Ebbage Family Australia Trip 2012 - Melbourne to Lindenow

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Day 1. 21 May 2012

After years of planning the day had finally arrived, we were ready and set for our big adventure. The car and the van were packed, and the house cleared of furniture, there was no turning back. It was a tearful good bye for mother and daughter, Mandy and her mum Cheryl gave each other final hugs and kisses, we all piled into the car and........nothing, the battery was flat, great start to the holiday. I knew the battery was getting a bit old and probably needed replacing, it was on my "to do list" but never got quite there, so a jump start of Cheryl’s car and good-byes take 2 and we were off.

The first destination was my mum’s in Lindenow, just near Bairnsdale, about 250 kms east of Melbourne, we let the girls watch a DVD as it had been a hectic few weeks getting ready and we didn't need the kids mucking around, it was a pretty undramatic run bar the pit stop we had just before Traralgon, the toilets at the stop were out of order so I ducked behind some bushes to take a leak, both Maddy and Tayla needed one too so they followed me, being a bloke it was an easy job but it was a bit more difficult for Maddy and Tayla as they had to pull their pants down to squat, I didn’t have much experience in the field so I had to leave them to their own devise, Tayla managed ok but Maddy failed so it was in the van to finish the job then change into some new pants. (Mental note to self: Get Mandy to train the girls up on their outdoor toilet skills).

On the way we got a phone call to say that mum was not going to be there when we arrived, she runs the Famers Home Hotel in Lindenow and had gone down to Melbourne to look at some equipment, so when we arrived there was no one there, we parked the van out the back and set up, we started also unloaded all the left over boxes from packing up the house, and rearranging some things in the van that we were not happy with. The kids busied themselves playing with the new kittens the pub had "adopted".

After an hour or so a local wandered around the back to where we where and asked when the pub was opening as the staff were waiting out the front ready work, I told him that mum was in Melbourne and she was still at least an hour or so away. I made a few phone calls out and discovered that no one had any keys and that I was going to have to break in, lucky I had my tool box, I eventually got in and had to sprint to shut off the alarm before it went off and I had to try to explain to the police why I had just broken in to the pub. So anyway I got the doors unlocked and helped the staff open the bar and get the afternoon started.

I went back to the van and Mandy and I continued to sort stuff out until mum arrived home, we then thought we had done enough for the day and went into the pub to have a few well earned drinks. Soon my brother Simon, and his partner Mel arrived and we all had nice dinner sitting by the open fire.

Will be in Lindenow for two nights then off to Merimbula

Will get some photos up as soon as we get organised...

Cheers

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Photos

The Rig and Van
Ready for take-off