Schedules came together to allow me a week away from Sydney and "business as usual" from Sunday, April 29th to Friday, May 4th, 2007. Being between seasons, it seemed like a good time to head down towards the Snowy Mountains - between summer and winter activities, and after schools had returned from Easter holidays.
It's only a little over an hour from home to Berrima, so we had time for a cuppa before heading off to lunch. I think the last time I visited was Christmas 2006. It was nice to catch up with events over the last 16 months or so, before heading off to lunch at McVitty Grove Winery and Restaurant (no longer there), located on the Wombeyan Caves Road, Mittagong.
Amidst rolling hills we had a very enjoyable lunch. All the more for David and Christine, as they had a less than stellar experience a few weeks before on one of those weekends the restaurant would rather forget. As a consequence, the food was on the house this time, which we did not realise until I took the bill. It was a pleasant surprise, and a nice piece of marketing. I shall remember them next time I am in the area.
After a delightful meal, it was back to Berrima for a cuppa. And I said my farewells - David and Christine had plans to visit a friend of theirs competing in a husky race through the forest, though with wheeled sledges rather than the runners used in Alaska.
So I headed off towards Canberra. Around Goulburn, the skies opened, and it was raining heavily. Wow, what a wonderful event in the city whose main reservoir is empty! Later that day I heard they had 33mm of very welcome rain. Not drought breaking, but... And, of course, if there was any runoff, this is also in the catchment area for Warragamba Dam for Sydney's water supply!
I reached Canberra without any issues, and the GPS receiver directed me to the Peter & Sarah's home without difficulty (other than the usual collection of wrong turns I manage to make, at least in part due to a confusion of cross street names!). I last saw Peter and Sarah in February 2006 for Peter's 50th birthday celebration, so it was good to see them again, and also Olivia and Callum, and to catch up with activities of the last year. We had a pleasant evening talking, eating and drinking!
Arriving home, it was back to the usual. First step was to go shopping to restock the pantry, then to unpack and other such end of trip stuff. A very enjoyable week, entirely computer free!