One of the first excursion packages we knew we wanted to take on this trip was the one to the Yarra Valley Wineries. We boarded the bus (in the rain) and headed towards the Yarra Valley. Before arriving there we stopped at a roadhouse that hosted a bird petting area and we were able to feed and get pictures with a few of the winged locals. At length we arrived in Belgrave Station where we boarded Puffy Billy, a century old steam train built to haul timber off the mountains, and rode it while sitting in the windows with our legs hanging out of the train, to Menzies Creek, about 30 minutes. It was a blast!
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From there it was about 45 minutes to the first winery. The scenery along the route was breathtaking but I still was able to finish the last remaining pages of The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in Australian history. The first winery served a great buffet lunch and then offered some tastings and some wonderful walking paths. The second winery, De Bortoli, presented a wonderful tasting menu and a great setting. The landscapes were beautiful and the rain had cleared to offer a spectacular view of the valley. Darren and his wife, Juanita, picked us up after this tour and we wandered around Healesville for a bit looking for but not finding a Christmas ornament for Melbourne. Oh well, the company and conversation was what we really enjoyed! For an early dinner-ish we headed into Innocent Bystander and there met another couple friend of theirs, Kristen and Nathan Burkett and their little 2 month old, Eden. This experience was by far our favorite part of our Australian vacation. God has blessed us with awesome Christian friends at every duty station over the last 10 years (and even before that, really) but I am continually amazed at how He provides for us in this way – even while on vacation on the other side of the world! We sat and talked for nearly 4 hours about politics, religion, and nearly everything in between. Then we had another extended conversation while Darren and Juanita drove us the hour back to Melbourne. God is just amazing and we had the best time with them! After that we went to the Gloria Jeans Coffee Shop which we’d patronized the other day for use of their free WiFi. This being a Sunday night it was closed when we got there but Frank reasoned that the WiFi would still work outside the door and he still knew the password so we just sat on the sidewalk to check our email and download some pictures. It was an interesting people watching experience J
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