TUESDAY 12 DECEMBER     BENDIGO

An early start!

Grandson came knocking on the van door just after 7am. I think he was very pleased to find we were actually still in residence, so he had some cuddle time in bed with us.

Getting his car seat set up in Truck involved rearranging some of the contents, and was a fiddly procedure. Hadn’t thought of that when we offered to take him out for the day!

But the boy was really excited to be spending the day with us, so the hassle was worthwhile. Then we had to work out what we could do with him. How did one amuse a three year old for a full day?

It was a hot day – by Victorian standards.

We went to the Art Gallery – more from our own curiosity, but we thought he might find some interest there. Whilst the Gallery seemed to have much that would interest us, it was not really the right place for a three year old, so we did not stay long.

Walked around the parklands behind the Gallery for a while. He could run about there and play hide and seek with us. Then we were persuaded to take him up the big tower that was the poppet head lookout. This gave us great views out across the city and was worth the effort to get up the stairs. I discovered that I still hate heights!

Then it was back into Truck and to the playground at Lake Weeroona, just north of the city centre. The boy tired himself out some more on the equipment. We were persuaded to walk to the cafe at one end of the lake and buy him an icy pole. By the time he had finished that, we needed to take him back home for lunch and an afternoon sleep. The rest was probably appreciated more by us than him – Grandad John had an excellent nap!

He played with his toys after his sleep. We sat in the wonderful air conditioned cool and read until daughter got home from work.

Had tea with the family again. Much talk and tales of our adventures this year.

It was a really enjoyable – but tiring – day. Little kids are hard work!