First Warm Spring Day

Just a quick post; Karl Jnr was working so the rest of the crew took the cycles to a local market. After buying some farm goods we headed home, took the car and headed off for lunch and a trip to the bay. Melbourne (or should I say Bayside) is still an amazing place even though we are run by complete morons. On the way back home we stopped at our local, Urban Ground where Georgie had some Oysters and a cocktail. Yes, Martin and I were at odds. 😁

Note: Shot on the GoPro: Dad wants the Osmo 5 for his Birthday.

Short Video of Summer Fun

The fam, minus Jnr who was working, headed back to Ballarat to visit a few spots we missed. Day 1 consisted of visiting the Tram Museum and the Botanical Gardens. After an amazing lunch at Pancho's, we hit the Art Museum where they had a fantastic exhibition on the history of guitars. Day 2 took us to J-Ward, in Ararat, to see how they treated lunatics in Australia (surprise surprise it was not that great). After that, we visited the Vegemite Museum and then travelled back to Ballarat for a mini pub crawl and a great dinner at the Hop Temple.

Movie (I need to get the HDR10 sorted)

VoxNeon

G and I went with the Smiths (no not Morrissey) to see Voxneon. Sadly karl was working and unable to go so Martin said; "bugger that Dad, I'll go to the movies" so karl drove him home after work. The Neubauers and Smiths went to the Chelsea Heights Bistro for dinner first which was garbage to a level of Chernobyl garbage..... But it was fun and the food gags didn't end.

VoxNeon

Hahndorf (ver ar zee Germans)

We decided to travel to Hahndorf for a short holiday. Hahndorf is situated about 30 clicks outside Adelaide so I thought, what the heck, revisit my trips to Adelaide for work and visit a German town. Let me start by saying that Hahndorf was the least German place I have ever visited. While the place in its heyday may have been quaint they basically whitewashed the Germans (even forcing them to change their names) and ran them out of town (read the history). Saying all that we had fun eating Wurst and drinking German'ish beer. Some of the many highlights the video will show are the Pink Lake, Old Tailem Town Pioneer Village, Nepenthe Winery and the Pinball Museum to mention a few. I also took my drone (DJI Mini 4 Pro) out for a test drive and I was super impressed with the stills and video performance.

Hahndorf (A long video)

A quick post from today. It was our 2nd outing at Eastern Sward Golf Club today and Dad took full advantage of Martin's injured wrist. After a fun (and frustrating game for Martin) we went off for lunch at Modu before coming home to get stuck into work and homework.

Golf (overblown Video)

Funky Town

Just a quick post: The fam went to Chelsea Heights Hotel to watch Pseudo Echo play their one-hit wonder, Funky Town. They were pretty good and at 64 the lead singer is in bloody good shape. Even though it was not our cup of tea, it was a fun evening.

A few tracks

Fathers Day

It's spring and also Father's Day. After brekkie, we headed out to Acland Street in St Kilda where they had a car and bike festival. The sun broke through and we had a great time. Karl Jnr wanted to chill at home (not a car person) to gear up to take Martin to his football game now that he has his P's in Pakenham. After a wander, we drove back to Mordi and had a few Tacos at Sol Agave. So looking forward to Summer.

Acland Street Car Festival

Lysterfield Park Test

Just a quick video. The clan went down to Lystertfield Park to enjoy a sunny winters day and to drive bikes.Martin sadly shagged my eBike to the point where the chain falls off every 5 minutes and the motor now just says NO. We then left, picked up some KFC before coming home. Once done we took the recycling to make a few bob and popped into Boatrocker which is 50min away.

Quick Spin (odd colour grading)

New Bike

Here is a quick post on Martins's new bicycle. He finally has the dual-suspension trail bike he always wanted. While Karl Jnr was working we decided to have a cycle to Mordialloc to make a few bets on the horses and pint at The Sporting Globe (I won $85 on the horses). We returned to Urban Ground for a small boutique beer before cycling through the Wetlands. It's now time for a BBQ and to enjoy the Footy.

The Ride

Cape Town 2024

First time back to Cape Town in 25 years, a very long overdue visit! With a lot of emotions and a lot of tears, solo trips are always hard. Was great to see my sister Samantha and high school friend Nikki again after such a long time. Thanks, Nikki and Sean for a wonderful snoek braai dinner followed by a day out to Kalk Bay. Had a delicious lunch at Beira Mar Portuguese restaurant followed by a pit stop at the Aegir Project Brewery in Noordhoek. Oh, and don't forget the SCRATCH PATCH!  

Spent most of the days that followed with Mom, ensuring she had what she needed. The home feeds them well, I can finally vouch for that, and it's tasty!

Also managed to cram in a lovely lunch with the in-laws, Karl and Jacqui at On the Rocks in Blourberg, followed by ice cream and a walk by the beach. Plus a trip to the Waterfront and enjoyed a traditional lunch at Karibu restaurant, I was craving waterblommetjies! Had a great final dinner at the Hassar Grill, just downstairs from my hotel, Crystal Towers, both of them, highly recommended. Might see you again Cape Town, but not on my own. (Dad's note; it won't be with me).

Cape Town 2024

Mont de Lancey

While Karl Jnr was at work we went to Mont de Lancey in the Yarra Valley to give Martin some driving practice. It's a historical homestead with many fantastic features, structures and buildings. The best 'feature' of the trip was the German Blacksmith who sounded like my dad who told me how a man with a passion enjoys life.

Monty fun

Daylesford Part 2

We enjoyed our time in Daylesford but missed out on a few things last time due to holiday closures. This time, we stayed in Hepburn Springs and had great weather. We had a wonderful time trying different beers and herbal liqueurs, as well as eating and sightseeing. We are looking forward to another visit but this time; staying in Daylesford.

Daylesford Part 2

Martin relives his childhood

Today we went to the Melbourne Steam Traction Engine Club which held their annual exhibition. We had always driven past and said we'd someday go there and today we did. It was way more than I expected and we started the day with a mini-train ride and then continued to look at the rest of the site. They had hundreds of working steam, diesel and petrol engines on display some dating back (and working) to the 1800's.

Toot Toot