2-27-13

Ballarat railway station... what else?

Me: Driving Miss Harley...

to the airport to pick up Bob! We are excited to have him home again!

2-26-13

Martin: The mining exchange in Ballarat

Again, more ornate buildings left as a result of the gold rush days. Checked out the mining exchange shop that purchases and sell gold nuggets – it’s the shop that is handling the large nugget that was found not long after we left. There we hundreds of nuggets for sale ranging from $20 and up into the tens of thousands. Had to place our tongues back in our mouths a few times. From there, we spent quite a bit of time looking in various shops due to the lure of air conditioning and found a great little coffee shop with unusual deserts.

Me: I returned from vacation to find this; a large hole in our house with gusting winds blowing down the plastic that James had taped up. Since he's installed some temporary plywood walls. Still makes for a chilly house and Harley and I have been sleeping in the guest room to stay warm. Looking beyond the mess, I love the progress! Bob will be surprised when he gets home!

2-25-13

Martin: Ruth thinking to herself that it's about time we left.

We lasted an hour before using up the eight water bottles we had brought along with us and so headed back to the far to restock. Had a bite to eat and then headed south to the regional city of Ballarat.

Me: Last day in Santa Barbara...(Feb 24)

Early morning hike to Inspiration Point. A favorite trek of locals for a great workout & view.

The largest Fig Tree in the country is located in downtown SB. Yep, it indeed is large.

 Hoping the little fig tree we planted in our yard doesn't get this big.

 Goleta Beach for breakfast and a walk down the pier before heading to the airport.

 Spider crabs seemed to be a popular catch of those fishing.

This guy got lucky and scored a king crab. Wow!

Last pic of the trip. So thankful for Marsha and Shelly and the amazing time we had together in Santa Barbara! Fun!

2-24-13

Martin: Remains of an excavated quartz reef.

Awoke to another hot day in the making. Suzy the dog arrived early and was parked across the doorway ready to intercept the first person to open up. Tail wagging madly to the extent that half her body wags with the tail. After breakfast was sorted out, we headed off to a panning site about twenty kilometres away in the Paddy’s Ranges State Park. The dirt road was incredibly dusty and all I could see in the rear mirror was a wall of beige. Again, no water in the creek and we had to locate a reservoir for panning. The air was still and very hot. You could smell the eucalyptus oil from the leaves on the gum trees and I had my doubts about the safety aspect of being in this type of bush should a fire start up nearby. We checked around the numerous open mining pits and then came across the remains of a quartz reef that had been excavated. The remaining gash in the ground was around thirty metres long and three metres deep. They had obviously found something in it to go to all that work and it would have been hard work by hand without the help of dynamite. We used a pick on some of the surrounding ground and it didn’t make much of an impression after a few wacks.

Me: Girl's trip cont.... (Feb 23)

Another great morning run for me. Beautiful sunrise on the harbor.

While jogging I discovered a See's chocolate shop! We visited later. :-)

Had fun shopping downtown!

Lunch on the Pier at Santa Barbara Shellfish Company.

I love oysters on the half shell and these were great!

Rented some cruiser bikes.

 It was a perfect afternoon to tour the shore.

 Coolest pic of Shelly!

Then we put a blanket on the beach, ate snacks and watched the waves, people, dogs and the sun go down. 

 Posed for a joke on iphones.

 What a wonderful day!

PS: Tonight we had sushi on State Street followed by thee best bread pudding at The Palace. That place is fun! Meanwhile Bob is having a great time in The Bay with his family. He had a couple days off from training so he flew to San Fran.

2-23-13

Martin: Checked the maps over a cup of coffee & decided to try the fossicking areas behind Mijorca. I knew none of the little creeks would be running but we were going to see if any of the small reservoirs still contained any water. The first location was dry but we had better luck in the late afternoon with spot number two. A shame we didn’t have the same luck in the pan as finding a supply of water. Only a few specks for an hour’s work.

Me: Santa Barbara trip continued (Feb 22)...

I enjoyed a sunrise run along East Beach. Sand volleyball courts were ready for activity.

Marsha, Shelly and I followed up breakfast with a hike along Rattlesnake Trail. No snakes but a nice view at the top.

A quick stop to see The Old Mission of Santa Barbara.

Then we ventured into wine country. Bridlewood winery; a magestic property with a large grass lawn to have a picnic.

 Wonderful lunch in Los Olivos.

Los Olivos is a quaint little town that felt a lot like Pleasantville.

Lincourt Winery.

I felt right at home with their red barn. Are we in Iowa?

Stopped in Solvang where my peeps live. :-) 

Solvang is a cute Danish settlement filled with windmills, bakeries, chocolate shops and shoe stores that sell clogs (footwear that my mom always wore and I did too growing up.)

I was giddy over the choices of sweets!

We had a lovely drive back to SB along the coast and ended our day with an official birthday dinner for Marsha on State Street.

2-22-13

Martin: The little mining town of Talbot.

Me:  We arrived in Santa Barbara yesterday. It was a gorgeous day!

 View from Courthouse clock tower.

Shelly in front of Santa Barbara Courthouse.

Chill'n at Goleta Beach before picking Marsha up at the airport.

Yay..."The Girls" are all here!

 We walked around the "funk district" and hit a couple urban wine bars.

 My favorite was Kalyra; owned by an Australian! So great to hang out with Marsha and Shelly. Love them! More fun in Santa Barbara tomorrow.

2-21-13

Martin: Township of Clune.

A quick drive through town followed and then we set off on a 60km loop passing through a number of small mining ‘towns’ that met a similar fate to Majorca. Some people still live in the towns but we didn’t see a single soul in any of them. Back in Maryborough once again. Had lunch in the local park, under a date tree of all things. The weather was warming up and sitting in the mid-thirties. After lunch we headed down another side road in the opposite direction, south, to another town, Clunes, that sprung up due to gold. In fact, every town for a hundred kilometres in every direction started out due to this reason. Clunes’ main street has been well preserved and has shown up in a number of movies. The town has survived by sticking to a theme – they have a number of specialist book shops that attract visitors throughout the year. Had a look through the books and Ruth picked two up. The boys had a milk shake and we headed back to the cottage.

Me: I really like this photo that Bob took when he flew out of Phoenix the other day. It shows South Mountain and Ahwatukee quite well. I can make out right where our home is, the Mini Mansion and also see Curt and Nancy's house. Fun! Wish I could use photoshop to put red arrows on the pic.

I'm flying to Santa Barbara today with my best girlfriend's, Shelly and Marsha. 3 days of visiting, hiking, relaxing and celebrating Marsha's birthday! Bob will fly to the bay and spend a couple days with his folks, sister + fam. I'll post when I return from CA!