Geelong

We booked out first flight with the kids to Melbourne to visit Lauren. The kids were very excited and so getting there went pretty smoothly, although there was a bit of turbulence which the kids (and Rachael) didn't enjoy.

We spent the first 2 nights in Melbourne. We got in during the afternoon so went for a walk down to the river. The kids were excited to see (and go on) trams for the first time.

The Australian Open was about to start, which we hadn't know about until getting there.

The weather was great, although a little bit hot for the kids and so we had to bail and go back to aircon.

We had dinner at the shot tower shops and went to the Lego store.

The next day we headed back to the river. Lyra was very slow getting ready and so Felix and I went ahead and found Southbank Boulevard Playground which was really cool. Had a rock climbing theme and Felix loved it - and scared me a few times with how confident he was.

Eventually Lyra and Rachael caught us up and we walked to the Shrine of Rememberance. The kids did pretty well with walking until about here, with lots of carrying for the rest of the day.

Next up was the Botanic Gardens, which had a really nice kids area.

Lauren drove in and met us at the National Gallery of Victoria. Just as we arrived it a big storm rolled in, so was perfect timing to be inside.

Once the rain stopped, we crossed back over the river to find some lunch. We headed to a restaurant we'd picked on the map and when we got there found it had flooded in the rain - the food was good but they were struggling with making meals and cleaning up the water.

More rain was on the way so we headed to the State Library.

Next day we got a train to meet Lauren at Geelong!

For the rest of the week we mostly just visited various beaches along the surf coast.

We did take the kids into the Museum of Play and Art (MoPA) which was pretty fun.

And on that day we also went into Geelong itself, and then popped in to a winery on the way home.

And then some more beach days. We had pleasant weather for most of the week. Although, the water was a little nippy for January.

Our last day travelling back was pretty terrible. We got a taxi to the train station, then a train back to Melbourne. Had lunch and waited around for a few hours at Southern Cross Station. We did put our bags in some lockers for a brief walk over to Docklands for a look at the water.

Then the SkyBus to the airport, flight to Brisbane, wait for a shuttle to pick up the car, then drive back to Toowoomba with a pit stop for dinner. Essentially a full day of travel and nobody really enjoyed it. Will probably be our first and last flights with the kids for a few more years yet.