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Melbourne, Australia
Jan. 3rd - Mansfield for Mass
It’s so quiet in the house when I get up.
Hard to believe that there are 8 other people sleeping away.
This house has walls of glass which are covered by nice roller
shades to block the sun. You seem to spend the day lowering or
raising them as the sun moves in the sky. The common room
heats up even though all that glass is covered. I usually have
to turn on the “chiller” before 8 AM. They use an A/C system
that adds moisture to cool. There always has to be some
sliding doors or windows open a crack to draw and exhaust air.
 Our
computer transfer is happening today. When I do this it takes
me quite some time -- I have to download photos from the
camera, select and name the good one, and then compress them.
It usually takes more than an hour to do the photos that I
choose to send. This time we were a few days behind in the
journal, adding more than another hour. Fortunately my
computer has been hooked up to the internet. That enables me
to transfer the material right to the website.
Deciding on who was going to Mansfield took a awhile. Paul has
driven in already for breakfast. We need the Range Rover for
transport to the Lake. I have to drive because of the rental
car contract. It ended up that Betty and Michael V. made up
the group. Our list was pretty short. We only need to return
some videos, buy meat for dinner and petrol for the boat.
The others were down on the Lake using the “Tube” when we
returned. The water level has dropped significantly since our
arrival. The vegetation is now visible along the shore. It
feels funny as you walk out into the water. AD doesn’t like it
but I think it’s better than mush. We swim out to the closest
trees and back typically.
Paul and I went into Mansfield for 6 PM Mass. It is a small,
brick country church. There were about 100 people at Mass. All
of us sweating because there’s no A/C. Fortunately we sat in
the front row with the fan blowing directly on us. It was
noisy enough that you couldn’t hear the sermon at all. Dinner
was almost ready when we returned. It will be our last meal
together at the Lake.
Jan. 4th - Rain on the Lake
 Thunder
started sounding in the west as DW and I were reading in the
lounge chairs this morning. Black clouds in the distance got
me worried. MI & AKC wouldn’t be up for hours and the boat in
just beached on the lower shore. I was happy to have the cloud
cover blocking the sun. From the moment it rises, it is so
intense. Betty was the next person up and she said “some times
the weather moves right across and south”. This area could use
some rain to cut down the dust. All the grass has “browned”
out after going to seed.
By the time we finally went to the boat a cold front was
sweeping through. Strong winds gusted up the finger of the
lake from the main body. White caps were lapping on shore. The
boat was easy to get on the trailer and just minutes in time.
Rains held off surprisingly. The big winds took out the power
however. Turned out to be a region wide outage. No power
means, no water either. The water from the house comes from
big above ground storage tanks. All the rain water is
collected in tanks and a pump draws ground water. With no
reason to stay any longer, we loaded the cars and drove toward
Melbourne.
Rains had started which held down the dust on the road. We
stopped for lunch at a pub in Yea, a small town. They had a
good business and delicious food. It’s surprising how good
seafood can be away from the ocean. The road twists and turns
through forested lands until you get near Melbourne.
Melbourne is a city of 4 million. It’s the second largest in
the country. It has a significant skyline visible as you
approach the city. There are lots of trees in the hilly
terrain. MI & AKC live in an eastern suburb called Toorak. It
continues to undergo redevelopment where people tear down a
smaller old house and build a BIG new one. We were happy to
get settled into their house and relax.
Science Museum...»
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Our
computer transfer is happening today. When I do this it takes
me quite some time -- I have to download photos from the
camera, select and name the good one, and then compress them.
It usually takes more than an hour to do the photos that I
choose to send. This time we were a few days behind in the
journal, adding more than another hour. Fortunately my
computer has been hooked up to the internet. That enables me
to transfer the material right to the website.
Thunder
started sounding in the west as DW and I were reading in the
lounge chairs this morning. Black clouds in the distance got
me worried. MI & AKC wouldn’t be up for hours and the boat in
just beached on the lower shore. I was happy to have the cloud
cover blocking the sun. From the moment it rises, it is so
intense. Betty was the next person up and she said “some times
the weather moves right across and south”. This area could use
some rain to cut down the dust. All the grass has “browned”
out after going to seed. 
