Surprise suckers!!! Didn't think the old fella would put together a blog but you are wrong. I got excited putting some pics on Facebook so I thought it was only fair that I did an uncensored version for the Ramblings blog.
As you are aware we booked a house on the Murray at good ol' Corowa, birthplace of Emily and Kerri. The place has changed heaps since the 80's but still is a very nice, clean and quiet country town with the Murray River flowing through it. I have always said that if you are going to live inland then living on a river town makes all the difference. We had a great time at our house with a vista overlooking the Murray, and a big family friendly deck for get togethers. We (Jenny and I) saw the sun rise each morning and it was quite spectacular and different each day. PS: Myles enjoyed the early mornings with Nan and Poppy too AND mumio and dadio got a much needed although brief sleep in.
 |
Myles on one of his morning jaunts to the park
|
Board games, cocktails, happy hour, firepits, a new chef cooking good food every night, Damo's boat and his early morning escapes (after a quick trip to the main house to get a hot starter), great weather and chasing after Myles pretty much summed up life at the house.
Bike riding featured prominently as the go to activity each day. Kez got onto Jenny's old town bike and took to it like a duck to water. Expecting her to ride to the gym each day as a warm up/down. Also had the opportunity to have the traditional Parker/Dibben bowls competition. And boat rides, fishing and for the brave, swimming in the Murray River.
Apart from a family ride to Ball Park and another ride to Rutherglen to sample Parker Pies and Pheiffer Wines, Jenny and I did a Saturday morning traditional Cobweb Ride linking all four of the suggested rides around Corowa and Wahgunyah.
The highlight of the trip was to see Damo in fishing mode. Most eloquently summed up when he said he was going to take the boat downstream to Lake Mulwala one day. So, to get the most value out of the experience Damien didn't hitch the boat up to the back of the Defender and drive the 30 mins, no, he drove the boat down. Jenny and I had stopped by the river on our bike ride to take some river snaps when we saw him coming. But all our waving and jumping up and down on the bank came to no avail as Damo was in hunt and pursue mode. Head down below the cowling to avoid permafrost on his nose, he zoomed past us on his mission. 😂 Good times!!
Then off to Yackandandah after saying farewell to Kerri, Damien, Emily, Steve and Myles and Corowa (birthplace of Federation....... and Em n Kez)
Jenny found us a nice little BnB at the bottom end of town that turned out to be perfect for us. Yackandandah is one of my favourite towns, remembering it from the days where I would drive through it on the way to the ski fields from Corowa in the 80's. This time of year puts Yack on show with all the autumn colours coming out. We even had a live jazz band and craft beers by Two Pot brewing, a local craft brewery, at the Star Hotel.
Then onto the bike riding, and with a bit of a Myles luurrrgy. Chose to ride from Yack to Beechworth via the forest which seemed like a good idea at the time. Found that the gravel road to the start of the pine forest (logging country) and on the other side was perfect for our gravel bikes. Downside was that the roads inside the pine forest were constructed with very large basalt rocks!!! A difficult surface for us newbie gravel riders. Needless to say it was a very interesting ride. Compulsory lunch at Beechworth Bakery where I discovered the Ned Kelly Pie.
Next day we drove to Beechworth and rode the Beechworth to Myrtleford and return rail trail. Turned out to be a great ride at 96kms but on a gravel bike took most of the day. Turns out we spent the same time riding 95k on the rail trail as we did riding 40k in the forest the day before.
Last day was a ride to Osborne Flat, a cruisy 14k ride out and back.
Forgot that between day 2 and 3 of riding we did a bit of site seeing and bush walking. Checked out Woolshed Falls and walked through Beechworth Historic Park.
We were hoping to stay for a bit and even participate in the Beechworth Gravel Ride on the Saturday but lack of accommodation and still suffering from the luurrrgy, we headed for home via a stop in Albury. Got another Myles fix, whipped up a favourite Japanese stir fry for Em and went on a town bike cruise with Steve.
