Day 9: Strollin’ Around Town
Another decent sleep in for the kids, I had to go in shortly after 9 am to get them up. They were both perky and Seth was dancing around in circles. Seth smashed some yoghurt and muesli, then bits of my toast. Rachael had cornflakes with honey, then a bowl of “milk cereos” (Aldi Nutri-grain).
Our first stroll around town was along the main street Camp Street, up and down, kicked out of the lolly shop which was at COVID capacity, convincing Rachael past the ice cream shop, then up and down Ford Street stopping in at the toy shop. We got Seth a “lockbox” for Christmas after much consideration, after seeing it yesterday. We also got a toy tool belt for Hamish.
Dropped off the goods at the apartment where the room was being serviced; Rach was pretty happy with the re-stock of the little orange juices!
Back out again to TINY cafe for coffees and jaffles. Seth approved with his “approving nod”. There was a shitload of dogs about, often making for noisy confrontations in the street, which Rach was very afraid of. I think she got better during the day, but only slightly. She was undeterred, however, walking to the Beechworth Honey Shop singing “we’re going to the Bee shop!” the entire way there.
Rachael had decided earlier that the bee plush toy that she was going to share with Seth now had to become his and she needed to get her own. We obliged only because they are pretty great and only $9.50. Seth’s was called BeeBee and Rach’s is called Cherry. She also made a point of showing me the dead bees on the window fronting the hive display.
We got Seth back for a nap, and Sarah went for a look around town; some special rocks and some apples were the hauls.
Sarah tagged, then Rach and I went out for ice cream and a look at the candy shop. Waiting lines were much more reasonable this time. We sat in the sun at the entrance of town watching the cars come in while eating ice cream. Rachael shaped hers into a “volcano” shape which she proudly showed me. She was also amazed and amused when a car with two upright mounted bicycles on the roof went past. The town was quite chaotic, so it was nice to exist outside of the bustle for a short while. Our visit to the candy shop was only a short wait and was pretty standard fare inside, similar to the Bright one. Rach got a unicorn lollipop holder/case toy. It became the hot-ticket item when Seth laid eyes on it back at the apartment, as does anything in Rach’s possession; certainly for anything new.
Time for another nice walk in the sunshine; a quick mission to Billson’s for a case of Pale Ale, and a can of Rach’s favourite Creamy Soda. The place was absolutely slammed with people. Our final mission later that afternoon was to the Carvery for some much craved ‘normal food’. We were tempted to take an available table out from but that idea was quickly quashed when Seth had wet through his pants, and we were without change supplies. Rach was being spooked by the parade of Halloween kids walking the streets.
They returned home while I settled up the takeaway order. We devoured the roast meat and veggies and some leftover fish. Real food tasted so good. I commented that the peas could have been dry and overcooked and we still would have thought they were fantastic; such was the craving for some real food.
The kids were pretty ratty and we opted for an earlier bedtime. I’ve been getting away with writing these Beechworth entries at the writing desk, but tonight Seth got eyes on me through the ajar door and was making a fuss; so this final day entry was written on our bed (paper in folder on the bed, not ON the bed!).