14 October - Beechworth

Woke up to another beautiful day here in Beechworth. After our usual leisurely breakfast we took a short drive to Woolshed Falls, right in the middle of the local gold mining industry of the 1850's. In the heyday around 125 tonnes of gold was assayed here. The Woolshed falls are quite spectacular and although there was a reasonable amount of water the locals say that they turn positively spectacular after heavy rain.

Even managed to fly the Mavic Mini over to the falls for some video - quite spectacular. 

Given the warm weather the countryside is still green and quite spectacular with wildflowers.

After that a quick ride into town for a nice lunch and then back to our little home away from home.

Over the past few days we've hardly had any wind, and the Lake Sambell here looks beautiful and smooth. Later in the afternoon the light becomes golden and it's time to take a few photos.

Around 7 pm the sun starts to drop behind the trees. The whole park is quiet and the smell of cooking is absolutely mouth watering. Time for a beer and, as the air cools to head inside.

Tuesday 13 October - Beechworth

We said our goodbye's in Yarrawonga this morning - John and Marie headed West and we took off for Beechworth. We've visited here many times but never with the caravan, so, after a short drive we arrived at the Lake Sambal Caravan Park which is located on a wonderful lake only minutes from the town.

The great weather here has continued. In fact over the past few days it has been so sunny that Rosa and I got quite sunburnt. Spent the afternoon relaxing and doing a little grocery shopping.

Later in the afternoon we did some exploring of the walking track which runs around the lake, and in the later afternoon sunlight everything looked really beautiful.

Really looking forward to continuing over the next couple of days and trying to capture some of the animals and the scenery with the camera.

We found that due to the virus not many restaurants were open till later in the week so we opted for fish and chips instead.

Friday 9 October - Yarrawonga

We arrived in Yarrawonga just before noon and checked into the Yarrawonga Holiday Village and found that John and Marie had arrived just before us and were setting up camp. Since leaving Echuca the weather improved and we found Yarrawonga bathed in sunshine. We had a lot of catching up to do so we spent the rest of Friday doing exactly that. Lots of sitting around and chatting. Marie had already prepared dinner so we didn't even have to move from our cosy camp. And so it continued - BBQ steaks on Saturday night, and pizza on Sunday and a few bottles of red wine of course. Daily walks took us into town and we were also located right next to Yarrawonga weir which holds back the Murray River to create Lake Mulwala.

Also Yarrawonga is an attractive town with some beautiful houses and great gardens. Managed to 'borrow' this Zinnia for a photo.

Originally we had planned to leave Yarrawonga on Monday morning, but we were having so much fun we both decided to leave on Tuesday instead.

Our post pandemic caravan getaway - 5 October 2020

After 6 or so months of lockdown, and having been forced to abandon a trip to The Netherlands and Malta, we were finally able to pack the caravan and head out for a couple of weeks. We are of course limited to Victoria so we chose to continue a trip to Echuca we had to abandon in March. We drove to Echuca via Melbourne and set up camp in fairly chilly and damp weather.

Opted for dinner at the Curry Club and had a great Indian meal. We were served so much food we took home a couple of 'doggie' bags. The weather wasn't cooperating, but it was just great to have a change of scenery and catch up on some rest and reading. A great Italian meal at Antonio's before we departed on Friday. The plan was to travel the short distance to Yarrawonga to where we planned to catch up with the Thomas' for a few days. We had booked adjacent sites at the Yarrawonga Holiday Village. 

26 April - Washington DC

This will be the final blog entry for this trip. Tonight is our last night at the Hyatt Regency hotel here on Capitol Hill.

Tomorrow we fly to LA from Washington's Dulles International Airport and from LA, the 14 hour trek to Melbourne. The forecast for today was rain and thunderstorms so we had decided to make it our shopping day. The main shopping centre for Washington is located in Arlington VA, just across the river from Washington so this morning we once again used a trusty Uber to take us there, and not long after crossing the Potomac we passed the famous Pentagon (Dept of Defense) building on our right hand side.

The Pentagon Mall is a huge multi level shopping extravaganza and we spent a couple of hours there so Mark could get what he needed. By the time we finished here, after a quick lunch at Shake Shack the thunderstorm had truly set in and the resulting rain was of tropical proportions. So, back to the hotel and out of the rain, and all that's left now is to do our final packing and to get ourselves to the airport tomorrow after noon.

What a trip it has been. With modern technology it is easy to plan and book a trip such as this, and now having actually lived through it I am still amazed that all the arrangements we made unfolded perfectly as planned. The main event of the trip was the Boston Marathon. It is quite an experience to watch, over the years, the planning, dedication and commitment Mark has needed to finally get to the starting line in Boston. I feel very privileged to have been able to share with Mark the preliminary events and the finish of the actual run, and then to enjoy, from the sidelines, the congratulations and well wishes of many perfect strangers we encountered along the way.

Beyond Boston we were lucky to be able to extend our trip to New York and Washington which for me meant the opportunity to re-visit some previous experiences, but also to catch up on some for which there was no time on previous visits. Finally, this visit reinforced my earlier impressions of the US and its people. Once again we found without exception, that the people we encountered everywhere were, without exception, friendly, courteous and helpful. 

25 April 2019 - Washington DC

Another nice day today and after a quick breakfast we decided to take an Uber to Arlington Cemetery, America's most famous burial ground. Being spring time here and with the trees in full blossom Arlington was a magnificent sight. We had a quick look around and did what everyone does and that is to visit the JFK burial site. As you look around in every direction it's rolling green hills and white marble monuments. Next we decided to walk from Arlington to the Lincoln Memorial across a bridge over the Potomac.

There are quite a few school groups in town as the moment, but Washington is so large and spread out that it is not really crowded anywhere, and the Lincoln Memorial was well attended but not crowded. Just like our last visit, Abe Lincoln is still sitting there in his large marble chair looking out over the National Mall. Our next visit was to the Martin Luther King memorial which is also a massive statue of the man with the surrounding walls quoting some of his most famous sayings.

From here we continued our walk around a beautiful lake which features the Thomas Jefferson Memorial which ia another wonderful shrine to another famous American.

Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, was a Founding Father of the USA and the third President of the United States. As a product of The Enlightenment he understood the necessity for the separation between Church and the State and ensured it was enshrined in the US Constitution. After spending a little time with Thomas we walked to the Washington Monument with the idea of riding to the observation platform at the top, only to find that it is closed for renovations until August this year. By then it was well past mid afternoon and we continued our walk back to the hotel. Mark's watch estimated that we had walked 13km which is probably the longest walk I've done in decades.

It was really nice kicking back in our hotel until it was time to choose a place to have dinner. I've generally found that in the US one tends to eat a lot of hamburger/pizza/sandwich type meals and as we were in the mood for something a bit more substantial and balanced we chose a little French restaurant called Bistro Biz and had the best meal of the trip so far - Beef Burgoignon for me and Duck Comfit for Mark. 

A memorable meal indeed, followed by desserts to match. Tomorrow is our final day here in Washington DC and we plan to spend it at one of the major shopping centres here in the capital, and then on the following day it is time for the long flight home.

24 April 2019 - Washington DC

Our first full day in Washington DC. Our hotel is quite close to Capitol Hill and the National Mall so we headed there this morning. We walked to the Capitol Visitor Centre and were immediately able to join a guided tour of the Capitol. This tour takes you straight into the area under the central dome and is quite magnificent.

Mark took this photo standing directly under the dome and looking up. The room in which we are standing features many large oil paintings depicting scenes from US history.

It was a bit crowded as there are many tours happening simultaneously but eventually we got to see everything and with the help of our excellent guide came to understand the significance of many items in this 'sacred site' of US history. When this tour, which lasted about 45 minutes ended, we walked along the National Mall to find the Smithsonian Museum of Space and Flight. Like the Capitol, Rosa and I visited here with our friend the Hirs' some years ago, but it was great to once again visit the collection of history making aircraft and space vehicles. A highlight of the visit once again was to see the original Wright Brothers 'Flyer' the first aircraft ever to fly.

From there we continued on down the Mall and visited the Museum of American History, focusing mainly on the American Civil War display, and then on to the Holocaust Museum, which took us almost to the Washington Monument. We will continue our trek down the mall tomorrow. From here we walked back to our hotel for a bit of a rest (in my case) and a stretch on the treadmill in Mark's case.

This evening Mark used TripAdvisor to find a nearby Irish pub, The Alibi, for dinner.

Couldn't resist the opportunity to have a Guiness with my beef stew which was excellent. Mark had 'bangers and mash' with a side of steamed vegetables. Very nice meal. We continue our exploration tomorrow.