A little winter holiday in Marysville

We got back home yesterday from a small winter holiday. Unlike last year, when we fled the cold and headed to Port Douglas, this year we embraced the season and decided on a trip, instead, to the snow.

 We were only away from home 3 days, 2 nights, but it was a lovely break. Sometimes mini-breaks can be just as good as long holidays. Certainly, because the time away was so short and we cooked our own dinners / ate our regular breakfasts, I was pretty relaxed about spending some money on three nice lunches, snow entry / toboggan hire, and chocolate supplies at the Chocolaterie; I didn't feel like I needed to watch the pennies in the same way I do on longer trips.

Sharing our Marysville accommodation with family friends, who have two children whose ages perfectly align with my kids, we spent just one day (Wednesday) on Lake Mountain at the tobogganing and snow play zone, but it was a very full day indeed (to say we were all exhausted at the end would be an epic understatement). The kids had an absolute ball, though, and three out of the four adults enjoyed a few turns at tobogganing as well. (It's quite exhilarating!)

The Tuesday was spent slow-journeying to Marysville, with stop-off in Healesville for lunch and exploration, then settling into the house; the Thursday, the two families made an attempt to walk to Steavenson Falls (thwarted by rain) and stopped off in Healesville again, then lunched and shopped at the inimitable Yarra Valley Chocolaterie before parting ways around 2:30. Our family then meandered slowly home, stopping off in Yarra Glen and the Christmas Hills, before a 5:30 arrival back to base.

Overall, it was a lovely winter holiday. Yeah, we weren't away that long, but with Comic-Con the weekend prior, it's been a busy and varied school holidays for the kids. They're off to their grandparents for a 2-night sleepover on Sunday, so never a dull moment, and we've promised a trip to the movies next week to see Inside Out. As school holidays go, I don't feel anyone has anything of which to complain.

We've decided we'd really like to go back to Marysville in warmer weather for a long weekend - we saw virtually nothing of the town or surrounds this trip, partly because of focusing on snow, and partly because it was so cold. I have not been to Marysville since I was in my 20s, and my husband was last there on - yes, ON - Black Saturday. We'd like a better chance to see how the town has rebuilt since the fires, and to enjoy its many beauties. We'll try to schedule a Friday-Saturday night sometime in November, I think.

All in all, as three-day holidays go - this was a good 'un.