Yarrawonga!

Good Friday morning, Pippi and I departed for Yarrawonga/Mulwala, where Pippi and her friends play their annual Easter Tennis Tournament. They're essentially the same town, but Yarrawonga is on the Victorian side while Mulwala is on the New South Wales side, so it's right up on the state border. The two towns are separated only by the Murray River and Lake Mulwala.

So yes. The trip began. Pippi drove us up, and as we were driving up the highway, I could not help but notice all of these "Stop. Revive. Survive" or "Fatigue Kills" signs. Well, when we pulled off at a rest stop, I discovered exactly what all of these signs were for. It turns out that the Victorian transport department has the coolest program ever. They have frequent rest stops that they entice you to with free drinks and cookies! I was so excited. So we stopped and revived. I then took a picture, because I felt rather out of the city and in the country.

The driving continued. We went further and further into the middle of nowhere until, suddenly, civilization! We had reached Yarrawonga! Hooray! We then crossed the Murray into Mulwala and went to our hotel where all of Pippi's friends were waiting. I met them all and got offered a drink about five times. Pippi tried to explain to them that despite being of age, I really wasn't much of a drinker. One of them was like, "Really? But you're going to be so...sober!" And I said that I supposed I would be. It was kind of funny.

The weather was gorgeous, so after a while I decided to go for a walk and explore the area. So off I went! I took pictures, too, of course.

View of Lake Mulwala from our hotel.

I next walked down a side rode beside the hotel and ran into trains!

Next to the trains was Club Mulwala, which was a nightclub/entertainment complex. They had a giant plane outside.

As well as various other war things.

There were also quite a lot of birds.

And water skiers.

Here is Mulwala's sign:

And here is a picture of the hotel we stayed at.

I then returned to the hotel room. We barbecued - fish of course - and then after a bit retired to our hotel rooms for the night.

Saturday morning, Pippi woke up with a horrible toothache, which would unfortunately plague her for the rest of the trip. So she slept in and missed her tennis

Meanwhile, as the weather was still gorgeous, I got up, put on my bathers, and read by the pool for a few hours. Pippi eventually got up and suggested we head into town for painkillers and lunch and general fun. So I got dressed and we drove over the bridge back to Yarrawonga and Victoria. We went to the Chemist were Pippi picked up some medicine and then we wandered around the shops for a bit. I picked up a fabulous black-and-white polka dotted dress that was on sale for only $15! Pippi approved. I took a picture, but it's of course blurry. Oh well. Here it is anyway:

After a bit we went to a Fish and Chip shop were I got a hamburger and chips, and then, as Pippi was feeling rather bad, we headed back to the hotel. I read for a few more hours, and then decided to do some more exploring.

Look, it's my shadow! It was a good day for shadows.

Here is the bridge! It will take me to Victoria.

I walked down the bridge a bit and then took a picture.

Then I turned to my left and took a picture. Hello, Lake Mulwala!

What's this? The police giving breathalisers to everyone who passes by?

No, no, sillies. It's Victoria! We're back! Hello, Victoria!

I walked around a bit more and found a historic site! So I took a picture.

A skatepark!

After a few minutes of watching people do really neat things in the air with their skateboards and bicyles, I decided to turn around and head back.

I checked myself for fruit and then proceeded.

Hello, New South Wales!

I made my way back to the hotel to check on Pippi, who was still feeling very yucky, so I spent my evening with her in the hotel room watching TV and reading. It was pretty fun.

This entry is long! Well, almost done. Sort of. Well, only half way done with the actual trip, but I think my descriptions of Sunday and Monday will be shorter. Let's see.

Well, when I woke up Sunday morning, I found that I had been visited by the Easter Bunny!

Hooray! But Pippi still felt really yucky, so we went to a walk-in clinic that was open for a few hours. She got some more medicine and started to feel a bit better. We then went to Yarrawonga Town Hall for the annual Easter Auction. But the auction got delayed and I wasn't that interested in it anyway, so I excused myself and went to Subway to get lunch. I wandered around for a bit and made some friends.

Then I found a used bookstore, so that was happy. I bought a Jean Plaidy book to read and then headed back to the auction. That was interesting to watch for a while. Pippi won two brass giraffes!

But then I got bored with the auction, so I went outside to read my lovely book. An hour or so later, the auction was done and Pippi was again feeling kind of bad, so we went back to the hotel and I played Nurse Kate again.

Easter Monday was our last day there. We packed up, left the hotel, and then drove to one of Pippi's friends houses for lunch. She really did live in the middle of no where. We had to take a series of one way dirt roads to get there. I should have taken pictures, as it was seriously farmy and middle-of-nowhereish. Oh well. Lunch was good! And after lunch we drove home.

So yes. Thus concludes Yarrawonga.