snow as we ran out of time, it is a  beautiful part of our country here especially now with the autumn leaves falling . Click Here for a few photos of the area