Yes, hubby came to me a 6am and said "Pack the car, when I get home we'll get away for the weekend!" So I dropped Miss 8 at school and Miss 3 at kinder, I hit the shops and stocked up on all our fav treats for a trip to who knows where!! I bought tights and boots and warm things for the kiddies, because it was a chilly one last weekend! I went to the outlaws and got the portacot, powered home and packed nappies and suitcases, ensuring everyone had their fav jeans and tops and PJ's and slippers! I crammed everything into our car. I collected Miss 3 from kinder and Miss 8 finished school early!
The kids were buzzing with excitement as all the hard work was done, they popped colouring books and DS's and games into their backpacks and loaded themselves (yes, you heard right) into the car and waited ... waited for hubby and I to decide what to do! We searched every bloody website and could not
A) decide where to go, or
B) if we should go!
I wanted to be near the beach but hubby didn't want to drive far, so we eventually rounded it down to either Torquay or Ballarat! Accommodation for 2 adults is sort of reasonable, but since when do we charge an additional $20 per person, per night for anyone else who wishes to stay ... such as a child?? So that was an additional $60 per night for us ... on top of the already overpriced accommodation! What a great idea, where in the manual does it say that because they have children they have to pay extra money to use the beds that would already be in the pissy little brick shoebox anyway!!!
Needless to say, we didn't go away for the weekend! Instead, we bought fish and chips and went to our fav park ... near the beach. We went home and put on a DVD in our bed and popped popcorn! I built a tent in Miss 3's room and put their mattresses in there. They were thrilled at the idea, we've done it plenty of times before but each time they still love the thought of camping in their rooms! I've made sure that tent building is a part of my girls life, not only because its soooo much fun, but because it was something I was never aloud to do and when I sit and listen to the games they play and the places they visit, it makes it all worth while!
The next morning, we tried again. The girls got themselves ready and guilt got the better of my dear hubby, saying he feels like he had let the girls down, and was hunting for accommodation again! Thankfully he saw sense and we decided that a great day out would be better suited! Hubby was determined to have a great day and we did!! We drove out to the Puffing Billy! My god did we have fun, we may have froze to death, but it was awesome!
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| The beautiful station |
We arrived at the station in Belgrave, just over 2 hours from our house, with the most well behaved kids in the country! I was so proud of my three! Mind you we did threaten them prior to leaving, but we'll forget that part! I have never been to Puffing Billy before, so I think I was more excited than the girls, taking photo's of everything, reading all the signs and taking in the beautiful, crisp air! The station itself was stunning, I was in awe of its beauty!
We made our way out on to the platform and there she was! The steam train! Miss 3 clung onto my hand with dear life and let out a little squeal of excitement! Miss 8 had her iTouch taking pictures and looking for a perfect carriage for us to sit in! She needed somewhere that she could sit in the window like on the brochure! There was such a air of excitement that made us all feel a bit giddy! Miss 3 was a bit hesitant, eager to get on the train worried that it might leave without us! Miss 8 and I went straight to the front to see the engine! We return to the carriage and Miss 8 climbs onto the window, leaving Miss 3 to sit with mum and dad, not wanting to fall off and worrying that Miss 8 might lose her shoes!
So as the train departs the station, the girls are excited by the sounds of the conductors yelling "All Aboard" and ringing the bell! We slowly chug away and head on to Lakeside, with only a few stops in between! It was truly magical, with the amazing foliage and views for miles! The locals were fantastic too, waving to all the kids! The girls were so excited! They were pointing out all the different trees and oooing and ahhing as the steam filled the carriage, giggling at the disappearing acts they were doing! Miss 3 wandered between the two sides of the carriage making sure she took everything in, not wanting to miss a bit!
But the surprise of them all was bubs! Hubby had her near the window so she could see and the excitement she felt brought a tear to my eye! She sat on the ledge like her big sister and giggled and wiggled the whole way! Jumping around, not knowing what to do! It was really beautiful to watch!
And then before we knew it, little miss cautious was up too ...
We made it all the way to Lakeside where we decided it would be a good idea to return on the next train as we didn't bring lunch!! Typical us! But we did the return trip back to Belgrave and drove to Emerald for a cosy country bakery lunch! We went to one of the many bakeries and stocked up on pies and quiches and custard tarts!
After a superbly beautiful day, we made the return trip home where 2 of our 3 girls slept, worn out by the fun and excitement of the day! I would have to say that for what I thought would just be another train ride, it was certainly anything but! No matter what age, I believe everyone would enjoy a trip on the Puffing Billy!
Thanks ... MCM
That still sounds like a great weekend to me!
ReplyDeleteWe personally have never actually had a holiday away unless it involves staying with friends or family because its so expensive.
I did recently go and stay at BIG4 park as a part of a bloggers event and it was fantastic. I will be blogging about that (I should have already!) so keep an eye on my blog for the details. Its within an hour of here, close to the beach but not at the beach and has heaps to do. My kids are bugging me to go down there and hopefully we might just be able to get it to work! The accommodation is actually awesome and not a cold horrible brick shoebox either, I hate how places expect so much $ for something like that.
Little adventures like you had are what the kids will remember anyway. They don't remember all the other stuff that we stress ourselves over...well I hope they don't! xx
Thank you for that! We truly did have a great day, saved ourselves hundreds of $$$ and like you said the kids only remember the important things, although going away is fun and they love the idea of sleeping in bunk beds, I think they enjoyed the bedroom tent just as much!
ReplyDeleteWhere abouts did you stay? sounds like you had a wonderful time ... looking forward to the post! Need to see pics too!