Lest we forget

The alarm went off at what seemed to be a ridiculously early time and we rolled out of bed. Unlike the diggers 101 years ago, we quickly warmed up in about 10 layers of clothes and beanies, and set off to the local Dawn Service.

There would have been 200-300 people there already, and was suddenly joined by what seemed another 500 people that had followed the band marching from the city centre 20 minutes earlier. 

The local rep from the RSL said his piece and introduced the local Pastor to remind us that we need to be remembering the soldiers and their families, not just the day and the memorial site. 

Interestingly enough, he was less that 5 minutes into the spiel, when about a 1000 Corellas decided to fly in and roost in the trees above us. Judging by the noise they were making, I suspect they had heard the speech before and had no intention of shutting up to let the rest of us listen. The Pastor soldiered on though and eventually we got to the bugle playing. There is something about this tune when played live that sends a shiver down my spine and just lets out an amazing flood of emotion as we remember those poor soldiers and what they had to endure in their quest to provide us with the Australia as we know it today. 

We finally got back to the Caravan Park and cooked up the last hot breakfast for a while, of sausages, bacon and eggs in the true Anzac spirit. 

Then it was time to pack up and go home. I don't like this part for a multitude of reasons - firstly because it symbolises my holiday is over, and secondly because it means my entire afternoon revolves around unpacking and cleaning. According to Tracy, the latter is apparently a chore that needs to be borne by all parties in our family, so complaining about how tired I am and trying to sneak off to lie down, isn't a wise idea. 

I did eventually get to lie down at 8:30, and was asleep at 8:35.

I blame it on the hay fever tablets and pain killers for my neck.... It definitely has nothing to do with my age and/or superior fitness levels. 

Another holiday over.... Until next time. 

A day of not much

We woke up to another magnificent sunny morning with lots of ideas for the day, but very little motivation. Some of the group weren't feeling overly well after yesterday's wine drinking and over-eating, which didn't really matter too much considering we were going to do absolutely nothing again today.

After cooking up another hot breakfast of bacon and eggs, I took Taz out to the big oval with Dylan for a bit of fun intermingled with a bit of puppy training. 

I then went for a walk with Taz to look for the local RSL as we were intending to go to the Dawn Service tomorrow morning, as we do every Anzac Day, regardless of where we are. I found it to be literally across the park on the other side of the road from the caravan park, so it was all set to walk here in the morning. It was about now that Taz sat down and refused to walk anymore. No amount of coaxing could get him to take more than 2 steps without sitting again for a few minutes, so I resigned myself to the fact I was carrying him from here back to the caravan. Carrying a black ball of fluff that size doesn't help promote any manly manliness look I may be trying to present, but it does have a lot of people stopping to talk, which isn't always a bad thing.

Funnily enough though, despite his complete exhaustion and inability to walk any further, when I got to the big oval and put him down without his lead on, he took off quicker than a 6 year old lad who had just eaten a bag full of sugar. 

He finally tired out and lay on the lush green grass like a big ball of fluff. He is an amazingly good puppy, and has certainly changed the attitudes of our family, with the kids (and maybe me just a little), enjoying every moment spent with him. 

We set about cooking up some lunch on the WeberQ (as this is where every meal of the day is produced), and then settled down to an afternoon of wine, cheese and mettwurst (becoming all too familiar methinks). 

Daniel, being the sensible non-drinker amongst us, spent the next hour checking out and fiddling with his erection until I finally got up and helped by holding his pole so he could sit back and see what it looked like. When he was finally satisfied and agreed that the awning was set up correctly, we headed over to the far oval to watch the men's division 5 soccer thrash if out for the next 90 minutes. 

We then headed back and set up the tv to watch the second semi final between western Sydney Wanderers and Brisbane Roar. What an amazing game of soccer. 4-4 at full time, with Sydney finally coming out on top with a 5th goal. Can't wait to see the final at Adelaide Oval next week. 

Getting ready for bed due to an early start in the morning, and with a chronic neck strain at the moment, I don't imagine there is going to be much sleep tonight. Maybe another glass of port may help. 

Winery day

Today was our day to visit the wineries. The kids had not been looking forward to this day, but they knew it was coming and were very gracious in defeat. 

In the end, we only visited two - Charles Melton and Grant Burge. We grabbed a couple of bottles from each and I also forked out for a bottle of 10 year old tawny, before heading back. To show the kids our appreciation of their patience, we stopped off for a hot chicken and chips for a late lunch. That was like giving them all their birthdays at once and we could feel the love flowing for at least 2 minutes. 

Not long after, Nicole and Rob and kids turned up and the cheese platters with metwurst and copious amounts of wine started flowing. And flowing. And flowing.  Once again, the law stepped in and reminded us that we had to actually feed the kids before sending them to bed, and I managed to cook up a storm of sausages and some fantastic marinaded pork steaks. 

The Hardy's took off at a stage when Rob was still hoping, and Nicole was ready to start telling the kids one of her infamous stories, and the Mardles and ourselves braced ourselves for the cold night with a bottle of Bailey' and a bottle of Tawny Port (not together!). 

Looking forward to another day tomorrow of doing not much (except maybe a cheese and Metwurst platter with a few bottles of wine. ). And maybe a few more bottles. 

Why we love camping

As predicted, yesterday was all about not much really. Taz slept through the night again (Yay!!!) and the kids even slept in till nearly 7am (when the *^%# did 7am become a sleep in???). After the mandatory bacon and eggs breakfast, I took Taz over to the soccer oval with the kids for a run around, and after about 15 minutes, I was knackered. Taz on the other hand, was still chasing the ball and generally doing what a puppy should be doing - having fun.

I recovered shortly after and went exploring the park with the kids, and before we knew it, lunch time arrived. A healthy dose of hot dogs later and it was time for a siesta. And a wine... Or 2 .... We are in The Barossa, so it is fully justified. Even though it is only just noon. 

Anyway, 4-5 bottles later and a great big cheese and metwurst platter later, the afternoon was suddenly gone. 

It was a beautiful sunset to end the day, but that also meant we had to be responsible parents for a moment. 

Tea was only made because apparently it is law to feed the kids, regardless of how much we have eaten or drunk. So after burning the marinade and serving half raw chicken with a token salad, we set about getting the tv sorted to watch the Adelaide United soccer semi final. It was a great game and even better to see them smash Melbourne City 4-1. Might even head to the game next week. The only bit that was difficult to deal with was the freezing cold weather - cold enough to freeze Taz's new bits, but Tyler took good care by wrapping him in his arms for most of the night. 

Taz goes on holiday - Anzac weekend

 We made a semi-last minute decision to head off on Thursday night instead of Friday morning (well I did anyway... And it feels kind of good to be a real man and make a decision of my own 😀). 

We picked Tyler up from soccer practice just after 6pm with the van firmly hitched on the back and set off on our great big adventure. The big trip this weekend was going to take us all the way to Nuriootpa- about a whole hour away. These short trips have become a bit of a favourite with us. Whilst I enjoy driving, I enjoy sitting around a caravan with a bourbon and coke a whole lot more. 

This was our first trip away with Taz, our little Spoodle, who is getting way too spoiled already in the 3 weeks we have had him. He had now passed the 12 week old mark, which is where I think we need to start ageing him in months, rather than weeks. He slept through the night last night, and I am sincerely hoping that is how it will be every night from now on, especially these next 4 nights when he will be less than 2 metres away from us all INSIDE the caravan. 

We got here about 7:30 and I was sitting down with a brew shortly after, with Taz comfortably curled up on my lap, also enjoying the glamping life. 

I have an annual leave day tomorrow and the weather is going to be around 20 degrees and sunny. Perfect weather to go to the wineries in this beautiful part of the Barossa Valley methinks. (Also perfect weather to sit around, eat some metwurst and cheeses and drink some wine. Tough choices ahead). 

As it was dark when we got here, I don't really know what this park has to offer although the kids were pretty chuffed with the playground they found earlier. Time to crash and dream about glamping life for the next 4 days.