Week 3: Melbourne

Week 3 in Australia was a bit of a whirlwind. Lots of great family time, with more day trips, meals and cricket. Made it to the beach at Seaford again. Saw a fin in the water and immediately thought “shark”, but then saw another fin and the backs of two dolphins curling above the waves. Unfortunately I didn’t get the camera out in time to get a photo.

On the 15th I took a ferry with Bernie, and Sean’s family across Port Phillip Bay from Sorrento, on the Mornington Peninsula, to Queenscliff. Queenscliff was a fishing village and cargo Port before becoming a popular tourist town for people coming by stream boat from Melbourne. It hosts a bunch of historic buildings and museums. That evening we had dinner with the other three Holland kids and some of their SO’s at Angelette, a tasty Italian restaurant back in Melbourne.

Queenscliff Harbour Observation Tower and Sorrento Ocean Beach

Later in the week we discovered a family of at least 4 possums nesting in the tree that I had been admiring in front of the Holland house. Bernie was apoplectic, fearful for his beloved vegetable garden. Sure enough, his fears were prophetic, as the next morning he discovered a half-eaten tomato and a small bite taken from one of the hot chili peppers. Removing the “pests” was not an option as possums are protected in Victoria, so Bernie immediately ran to the hardware store to procure fencing, netting and other hardware to protect his treasure.

Ian picked me up Friday evening after cricket practice and took me to the Hawthorn neighborhood where he and Chloe live. We started with some tasty microbrews at Ramblers Ale Works and then headed over to their favorite Mexican Restaurant, Fonda, for dinner.

My last two days in Melbourne were mostly spent watching Ian play cricket for the Ringwood Rams. It was great watching him bowl two wickets and get a catch. On Sunday we had a big family dinner with all of the extended family. I cooked one of my favorite dishes, posole verde. It turned out pretty good, despite not having access to fresh tomatillos (“Nobody uses those here” said the guy at the local veg shop, so I found some canned) and the peppers I usually use to cook it.