Wednesday 12th February - Pakenham to Geelong
18.2 last night and 26.9 today. It was a pleasant day for driving. It was nearly a two hour drive from Pakenham to Geelong. We stayed on the main roads and contended with roadworks and traffic. We went down under the Yarra River and then across the Westgate Bridge. There was an accident on an off ramp at the end of the bridge, so the traffic was moving very slowly. We bypassed Melbourne this way, but even so, the closer you got to the city the more traffic there was. Now I know why we avoid the big cities. It's amazing the way the lanes get narrower the closer you get to the city. We got lost trying to find the Showgrounds. Clive put in the street name as per the Caravan Book on Breakwater Road but it wasn't there. All we could see was the Geelong Racing Club. So up and down the road a few times. It's actually next door to Racing Club, so we did drive by it, but we didn't know. So Clive put in the GPS co-ordinates and we also phoned them. We were told to ignore the GPS, as there is an old Breakwater Road that is now a dead end that a few people have ended up at. Take the first left hand turn coming off the bridge and Gate 2 is about 700m down the road. Go through the gates and the Admin building is at the far end. How easy is that? We found it. Lots of vans here now, but there is plenty of space. Park where you like in the green areas. Looking for a spot, Clive sees a car behind us, so he pulls over to let them pass. The guy pulls up and then winds down the passenger side window. "Where abouts from Queensland are you from", he asks. Clive tells him and he's from Burleigh Heads. Talk about two Mister Have a Chats. Like two long lost friends they are. He's been on the road for three and a half years. Anyway, five minutes later he goes on and Clive sees a campervan pulling into the spot he had his eyes on. We find a spot between two buses that look like they have been here a while. It's a good spot and pretty quiet, with the stables behind us. It's about 100m to the amenities block where there are heaps more vans, so it should be good here. They have a dump point here too. Not bad for $25.00 a night. Chinese for dinner for me while Clive has spaghetti marinara, delicious.Tuesday 11th February - Pakenham
Weather update - 17.8 last night and a pleasant 27.1 during the day. An overcast day today, so we're not planning on doing to much. Clive finally got the blog up to date after my threat and the reading deadline he gave himself. You know the one - only one more chapter, just one more chapter. I can put a book down at anytime, but Clive likes to read from start to finish with no distraction in between. We're off to Geelong tomorrow and staying in the showgrounds.