Great Ocean Road

Friday night, Dave and I were relaxing on the couch after putting the kids to bed, surfing the net. I was clicking around on Facebook and saw a friend had commented on a page for cottages in Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road. They were offering free accommodation for that weekend. FREE. It seemed too good to be true. So I said to Dave "Want to stay in a cottage in Apollo Bay for free this weekend?" We had to cancel on our friends at the last minute as we already had plans, but it was one of those things I just couldn't pass up. It was a long drive, but I really enjoyed getting away for a night and spending some quality time with the family. It was great!

Once we got there, Michaela starting mapping out where we would be going.

And Matt made himself right at home.

Michaela LOVED looking at the maps.

Dave was craving a chicken parma for dinner, so we went to a pub in town. We brought the iPad hoping it could entertain them as we waited for our food.

When they bored of it (within minutes!) we tried using Dave's phone to entertain them.

But that didn't have much staying power either. Glasses of water worked for a while!

Blowing bubbles was a big hit!

But eventually it got cold... we waited outside for an hour and it was well past the kids' normal meal time. So they were a bit antsy by the time we finally got our food. "Messy Matty" aka "Destructo" was in full force. He managed to get spaghetti EVERYWHERE. It was all over their carpet. I felt so bad, but then Dave reminded me that if they had been more prompt we would have eaten outside and avoided the mess which made me feel a bit better!

Michaela started busting out the dance moves after she finished. Then we knew it was time to go!

"The hills are alive with the sound of music!" Yes, that is one of her favorite movies at the moment. And soundtrack. We watch and listen to it every day. And the songs are always in my head. Any time of day or night, one of those tunes is swirling round. It is pretty funny to watch Michaela dance around singing "I am sixteen, going on seventeen..."

She wrangles Matthew, but he goes wild outdoors. It is all he ever wants. To roam free. Like so many dogs we have had. The minute he gets out the front door, he bolts. And will not come back for anything!

This was the first time I had ever seen him notice the moon. It was cute to watch him stare at it in wonder.

This is the view from the cottage. Just behind the distant bushes is the beach. We listened to the waves crashing all night long. It was beautiful.

The next day, Dave decided to take the kids on a bushwalk. Crazy? Yes. But I am even more so for agreeing!

They did pretty well on the way down. Mainly because walking downhill is easier. And because I had a bag of goodies from the bakery as a reward for walking.

We were in the Otways on a track to Shelley beach. Should have been under an hour, round trip. But once we started down and realised how steep it was, I don't think either of us were planning on making it the whole way. Plus, it had bucketed rain during the night and the usually slippery rainforest floor was extra slick and squishy!

Once we were in view of the beach, we could feel the strong cold winds, and decided to turn back. Michaela was seriously disappointed, until I pulled out a pink donut for her!

The hike back up was a struggle. I had to carry Michaela on the shoulders for a lot of it. It made it hard for me to enjoy my donut, but don't think that stopped me!

Matty just wanted to run.

Awesome view looking back on the coast. You can see the beach in the distance.

"Thug lyfe". Stop taking our picture, Mom.

This was a better attempt.

"Have sippy cup, will travel."

Matthew obsessed with the puddles. You can't really tell because the water is so clear, but it soaked through his pants, socks and shoes.

An amazing little grove of California redwood trees nestled in the Otways.

Michaela found a stick and fell in love. She was talking to it, cuddling it, and playing with it until we had to leave. She laid it down carefully and said "Bye bye, stick. I will come back here and play with you tomorrow."

In the grove, it was dark and lush next to a stream. Beautiful visit.