Road tripp’n: Victoria July 2017

We recently did an exercise in a group of having to remember our best childhood memories. There was a big group of adults from their 30’s to 50’s and each and every one had simple things: home cooked meals, movie nights at home or for me, road trips with my family most school holidays. These have to be my all time favourite memories. Kids piled into the back of the car (sometimes without seat belts or even seats….hello mattress in the back of the Ford Falcon station wagon in the 80’s on the way to the Gold Coast!), treasured time in close quarters with each other as we fought, made stops and my favourite…staying in a Motel where you could back the car in for ease of unpacking into your room!

I still have my travel journals from these holidays which I took VERY seriously indeed. Every night lovingly drawing with textas and adding in special momentos from the hotels we were lucky enough to stay in. The dodgier the better in my books!

I suppose blogging isn’t that far off this? Hence why I will always blog when we travel..I love downloading the photos and capturing the day (good or bad) so I can look back on. A blog is just a different version of these books right?!

Today we head off on a week long road trip down to country Victoria and then to Melbs to visit my sister and her kids. This time last year we headed north via the farm then onto Byron and then home via the New England Highway. While These trips are exhausting and at time involve car sickness and fighting and threats to pull over, in hindsight I do love them. I hope the girls do too.

I’m lucky enough to be hosted for a few nights down in Ballarat for the Ballarat Winter Festival where we will be checking out all that’s on offer down there. On the way down we are stopping in Beechworth (Sat night) and Daylesford (Sunday Night) then onto the rat for 2 nights and then further into Melbs. I can’t wait to share some of these great Australian country towns, and businesses, people having a crack…I’m stoked that Visit Ballarat have asked us to be a part of it and I can’t wait to show the girls (and Rob) a part of the country they haven’t been to before, as well as tapping into some Australian history! Hello goldmines and ye olde lolly shoppes…

So the car is packed, my patience is trying to be long and plentiful, and I hope you’ll join us on another adventure. And please let me know anywhere that I MUST stop into along the way…I’d love some insiders info. And if you are around Ballarat on Mon-Wed I might see you around!

I wonder how long it will take till I lose my shit? Hoping it’s well outside of the Highlands!

Comments

  1. Jo Lloyd says

    Oh Beth, I can not wait to see your posts from the trip south. We head North in September for our annual Noosa adventure. As a kid we went on numerous road trips. My dad’s family in Toowoomba, my mums in the Riverina and my God parents in Maclaren Vale SA. Many wonderful memories of treasured times with my mum and dad. Yes, there was often an ice cream container nearby.
    I’m hoping to do the trip to VIC this time next year so am super excited to travel along with you and the family in the mean time.
    Safe travels, and always Stop, Revive, Survive.

  2. I have some great memories of road trips to VIC as a child. I loved Curiousity House in Ballarat and of course good old Sovereign Hill.

    Whenever we went down to VIC we always stopped at the Dog on the Tuckerbox in Gundegai too, lol, you have brought back so many great memories!

  3. Eeep! How exciting!! Even though Ballarat is almost an hour’s drive from our place, I consider it my “local” – it’s where I went to school and where I go for a big shop every week or two. It’s totally been undergoing this fabulous revolution in the last few years where there’s SO much good food & shopping and cool events every time you turn around. I hope you love it! Probably my favourite shop of all is the Upholstery Gallery in Mair St. Swoon. And Armstrong St has a stack of good nighttime eateries. Can’t wait to read about your time there.

  4. Caroline says

    Go to Coffee Chakra in Myrtleford for brekky tomorrow – a MUST! Best coffee in NE Vic (anywhere???) and the avo, mint, goat’s cheese quinoa w poached eggs ???As is the kedgeree. And the seedy porridge. As for the curry … Housemade chai a specialty – be prepared to wait 10 mins as each one is made from scratch. Vik and Leonie are the real deal. And a quick stop at Red Ramia Trading to pick up … well, anything really. Bedouin tent? Moroccan slippers? Tagine? Ceramic tiles? Cow hides? Leather pouffes? Yep, they’ve got them – and more. Turn the corner and peek in Eva’s Sundays storeroom window and drool over the beautiful, edgy linen pieces. Darn it, should have gone to the shop in Beechworth! Head out of town and turn onto the Snow Road towards the Hume, and look left as you do for one of the best views of Mt Buffalo. Enjoy the drive through the Ovens Valley as you head towards Milawa (cheese factory worth a stop – great … cheese! But also a fab little gallery). Hurdle Creek gin distillery just out of town. Wineries galore. On towards Oxley past the signs to the King Valley – no time now, you’ll just have to come back to do Pizzinis, Chrismont and all the other Italian-influenced wineries justice. The Hume beckons … Have fun!!!

  5. Oh I love that you have those old journals! Amazing and definitely a sign of a future blogger! I am a compulsive memory hoarder myself. My travels don’t always make the blog but I’m always snapping photos and storing my memories somewhere. I have never regretted it! x

  6. love it , my friend and I, we are both 50 now, kept memory books as kids , postcards, stories, bustickets, concert tickets yes I have my Serious Moonlight David Bowie ticket, we still laugh about our books but gosh I am glad we did them….

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