The Big Holiday...... Day 7

Our first full day on the Gold Coast. Up reasonably early – at least for me, that is. Last night’s shopping gave us the provisions for a good brekky, then it was down to the beach.

One added bonus of staying in this area is that it is near the Coolangatta Airport. In fact the flight-path for landings is just behind the building. We can watch the jets circle around over the ocean and then come in low, to land. They disappear behind the building next door, and then re-appear briefly, just before touchdown – so we get a really good, close-up view. Others may see this as a disadvantage, but we love it. The noise is barely discernable inside and not very loud outside. We even saw what appeared to be two Airforce trainers, flying in formation, coming in to land. As you will see from the photo, it’s a bit like September 11th – look at the top, right-hand corner of the building.

On the way to the beach, I organised a different parking space and the family inspection of the pool took place. Might take the opp if it arises to try to get some swimming lessons in for the kids.

Ben, without stretching the truth, took to the waves like the proverbial duck to water. Chloe started off pretty well, but got knocked over by a wave, so that was the end of her paddling.

On the way back, it was sand-castle time. Chloe had a fairy princess castle, while Ben had a racing car in the sand. Spent a good hour-and-a half on the beach – a real hit. Even Robbie had a paddle, but ankle deep was plenty for her.

For lunch, I cut up the fresh fruit we got last night. Cold, crisp and fresh – absolutely fantastic. Pineapple, paw-paw (our least favourite – give it a miss next time), strawberries and water-melon. Did the rubbish run to the chute outside and then it was back down to the pool. I actually had a swim, but the old trunks, which hadn’t been worn since our last trip north, gave way. Luckily, for everyone, I was wearing jocks as well. Ben & Chloe loved the pool, especially the “hot”, shallow tub at one end. Couldn’t get Rob into the water. After my swim, I expected the Whale Rescue Unit to turn up, but nothing eventuated.

A bit of a victory – ah, but bitter sweet. Visited local IGA type supermarket and then found an internet outlet. Able to hook up on wireless and thought, beauty, process my e-mails and update the blog. Able to receive e-mails but couldn’t send any. When we got back to the unit, Lorelle discovered that if she held her laptop up, in one corner of the balcony, she could get a wireless signal – and it wasn’t a secure connection. But, same story – able to do some things, but not able to send e-mails. So, will have to find a suitable and comfortable connection so I can do that – and update the blog.

The Big Holiday...... Day 6

Talk about service – bacon and eggs for brekky at the Hutchy’s, then we were off and running – headed for the Gold Coast. Nice, easy trip, though Chloe was sick at one point. Not a bad effort – the first problem she has had for the entire trip.

Started hunting for accommodation when we arrived. Tried our old favourite, the “Foreshore”, but it seems (as we confirmed during the arvo) that most of the offices at the buildings close around 1pm or 2pm. Still, the old mobile phone came to the rescue on a number of occasions. Eventually got to talk to someone – price not bad but too much of a squeeze for the extra bed.

What we really wanted was ground floor, or first floor; direct access to the beach (plus a good view of the ocean) and of course, sleeping five. Tried the “Spindrift” just down the road but couldn’t get close enough to our requirements. Moved farther south, around Tugan. Three bedroom, right on the beach but too many stairs (this brought to the fore an extra requirement). Another three bedroom, really nice but couldn’t see the ocean at all. Then, two places we have stayed at before, in Tugan. The “Pacific Sands” and the “San Simeon”. Pacific Sands was by far the cheapest, but could only get third floor and too tight a squeeze. San Simeon, pretty well filled the bill. First floor, direct beach frontage, overlooking the ocean, only two bedroom but enough room for a fold-up without too much of a squeeze.

Once we had settled in and discovered that the parking space provided was all but impossible to get a Falcon into, it was off to the Woollies at Coolangatta (or Tweed Heads, not sure) for vital supplies (grog) plus a few groceries thrown in. Did the usual, for my “Gold Coast Speciality”, and bought some fresh fruit. Bought some cards so we could continue the Rummy Challenge started on the run up. Two packs, so we could play “Coo & Can” instead of plain rummy.

Ben and Chloe were pretty good at bedtime, probably because we were able to separate them; one with us and the other in Lorelle’s room. They will alternate throughout the stay.

The Big Holiday...... Day 5

Did well to rise reasonably early after the very “heavy” night and set about finding “The Australia Zoo” – Steve Irwin’s love child. Helped greatly as Brian lent us his SatNav Device which led us there with few problems (Got mixed up once when I read “Do a U Turn” – figured we must have gone past it, but it was telling me to do the Yewey in about 6 km, in order to turn into the entrance).

The Zoo is pretty expensive, but as we found when we got in there, it is kept in absolutely pristine condition and the enclosures are top rate – so I guess it is money well spent.

Did all the usual stuff – had a look at the layout on their ‘safari’ bus, then saw the otters being fed. Investigated quite a few of the enclosures before a ‘pit-stop’ at the children’s playground. Jumping castle and a mini tea-pot merry-go-round. Unfortunately, Ben got eaten by a crocodile at this point, so that put a bit of a dampener on proceedings. Still, it had cost quite a lot to get in, so we thought we should push on regardless.

Saw the tail end of the main show in the Crocoseum – can you believe that name (has to be SO Steve Irwin). Real highlight wasn’t the croc at the end of the show, but the tame, yet free, cockatoos and macaws who were allowed to just fly, freely, around the entire stadium. Fantastic to watch and a great training achievement. A bit of attempted humour by the presenters left a few audience members with egg on their faces (NO, I wasn’t one of them, for a change) and that was quite funny.

Ben & Chloe patted some kangaroos – very brave of Chloe as she is normally very timid in such situations. Even braver, they both fed an elephant later on. It was getting late and kids a bit restless so we gave the tigers a miss and headed back. SatNav once again a life-saver, especially as I was running low on fuel.

Much quieter night - Dominoes Pizza (yes, of course it was thin ‘n crispy), a few ales and a relatively early night.

The Big Holiday...... Day 4

Got away from Moree fairly early. A pretty uneventful drive until we got to Brizzy and had to find Brian & Marion’s place.

Had a pleasant stop at a little town about two hours after leaving Moree – can’t remember its name. Cuppa tea and a good little playground, so we stopped there about half-an-hour. Took the Warwick path to Brisbane and got there in plenty of time.

Decided I would just drive along the Ipswich road until we got close to the City when I would call Brian to get directions. As it turned out, we had to make a toilet stop for Chloe, so stopped at a Safeway (sorry, Woollies). Got brief directions from Brian, but he suggested we call Marion “who is much better at such things”. Chatted to a ‘local’ about how to get back to the Ipswich Hwy – unfortunately, he missed one vital turn that needed to be made, so we got completely lost. A friendly service station got us back to the highway, and from there it was easy to follow Marion’s directions (she IS much better at such things!!).

Really great night – Rachel and her daughter Sylvie were also there. We all drank far too much red but managed to steer our way to the respective bedrooms without too much trouble (a pin-ball player would have been proud of the way we navigated).

The Big Holiday...... Day 3

We had planned this day to allow time to visit the Western Plains Zoo and then not too long a trip to Moree for the night.

Got to the Zoo early, but they let us in, so didn’t have to hang around too long. Decided that we would have a brief look around the area near the info centre and then slowly drive the 6 km through the Zoo, stopping whenever something interesting turned up.

First stop were the black rhinos that had just been fed. We also listened to a very informative talk by an attendant. What a tragedy it is that the rhinos, all over the world are endangered because of the activities by poachers and the greed and stupidity of those who trade in the products of their “horn”.

Just after the rhinos, we came across a rather unusual sight. Camels were sharing an enclosure with what appeared to be mountain goats or something similar. One camel just stood placidly in the centre of the field while the goats took turns at jumping on its back. They clambered up and down and back again, and that damned camel just stood there, seemingly not a care in the world. Maybe it was just pleased to have the company and attention.

Got lucky and arrived at hippos just on feeding time. The attendants are clearly very respectful of them and they have a very safe way of delivering the food. Three or four hippos then come out of the water and up to the concrete feeding area. I reckon their mouths are even bigger than mine when it comes to munching down all that food.

The plains animals were interesting if a little bland, but the giraffes and elephants were a treat to watch, especially given that they had plenty of space in which to roam. The tigers and lions were pretty boring because, as is their want, they were just lying around, sleeping. We just drove on slowly through the rest because we had promised Chloe lunch at Hungry Jack’s.

From there, after the lunch break, it was on to Moree. A fairly unexciting drive, although we did get to overtake a lot of semis.

The Big Holiday...... Day 2

Overnight at Finlay, we planned the next couple of days. Dubbo on night 2 with Wednesday morning to have a look around Western Plains Zoo. Then on to Moree where we would stay Wednesday night. That would give us a reasonable run into Brisbane on Thursday where we can meet up with the Hutchy's. The bookings were made (at Best Western's) and off we went.

Got held up a bit by two huge Mining tip-trucks on the back of very large semis, but eventually got past them. Found a way-side stop for a toilet break, with one of those environmentally friendly toilets - boy, what a disaster those things are. Stank to high heaven, almost taking your breath completely away. Wonder the kids didn't pass out, having their noses much closer to the ground. The greenies must be really proud of these little victories.

Lunch break taken at West Wyalong, after a photo op for the kids at the old RAAF DC3 in the local park. This really opened their eyes a bit, especially when they were told that new jet planes were MUCH bigger and more powerful. No multi-nationals at WW, so had a cafe style lunch. Not too bad, but typical cafe food - not hugely appetizing.

Started telling Ben to keep an eye out for the giant "Satelite Dish" as we were nearing Parkes. For some reason, I seemed to remember it was on the right-hand side of the road (at least that bit turned out to be correct) BEFORE we reached Parkes. No sign of the pesky thing (maybe, the greenies had stolen it - creating too much green-house gasses?), so stopped at the Tourist Info Centre at Parkes Discovered it was another 24Km up the road - at least we hadn't missed it. And, it had its own visitor's centre to boot. Ben & Chloe amused themselves with something a little lower on the tech scale while we discovered all this.

Realized we would have time to drop into the visitor centre at the Parkes Observatory. Ben, as expected, found this experience really fascinating. I even bought a $58 short-sleeved fleecy windcheater (a BIG buy for tight-arse me) and we got them a few little knick-knacks for memories. The big dish there is really big - why, I believe you might even be able to have a hit of cricket in it!! Had our first nice coffee at the kiosk there - a relaxing break.

From there, on to the Motel - Blue Diamond Motor Inn - at Dubbo. Paid $8 for 12 hours of wireless internet hook-up hence this very timely update. The local delivery service for meals decided to take two weeks holiday at this time, so it was off to Safeway for some vital supplies (bottle of bubbly) and Red Rooster for dinner. Nice two-room unit again, with bunks and a single in the second bedroom and even a bath as well as a shower. So Ben has had his shower and Chloe was able to have a bath which she really enjoyed. At the moment we are trying to settle Ben and Chloe who are still too excited to sleep.

The Big Holiday...... Day 1

Robbie, myself, Lorelle, Ben & Chloe got away about 10 a.m. - pretty much on schedule. We saw off Aido and Chrissy before we left and headed east with an eventual turn north (remember, we are hoping to get to Brisbane) just before Camperdown. We passed, uneventfully, through the thriving metropolis of Foxhow and headed to Ballarat. It was just past Foxhow that we had our first little adventure.

I spied an orphaned, new-born lamb beside the road, so we pulled over to try to locate its mum. The only sheep in sight were a long, long way off, and this poor little critter wasn't going to last long by itself. So, we bundled it up in Ben's coat and headed for the nearest farmhouse. The farmer kindly took it off our hands, so on we continued.



After Shepparton, we needed to start planning the night's accommodation - it was clear we would have trouble getting to the next Best Western (I have a few "freebie" vouchers thanks to all the time I spend in Mt. Gambier). We diverged from our Best Western plan for one night and decided to stay at Finlay - at the Finlay Palm Motor Inn. Very nice 2 room family unit for $128. Would recommend this Motel to anyone interested; friendly service, nice room.

Ben & Chloe were really good for the entire trip. A bit unsettled at first in the Motel, but that was expected due to their excitement and strange surroundings.

Inventing a better mousetrap .....

Daughter Lorelle gave Robbie an "automated" vacuum - not the robot type, but one that just sits in the corner and you can sweep things up to it, and voila, it sucks it all up. Somewhat novel, but it works well - at least until the other night.

We were awoken several times (its one fault is that it's a bit loud when operating) when the unit went into vacuum mode. Investigations didn't reveal any cause, although maybe a mouse or large spider wandering past might be the culprit.

Same thing happened the next night with investigations not revealing anything.

We were sitting at the table this afternoon when it went off again. Hadn't noticed anything but when I checked the "hopper", lo and behold there it was - a little mouse had been sucked up into the bowels of the unit. Of course, I wasn't allowed to feed it to Stanley (our pet python - over 2.4m long) so had to release it outside. Hopefully, it won't be back tonight disturbing our slumber.

Animal Farm

As a result of Christmas, the Marr menagerie continues to grow.

Making full use of the recently constructed chicken run; we have added two ducks, two bantams and an extra guinea-pig.

The duck additions are two Indian Runners. Quite unusual and very funny to watch. Of course, with ducks, we had to add a pond as ducks really need a good water feature so they can swim and dive and do all the normal "duck things". Conned Adrian and a work colleague (hi, Matt - how's the head?) into digging a hole for the pond, but as you will see, they ran out of puff about half-way down (is half-a-hole still a hole?). Adrian claims they ran into too many tree roots to continue, but I suspect thay just ran out of beer, red-wine, vodka, whiskey, white wine, etc. and were unable to continue.

The new guinea-pig is a female about the same size as the existing one, which we think (and hope) is also a female. It is very shy and is only now beginning to venture forth from its hide-away. Still, it's good company (we presume) for our old, lone g-pig. As can be seen on one of the photos, it is just poking its nose out of the entrance to their home.

The new bantams are not yet in the chicken run. They are young Ancona chickens - don't know much about them but they look somewhat "sporty". When we eventually transfer them to the run, they may prove to be a bit flighty - still, we'll cross that hurdle when we come to it. They are currently in the main aviary because when we put them into the chicken run, crazy chook immediately attacked them - obviously very territorial. The safest option was to get them out of there until they are bigger and more mature (then they should be able to give as good as they get). Crazy chook is laying again and it will be a while before the Ancona's start adding to our egg count.

Christmas lights exhibition

Completed the usual, annual Marr family tour of Christmas lights in the district on the Thursday before Christmas Day.

This was Ben's third such excursion but it was the first time for Chloe. After having spent many years doing the same thing with Adrian & Lorelle when they were younger, Lorelle rejoined the group for this year.

Have to admit, we haven't seen Chloe quite so excited. We walked a number of Courts that had several houses lit up. It was a lovely, warm evening so conditions for getting out of the car and having a stroll were just perfect. Met Santa outside one house and he kindly posed with the kids (big & little)

Apart from the Santa, some people had added that little bit extra, such as decking out the family car to represent Santa delivering presents. This was a nice touch, even after we explained to Ben & Chloe that, "no, the presents aren't for you."

Lots of lawn furniture also featured as well as thousands of Christmas lights - which, unfortunately do not photograph real well.

All in all, it was a very pleasant outing and Chloe in particular slept soundly that night - we must have really tired her out in spite of all the excitement.

Xmas 2006

Well Xmas is nearly on us yet again and it looks like I have one the race to get the tree up .....

Have to admit this really stretched my artistic streak but it is better than nothing and doesn't look too bad ...

So the Drouin household is up and running .... and if you are wondering where the presents are ???? What presents ???

Pampered pooch

Our little chiahauha, Mickie, is a very pampered little pooch. Not only does he usually get a nice cooked breakfast, gets to sleep in a nice bed in the laundry but gets the special grooming treatment from the Vet.

He's just recently been there for a manicure, hairdo and to have his ears cleaned out (wonder how much it would cost for me?). Tell you what, not even a diva at an upper class hair stylist gets it this good. Not quite sure of the end result though - maybe a little bit poofy! I think the little red ribbon should go.

Fowl business

We have become sick of the chooks (and we only have two) crapping all over the place, especially on the patio's concrete floor. So, I have taken things into hand and built a chicken run. This will also double as the guinea pig house for the one and only guinea pig we have. They should have plenty of room and the place will be much tidier.

Noorat Show

Mum, GP, Grandma, Ben & Chloe all had a day out at the Noorat Show on the 18th. Got there about 11a.m. and stayed for a bit over four hours. Weather fairly warm, but everyone survived really well. Lots to do and see - quite a good, little country show.

Started with a few rides and interests for the kids - keep them happy. Mostly nice, sedate stuff like the ferris wheel, jumping castle/slides and pig train ride. Don't want to get them too hyped up, early in the day. If the youngsters have a good day, everyone has a good day - and we all know the opposite situation.

Had a combination of rides, seeing the various exhibits. A bit of lunch (Rob & I even shared a cold Crownie). A camel ride (but not for the "oldies"). Couldn't get Lorelle & Ben away from the dodgems for a while. Not sure who was the worse/better driver, but they both seemed to enjoy the crashing and banging (and that was just walking along, getting there). Chloe would have loved to get into her own car and to rip up the track, but we thought it might be a bit 'scary' for her - probably right.

Finished as we started with a ferris wheel ride for Ben and more slides for Chloe. Then a relax back at home - what little angels!

Ben then finished off a really big day by going to the Monster Trucks at the showgrounds at Warrnambool with dad.

Chopper Update

I've got $175 pledged so far but am still looking for more. My target is $350 so I am about half way there.

This is a pic of 5 of us that are all working hard to raise funds. Feel free to ask us for a request (but there is a price attached).

We are thinking of doing a naked calendar and selling it at an extreme premium. Personally signed of course. There has to be a market for 5 hunks like us to be able to sell our perfectly formed bodies.

Chopper Eat Your Heart Out

Okay .... So i'm taking part in 'Mo-Vember' to raise money for Prostate Cancer Research. This is 10 days in to the month and if any one wants to help with some sponsorship don't hesitate to get in touch.

I want an exceptionally large donation from the old's by the way as that's the least they can do for all those years of poor parenting .... :-)

As a side note: I really am much more attractive than it looks like in the picture !

Cup Day blues

Had the usual festive Melbourne Cup day - chicken, prawns, champers and some punting. The 'blues' were definately on me as I couldn't get a collect all day with my trifectas - managed a 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the last but as we all know, may as well have been the last three home.

Robbie capped off a successful spring campaign though, having had a good win Caulfield Cup day. She had three good wins, including the Cup winner (completing the Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double) - winning over $150, enough to easily cover my pathetic efforts.

Lorelle and Chloe joined us. I know Ben would have loved to be here too, but he had school - not getting a holiday here in the country. I guess the excitement was just too much for them as evidenced by the picture of them relaxing between races. Chloe, did, however find some mischief to attend to. Helping me to organise the prawns and bacon appetizers, she clearly decided that the only way we might make a profit from the afternoon would be to go out and rob a bank or two - Ned Kelly style.

Nosey neighbours ....

Started mowing the back yard on Saturday and noticed some activity from the block behind. A bit of scraping and a few thumps - thought we might be under attack.

Fears were soon allayed when it became clear that it was just a couple of bousterous bovine sticky-beaks having a peak over the fence. Maybe they could smell the aroma of the freshly cut grass and thought a feed was in the offing as I usually empty the catcher over the fence.

Or, with the weather starting to warm up, perhaps they were they just hoping to catch a glimpse of Robbie sun-baking nude in the back yard. That would really make their eyes pop (and, no, I don't have any photos of this - at least not that I am prepared to show publicly).

One Swallow does not a summer make ...

Looks like the Marr menagerie is about to get bigger. About this time of year, it's not uncommon to get swooped by a magpie or two, but we had a similar problem at the front door with, of all things, a swallow (see, it's only you rude minded buggers that took the title the wrong way).

We were just heading out the front door when a swallow ( a welcome swallow to be accurate) was just flying in - as we discovered, to build a nest on the detector right in the corner at the door. Nearly brained it with the flywire security door. Had another couple of incidents where the bird(s) have nearly flown in the door. Both swallows and Marrs are now more watchful when exiting via the front.

We considered discouraging them in case we ended up with a bit of a mess right on our doorstep, but what the hell, there could be much worse things at the door. The thought of a little family of swallows taking up residence in fact is quite appealing. We believe too, that if this nest works, they will probably come back each year. Apart from the constant interruption by people going through the door, it should be a nice, warm, protected and safe spot for them - and I would imagine they will get used to human traffic.

We'll just have to wait and see what transpires.

An Official Week-end

Had a couple of official engagements on the weekend of 16th and 17th September.

The first was the unveiling of a memorial to the first burial that took place at Tower Hill Cemetery to mark the 150th anniversary of the Cemetery. The grave marks the resting place of William Duodecimus HALHED the designer of the Cemetery layout who picked his burial place when he did the plan. He died 12 Sep 1856 and his wife, Mary followed him soon after. Ben found his first Cemetery very interesting, as the geometrical layout intrigued him and he wanted us to read all the names as we passed them. Wisely, since it did drag on a bit, Robbie took him wandering and as he decided he was a dinosaur that went about growling loudly, it was a good decision to keep away from the official ceremony.

The second function was the official opening of the Warrnambool synthetic hockey pitch. As a past President and Life Member of the Association I actually rated an invite to this one. A representative Warrnambool side played the Victorian U15 squad in an exhibition match prior to the festivities. Needless to say, the Vics won, but the local team acquitted itself with distinction. The Ceremony was conducted by Warrnambool Mayor, Cr. Glenys Philpott who has a long association with Hockey in Warrnambool. We didn't stay for the free "eats" which looked very appetizing but decided instead to head back home. Ben stuck it out very well, again, even though he must have found the whole thing very boring.

The old & the new in perfect harmony ....

The new synthetic hockey fields at Warrnambool are starting to get a real work-out - we even have Robbie up there on Wednesday nights for a run. The combination of damp evening air, and the artificial lights make photography very difficult as you can see by the photos. Rob would say, of course, that the blurring is caused by her incredible speed on the pitch. I'm not quite so sure, but for the sake of peace & harmony, I guess I'll just have to agree - at least publically, that is.

Anyway, the new facilities are absolutely fantastic - even I had a five minute run last week (sorry, no photos - thank god!)

I also took a small video of Robbie's scintillating skills, but haven't been able to upload that into the blog - as yet. Hopefully there is a way I can achieve this - still working on it.

Photo Retouching

Earlier in this blog, there is a picture taken of the wetlands near home - there was a signpost in the foreground that really annoyed me. Well, daughter Lorelle who is preparing to embark on a "Photo Retouching" venture of her own, took the picture and expertly removed the post.

You can see in the reproduction at top, right which shows what I mean. Lorelle has just started developing her own website which is under construction, but does show a great photo re-touch she has done featuring Ben & Chloe in 'pixie' type poses using composites and parts of various other pictures. A smaller example is shown here to the right.

The retouched wetlands, shown left, shows how that pesky post has been removed. I have zoomed it as far as possible using a variety of graphics programs, and I'm damned if I can see where the signpost was. Congratulations to Lorelle on an extremely pleasing effort. (Although she hasn't sent me the bill yet).

You can also contact Lorelle via E-mail and she will be happy to discuss costs, timings, etc. for any special projects you may have in mind.