Echuca Escapades

Friday morning dawned warm and dry and we packed the car and headed off to pick up the camper trailer.  We were off to Echuca for a weekend with the Victorian frogs (Air force Reunion.)  We drove up stopping at Elmore for lunch where we looked at a lovely art gallery but didn't buy anything.  Arriving at Echuca Holiday Park we set up our camp site before heading into meet the others at the Echuca Hotel. 

It was good to see everyone again and a few new faces had joined us this weekend from further afield.  Peter and Jenny travelled down from Port Macquarie and Greg and Anita came from Canberra.  Jean also made it from Sydney again.  It seems that the Victorians are the only ones that have kept in touch and catch up on a regular basis.  It is such a shame as I'm sure if the other states played as we do they would have a wonderful time.  It has been such fun getting to know everyone over the last few years and we always enjoy our time together whether it is  just a dinner or a weekend away.  This weekend we have to say a huge thank you to Sue and Graeme who live in Echuca and organised a whole weekend of fun for all the visiting frogs.

  Leaving the hotel around 5 it was a quick trip home for a change of clothes before meeting up again for dinner at the Workman's Club.  Dinner was a raucous affair with lots of food, drinks and laughs as we all relaxed into party mode for the weekend.  Ketut (Shane) and Rhonda (Rhos) had the group a little worried as they gazed into each others eyes.  I think Cheryl and Bill were hoping they were rid of us for the weekend but just like the ad we said goodbye at the end of the night and went home dreaming of what might have been.

On Saturday we all met up and went in several cars to the Echuca Beer Shed for a big Aussie BBQ lunch.  The shed is a few kms out of Echuca and is a treasure trove of farming machinery from the old days and memorabilia from all things beer related.  Owned and run by a very enthusiastic beer drinker we were treated to a totally politically incorrect tour of the beer shed followed by a great lunch provided by Sue and cooked by Graeme in the Trappers Kitchen.  A great day was had by all and the 37 deg weather made for great sales at the bar.  It was a very merry group that left around 3 pm to get a little rest in before dinner at Niks later that night.

Nik's is a great Greek Restaurant and we had 2 tables out the back for another night of great food and great fun.  And of course a drink or three to help wash down the Greek banquet.  The food was really wonderful and the night even more raucous than the night before if that was possible.  I'm sure that none of these guys ever thought that they would be sitting in a Greek Restaurant 42 years on and still drinking and laughing together.   Our interstaters said farewell here as they were starting out early the following morning but the rest of us agreed to meet for breakfast at the Beechworth Bakery.

It was a quieter group that met on Sunday morning but after a coffee or two most of us were ready to face the day.  We said goodbye to most of the group after breakfast but Cheryl, Shane, Bill and I were staying on for another night.  We had a look at the Little Birdie Christmas market and though it was only small Cheryl and I found a few bits for Christmas presents.  We jumped in the car then and drove just over the border to see what the Moama Markets had to offer.

These markets were very much bigger and we both found a few more presents here before finding the boys on a seat under a shady tree.  We joined them for a drink and then left in search of the Cherry Farm that Shane had seen in the tourist guide.  We found it and both left with a kilo tub of fresh cherries.  They were delicious as was the home made cherry ice cream we ate before we got back in the car.  Back in Echuca we left Cheryl and Shane for the afternoon and we made our way back to the Workman's Club where we met Sue & Graham for a quiet afternoon in the air con.  It was good to have some time to chat quietly.

 Cheryl and Shane joined us at the C'van Park for a drink before we walked back into town for dinner at the  Bridge Hotel.  The food and the company was great and the barman/waiter was a real country joker.  We had lots of laughs over dinner before saying goodnight and walking home for well needed rest.

The next morning it was a bit cooler and we met Cheryl and Shane at Wisteria Cafe in the Port for a yummy breakfast before going back to pack up the camper and head for home.  Another wonderful weekend over and life returns to normal for the rest of the week.

The following weekend we continued the market theme visiting Gisborne to see the Phoenix Art Groups exhibition.  One of the ladies from last week is an artist and had some pieces on display.  We arrived to what we thought was a sleepy country market and found cars and people everywhere.  Finding a park a few blocks away we walked back and spent a couple of hours browsing and shopping  at another market.  Most of our pressies have come from these three markets this year so I do hope you like them as much as we enjoyed findig them.

Leaving the markets behind we drove on to Woodend where we found a wonderful little cafe for lunch and then after a look around this very nice little town we drove on home stopping for a quick look at both Trentham, where we found some interesting Christmas decorations, and Blackwood.

So after two weeks away in the country we were spending the next weekend at home with visitors arriving from Perth.  Sandra and Vicki were visiting for a few days and we were looking forward to playing tour guides again.

until then.......