After 3 nights in Wangaratta, we proceeded to Melbourne, but not before I indulged in some woolly goodness. A knitter can't go to Wangaratta and not visit the ACS mill, can she? Of course not! So, on Monday morning before we left Wangaratta, we stopped off at the mill shop. Having recently attempted to take stock of what I have at home (note, the word is "attempted"), I was reasonably restrained, buying only some balls of Patonyle 8ply for a jumper for Alex and some cones of mill-end stuff. I'd tell you what they were if I knew. Most were unlabeled and I am yet to do a bleach or flame test on them. For $10 a bag, I figured it was worth the risk. What's the worst? If it were all acrylic or something equally yuck, I could use it for core spinning or donate it to charity. I have high hopes for the Patonyle 8ply. if it is anything like the Patonyle 4ply I have from years and years ago, it will wear like iron and I can make a slightly larger jumper for Alex and have it last a good 2 or even 3 seasons! I did indulge in a couple of balls of Patonyle 4ply as well. I intend to overdye those before knitting. I think overdyeing it may give an interesting effect, but first I need to re-skein it and I can't think of a more boring task!
Onwards we pressed.
First stop, Glenrowan. We were told it is a historic town. When we arrived, we realised that "town" was a little bit of an exaggeration. It was more like a village. There were a handful of shops along both sides of a small stretch of road, probably less than a kilometre in length. Still, we were there, so we got out to have a little look around. It was quaint. It was touristy. Everything centred around a Ned Kelly theme. It was Ned-this and Kelly-that, or Bushranger-something-or-other. There was a Ned Kelly Museum and a massive statue of the bushranger himself. Photo op!
Despite or initial disappointment, we did decide to stop fora breakfast/brunch and we were pleasantly surprised. We ordered a big breakfast, a sausage roll (home-made, or I should say "shop-made"?) and Devonshire tea. I wasn't sure what to expect of the scones. Very often , I am disappointed by the scones I find in Sydney as they are massive and bready and not the least bit scone-y. These were quite nice. Light, fluffy but not bread-y. They were large but not as huge as some of the monstrosities you find in Sydney cafes. It came with cream and strawberry jam. The big winner was actually Alex's sausage roll. It was a change from the commercial sausage rolls we were used to. The meat was not as finely ground as what you find in most sausage rolls and it had a nice tomato-ey flavour to it. The pastry was light and flaky and not overly greasy. We nearly ordered a second but decided that would just be overdoing it.
Next stop, Euroa!
Why Euroa? Well, Euroa is home to First Edition Fibres. Everything I have ever spun from them has been of good quality, and I could not pass up the opportunity to buy more, especially not when we were literally driving right beside the town.
This is what the place looked like. You'd be forgiven if you were to drive past it thinking it was just an old shed. We did.. twice, I think! We finally drove
around the shed, and found a spot for the car out the front under some shady trees. I think Alex was rather unsure about getting out and visiting "the big shed". Neither was he impressed by the treasure trove of all things fibre-y in it. He did like their dog, though. Jacko. He was friendly but not overly so and wasn't boisterous. Not having grown up with dogs, Alex is never quite sure what to make of them, but he was happy to pat Jacko, and Jacko was happy to be patted.
I walked away with two bags of fibre. Nothing too serious, but we did have trouble finding room in the boot of the car for it after my slight enthusiasm at Wangaratta. Fortunately, fibre squishes easily and soon we were on our way again.
We finally reached Melbourne in the late afternoon. Not without some minor drama, though. As we approached the city limits, Chris asked me to look up traffic cameras in Victoria to see whether they need to be sign-posted like they do in NSW. Hmm.. why do you ask, husband dear? Anyway, I may as well tell you so that you'll know if you're ever to drive into Victoria. No, it does not appear that they have the same sign-posting requirements. It was rather handy having the mini laptop and mobile broadband connection after all.. even if I didn't really need it for maps at that stage. The Tullamarine freeway is a very very long road, as we discovered! I am
pleased relieved to say that we have not received any traffic offence notices yet.
Labels: Euroa, Glenrowan, road-trip
