I've been everywhere man...........................................

Today I've been through/to:

• Hollydeen
• Sandy Hollow
• Gungal
  
• Merriwa
  
• Borambil
  
• Turill
  
• Ulan
  
• Budgee Budgee
  
• Mudgee
  
• Mt Knowles
  
• Havilah
  
• Lue
• Toobong (I kid you not)
  
• Rylstone
• Bylong (along the Bylong Valley Way; lovely)
• Kerrabee
• Baerami before revisiting Sandy Hollow & Hollydeen before reaching home, ie Denman.
  
• various "gaps"
• watercourses that include the Goulburn, Merriwa, Krui, Cudgegong rivers as well as too many creeks to name
• Lots of hills; I think I crossed the Great Dividing Range 3 times (at least)
  

Vboy reckons we have some (actually, lots) weird, but interesting place names. Methinks he's right.

It was a grey day, but not too cold. Rylstone made me feel like it should have been cold, as it was so overcast, with a heavy sky & a brisk breeze. It's a very pretty town that was settled in around 1840, nestled in the valley between the mountains. The main street is very wide, with a generous island of trees down the middle, which have already been busy making a show of their autumn leaf colours, which was another reason that I felt that it should have been cold. Well, it was cool enough for Vboy & I to don our coats and enjoy a wood-fired oven pastry for lunch. Vboy rather ascerbically pointed out that the pies may have been cooked in a wood-fired oven, but then they were put into an ordinary old pie warmer......... but the sausage roll that he ate wasn't half bad, though.

It hasn't been too yuppy-tourist-ified yet, but it's on the way... the lovely old stone buildings and grace of the town are definitely appealing, as are the small selection of shops, 3 real estate agents, 3 pubs and bowling club. I can understand the pubs/club, but 3 real estate agents? The locals tended to look as if times haven't been all that grand, & the tourists stood out, especially from the local family we saw consisting of Mum, Dad, 3 kids under the age of 6, the black cattle-labrador cross all walking up the street... with their goat on a lead as well...... yep: they had their goat on a lead. Vboy reckoned they went into the vets, but I'm not so sure...

Anyway, we've got Clover back. We travelled just under 3 hours on the way over via Mudgee, as we didn't want to travel over the crappy unsealed roads between here & Bylong. But the lovely Fiona from the Midwestern Shire Council informed us that the newly sealed road was opened last weekend, so it took us less than 2 hours for the return trip. And it really is a delightfully scenic drive home. And we got to see Bylong, home of the famous Bylong Mouse Races........

Clover seems happy to be back home, but will have another roadtrip on Friday when we drop her off at my brother's house in Newcastle on our way to Canberra. On Saturday, we travel to Cowra so Beloved can ride his shiny-but-tastefully-blingy-bike in a competition on Sunday, then he will drop me back in Newcastle on Monday for my "holiday".........That means........

COFFEE & CAKE TIME LADIES :0)

Woo Hoo! See you later ;0)