Snuffy's Grand Tour - Day 4jawaproTue 22/01/2013 03:50 PM
Our ticket for Sovereign Hill had included an extra day (school holidays special) - so we headed back up to finish it off and buy the suvineers we didn't get on the first day.
Jason likes the leggy ladies...
After we left the hill, Wes wanted to go golfing - so we headed to the mini-golf course. Quite a bit of fun - even if it was rather hot.
Snuffy whalloped us all - he seems to beat us at everything!
Snuffy made friends with a random triceratops as we left.
The big miner.
And thus ended Day 4.
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Snuffy's Grand Tour - Day 3jawaproTue 22/01/2013 03:38 PM
Today we went to Sovereign Hill.
For those who don’t know - it’s Ballarat’s premier tourist attraction - and is a ‘living museum’ based on the gold rush era and the Eureka Stockade. That means there are a lot of people in period costume getting about and working with old equipment. Yes - the coachworks aren’t just a museum display - they still use the gear to make coach parts to repair their coaches etc. Pretty awesome!
I’d been here in about 1995 - so it was interesting to come back again. It’s a tourist trap - but a pretty cool one.
Wesley found a church he approved of.
Snuffy listening to a bit of traditional Wesleyan preaching.
Jason wasn’t really sure what to make of the old-school 9-pin bowling alley.
Two-handed bowling is the order of the day - no finger holes.
Probably not the best place to stand Snuffy! In 9-pin bowling, a strike is only the third highest score. You get full points by knocking everything over EXCEPT the centre pin.
Phew - that was close!
Some traps out to arrest miners without licenses.
Wes and Snuffy chilling in the café to escape the heat.
Planning where to go next.
The ants go marching one by one....
Heading down to the ‘diggings’.
Jason attempting to pan for gold.
Snuffy demonstrating the correct technique.
We headed back that night for the awesome light-and-sound show recreating the Eureka Stockade. It was awesome - but you weren't allowed to take any photos - so you'll have to take my word on it.
Thus ended day 3.
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Snuffy's Grand Tour - Day 2jawaproTue 22/01/2013 03:18 PM
Well - today wasn’t so exciting. We left Melbourne and drove to Ballarat, did a little shopping, and then checked into the caravan park.
It’s a nice spot on the side of a lake - and the unpowered sites are simply a matter of a ‘choose anywhere’ sort of deal - and it’s cheap. So all in all, pretty much perfect for us!
The only other thing worth mentioning is that Wes and I both bought ourselves a knock-off Lego model. First time I’ve sunk that low - but it was cheap and looked cool - and Lego is never going to realise a model like this!
Snuffy assisted Wes in assembling his gun.
Wes turned traitor and tried to shoot Snuffy in return!
Poor Snuffy!
The gun itself looks ok and feels decent in your hand - but the blocks are of a far lower quality than Lego (to be expected). It actually fires, but not brilliantly. 90% of the parts are direct copies of lego - but a few parts are specialised, so you can’t build it out of Lego without using some of the knock-off parts.
Snuffy survived the assassination attempt, and proceeded to eat all Wes’s lollies in payback.
And to top it all off - Snuffy fleeced us all at poker.
Thus ended Day 2.
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Snuffy's Grand Tour - Day 1jawaproTue 22/01/2013 03:07 PM
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to upload photos while I was away - so I’m going to be doing a lot of posting now to catch up - sorry!
Snuffy, Wes, Jason, and I started out adventure onboard the Spirit as we sailed to the mainland.
Jason and Wes posing with Snuffy.
To fill the time we played a game of Settlers of Catan - Snuffy beat us all.
We arrived in Melbourne and checked into our cabin.
It wasn’t overly hot on the first day - but we hit the pool anyway. Snuffy was making sure Jason knew all the rules (which he then ignored anyway).
Snuffy on life-guard duty.
Thus ended the first day.
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Snuffy On TourjawaproSat 12/01/2013 03:59 PM
We’re all busy packing!
The Subaru is packed and I’m ready to head to Brickvention!
This year my main display is based on the old early 90s Lego theme of M:Tron. The brave minifigs of outpost 42 are ready to show a new generation how cool the Lego I grew up with really was.
Roll on Brickvention!
Brickvention is still a week away, but to make use of cheap sailings, we are heading over tomorrow and wandering around Victoria for a while. Sort of taking the scenic route…
Back when we were originally planning the trip, we were also planning another trip to Melbourne, and Jason was getting confused so asked if we could make some codenames for the two trips. The first one became PJM, and the second was known as ‘Snuffy on Tour’.
PJM stood for ‘Pointless Jaunt to Melbourne’ as there wasn’t really any point to that trip. It was awesome though - got to show my sister Minotaur!
‘Snuffy on Tour’ is a reference to Jason’s car being called Snuffy. He is bringing his car, as well as me in the Subaru.
So of course, Snuffy is now the official mascot of the trip.
Well Snuffy old buddy, pack your trunk - in the morning we’re heading across the Strait!
Adventure and Lego awaits!
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