Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Weekend Trip to Healesville

Over Easter weekend Blake and I decided to escape the city for a few days with the kids. We rented a car, called up for a small cottage, and headed out for the long Easter weekend in the town of Healesville in Yarra Valley.


We saw a ton of kangaroos!
Every morning at dawn and each evening at dusk they would bound out of the woods to graze in the grass in front of our cottage. They were so fun, but after watching them fight with each other, we decided that it would not be fun to have a run-in with one of them. 



On the Saturday before Easter we ventured to the "Hedgend Maze" where they had a huge maze made of actual hedges, which is simply unheard of to Blake and myself with an exception of what we had seen on Harry Potter.
I am sure that there wasn't a single person there who enjoyed me popping around leafy corners pointing and shooting at them with my invisible wand. Why can't people get into the spirit? I mean, really?




On Sunday, we awoke to a slight fog and the blessing that Christ had indeed died and risen for our sins. We stretched, ate a quick breakfast of hot cross buns - an Australian tradition - , and gathered into the car. We went to the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie, which was so appropriate to visit on Easter Sunday because it was the absolute definition of Heaven on Earth.

Is that blasphemous to say?

The grounds of the chocolaterie were gorgeous, surrounded by fields growing perfectly placed rows of grapevines and well-groomed horses grazing lazily amongst the mountains and valleys. The store itself was full of chocolate concoctions of all sorts, chocolate teas, chocolate syrups, chocolate lotions... chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.
Hosted by the chocolaterie, the kids ran through a field, searching under buckets to secure the hope of a perfect, delicate milk chocolate egg. Then, to celebrate the success of their hunt, we all shared hot chocolate that is exactly what I imagined it would taste like on The Polar Express on Christmas Eve. 


I think it is safe to say that Samantha and Easton were on one giant sugar high the whole weekend.
 
 Cotton candy, anyone?


On Monday, we loaded up the car full of all kinds of goodies that I would obviously have gathered, like a squirrel preparing for winter... I mean, it had been over two months without a vehicle to transport things to and from our home. We were definitely taking advantage of the trunk space.

They weren't kidding!
Watch out for kangaroos!!

Soon we were back outside of our apartment building unloading the cases of Coca-Cola, laundry detergent, giant boxes of Fruit Loops, and bottles upon bottles of wine.
Yarra Valley is known for its beautiful wines so, of course, we had to take advantage.

It was a fabulous, relaxing weekend.
We can't wait to go back!
 
 And just for good measure... A final picture of a kangaroo (or two).

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