We had a late start, thanks to a very wakeful night thanks to the crazy winds buffeting the house all night. All night. I spent most of it hugging pillows to my head so that the cacophony was muffled. I'm not good in the wind. My logical side knows that even if anything blows in or off or away, we have insurance and it's only a house, but my non-logical side freaks out every time.
So a slow start it was, coffee in bed (we're still in holiday mode after all), slow, late breakfast then readying ourselves to head off (a few snacks, a change of clothes for each of the kids, the scooters into the car), chickens fed and eggs collected, and recycling collected from all around the yard where it blew away last night. (Also three Barbies, and plenty of Octonauts with their Octo-ski made their way to the car. Rohan, after being strapped in, decided he wanted Peso, the penguin. I zipped upstairs to look for him, but he was nowhere obvious. I asked Roh again and he said very matter of factly "He's in the the toy oven". Now why didn't I think of that?)
Luke got the kids singing "We're all going to Bothwell, yeah, we're heading to Bothwell, we're all going to Bothwell, in the vaaaaan" to the tune of "We're Not Gonna Take It" (Twisted Sister, I believe) and we were off.
Josie was a little cranky as we set off and I was sure she would crash as soon as we were moving, but the bouncy joy (ha!) of Middle Tea Tree Road kept her awake and we were on the Midlands Highhway (that is, only about 40 minutes from Bothwell) before she nodded off.
She woke as soon as we opened the doors in Bothwell (I think the automatic doors are too noisy for her to sleep through) and we popped into the visitors' centre for a few local hints and a map. We were dismayed to find that one of the prominent local cafes was closed across New Year (who closes over what must be a fairly busy tourist season?), so we zipped across for a quick play in the playground until the wind drove us away, and then headed out to Nant Distillery to sample their wares and get ourselves a much-wanted/needed coffee, and maybe lunch.
The distillery appeared like an oasis out of the partially dry pasture surrounding it, but we drove past in search of "Hamish the Highland Cow" whom we could (according to the lady at the visitors' centre) see in a paddock just a little way beyond. Nope, no Hamish to be found, I think we'd been given a bum steer!
Back to the distillery, and (aaarggghhhhh!) their coffee maker is on the blink. Noooooooooooo! We stayed for a whisky tasting, and though the prices were a wee bit steep for us non-whisky-drinkers-except-for-special-occasions, it was simply delicious. I never realised whisky could taste almost sweet.
A little wander in the glorious grounds, with a little river running through to their restored water wheel, and an attempt at a photo of all three children (Josie always has other ideas) and we were off in search of lunch. Late lunch, at around 2.30pm but lunch nonetheless.
We ended up at the Devil's Den, a basic but very serviceable and friendly cafe in the town centre. The kids enjoyed the biggest babycinos I've ever seen (they were small hot chocolates, really) and Josie insisted on drinking hers entirely with her spoon. Fun indeed!
After lunch we used the map we were given this morning to make a little car-based tour of the town since it was so blustery (on a nice day, we'd have enjoyed walking it, like we used to do in country towns in NSW. We would make a point of seeking out the walking tour brochure and enjoying all the little towns on foot). We finished up at the Adelaide St Lookout, where Pascal decided to put on a show and have me video it. We need to work on her polish a little!
Taking a bow at the end of their show.
It was well and truly time to head home. We played a game of "cupcake" in the car on the way home. You choose something to spot out of the window, be it a power pole, a road sign, whatever, and every time you see one you shout "cupcake" until someone guesses what you've picked. The kids (and grown-ups) enjoyed it and it kept everyone involved in the journey (and kept Rohan from becoming carsick).
We are loving the space we have in the van, suddenly getting everyone in and out of the car isn't the huge chore it was in the Challenger! I wonder where we can day trip to next?
I found a sweet little bit of Pascal's writing when saying goodnight to her tonight. She asked for some paper to use, and I suggested she use a piece which was scrunched up on her bedside table. On it I found written:
Love
I love my dad and mum.
Awwwwww.
The shine was taken off it a little (and made me giggle) when I saw the next sheet which said:
Love
I love frogs.
Somehow, despite a big busy day, at 10pm both Pascal and Rohan are still awake! Hopefully that will translate to another sleep in tomorrow.....
P.S. Pascal has her second wobbly tooth! Hopefully this one will take less than the five or six weeks her first one took to wobble free. She would barely touch that one because she was scared of it coming out. When it was close, she would cry that she didn't want a gold coin, she just wanted her tooth!
P.S.2 here's a photo Luke took of me yesterday. I normally edit photos of myself to smooth out my skin and make myself a little,more presentable, but here I am as snapped. I'm not sure if the smudge on my nose is something on me or the lens, but I'm pretty sure it's not snot!
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