writes:
surprises her grandmother on her 80th birthday.
Being totally bored with the Hay Plain and convinced it was never going to get any better during the next 40,000 years, I suggested we travel back via central Victoria. Along the way, we saw several wargamers and wargames groups on their way home, and it was nice to make the acquaintance of some nice folk from the Border games club (who are based at Albury/Wodonga).
The road to Melbourne was excellent, so we rattled along rather well as far as Wangaratta, where we decided to stay the night. Thank goodness it was another Big4 park, and the cabin made available to us was excellent. It was also a big surprise to find the people running the place were originally from our own region. After the horrible cabin in Canberra, it was kind of delightful to see my wife skipping gleefully about the Wangaratta cabin singing, "Humans, Humans, we're in a place run by humans." Another memory to cherish and a story to relate to family in years to come.
On the road next morning, we found that we had not been having a living nightmare the night before as we drove down from CanCon. Nearly all the petrol station rest-stops have been taken over by McDonalds, KFC, and other American food chains. A national disgrace, really. Truck parks normally packed with long-haul vehicles were glaringly empty, showing that the truckies are also unimpressed. One can see the few places left by the large number of trucks parked around them. Truckies always know where to get a good feed, so one can safely eat where they eat.
Unfortunately, we decided to stop at Glenrowan to be sure to get an Aussie breakfast. If any reader does visit this town - the site of a gun battle between bushrangers and police during the late 1800's - it's probably best to just hand over your wallet and credit cards as you enter. The townsfolk are going to ask you to stand and deliver, anyway.
A large statue of Ned Kelly wielding a shotgun, and wearing his famous armour, can be seen in the main street of Glenrowan. I am not sure if it is a fitting thing to have there, as I reckon the old crook himself would be embarrassed at some of the prices as a few of the townsfolk seem determined to continue his example of highway robbery. To make things worse, our Baldric was seeking a real Aussie bacon-and-eggs breakfast. Reassured that no American food chains were present, we entered Kelly's Cookhouse Cafe. Unfortunately, we seemed to have arrived on the very day the locals were trying for the world record in slow breakfast cooking. Imagine our astonishment when about 15 minutes after we had ordered, the cook went off to the newsagent shop. Entertainment was on hand, though. Some people were finishing up as we arrived, so during the long wait, we were able to watch their discarded plates gathering more and more European wasps. Thankfully, they stayed well away from us, but then, of course, they had breakfast already. A man who seemed associated with the place did stop and look at the wasps for a while, but did nothing about them, so perhaps he was as bored as we were and needed something to watch.
After a 35-minute wait, the breakfasts were served. (No wonder they take the money first, so you cannot leave!) However, we still had to ask before the coffee we had ordered was finally delivered. The breakfast was even more overcooked than the bacon and eggs at the CanCon canteen, so the establishment was firmly placed on our list of 'places never to visit again'. I am sure they won the national slowest service award. Maureen is, however, an eternal optimist, so she insisted we toddle off to a couple of souvenir shops. Silly person. She was still babbling unintelligibly about the prices, 50km later. I will report to readers on her condition should she ever recover from the 'tourist trap' shock.
The rest of the trip home was far more pleasant. We travelled via central Victoria, and the scenery was very nice. Unlike the areas around Canberra, they had obviously had some good rains, and there were lots of green fields. We had a lovely lunch at a bakery in some small town with wonderful Colonial buildings, and even the petrol prices fell steadily as we moved west.
And so it was, that about 10pm on the 30th, we dropped our Baldric off at his house and headed for our own. Despite family having looked after them during our absence, the three dogs treated us to an excited and happy welcome home. Too tired to unpack much of the vehicle, we stumbled inside, glad to be home, but acknowledging that we'd had a very good time over all. Sleep came quickly that evening - and in fact, we slept most of the next day, too.
Overall, it was a great trip and a happy experience. I would highly recommend any Aussie wargamers who have not 'done a CanCon' to do so. It's well worth the visit. The traders are very helpful and friendly, there are plenty of bargains, and it is a heck of a big event.
Congratulations are due to the CGS that they put this event on every year and it always moves pretty smoothly. The number of CGS helpers seems to have dramatically decreased, which may be the source of a few problems. For example, the toilet facilities need to be checked and cleaned much more often. Public relations could be a bit better. Nevertheless, despite those issues, the event has to cater for a lot of people crammed into three days, and one has to admire the organisers in that they get it done every year.