Golf, boats and beach weekend

We’ve had some unseasonably hot weather in the first two weeks of April here in Melbourne. Last weekend we woke up to bright blue skies and no plans, but figured we should take advantage of the nice weather while we are still on school holidays. Andy had been watching the Masters every morning, so asked Ella if she would like to play golf. Of course she said yes, and off we headed to Yarra Bend Golf Course for some mini-golf. 

We have taken Ella here before, about two years ago, and I played mini-golf with her in the baby carrier. This time Ella had her own little putter and blue golf ball, and I was relegated to photographer. The price to play mini-golf here is outrageous in my opinion, $20 for an adult and $7 for kids under 4. However Ella had a great time hitting the ball, although after one hit she often just chased it, picked it up, and put it in the hole. So a hole in one every time for Ella! 

Once we finished all 18 holes (in record time), we headed over to the nearby Fairfield Boathouse. I used to come here quite frequently when I was on maternity leave, as it was a nice 45 minute walk from our old house along the Yarra river. That was back in the days when Ella would actually tolerate being in a pram for that long. 

We hired a rowboat for 30 minutes ($30), and Andy rowed us down the Yarra, taking in the peaceful scenery and ducks paddling by. It wasn’t long before Ella wanted to help Andy row the boat of course! I was pretty content just to sit back and enjoy the ride. The most exciting bit was Ella spotting a huge snake on the banks beside us, and watching it slither up the bank through the bush. 

We of course had to have a little treat after our boat ride, so we got some scones, cream and jam from the boathouse café, along with some ice cream for Ella. We asked for one scoop of vanilla, however when Ella saw the size of the serving they gave us her eyes nearly popped out of her head! I don’t think she’s ever seen so much ice cream at once!

Needless to say, Andy and I had to convince her to share with us!

The next day the weather was predicted to be 30 degrees and sunny, so we headed down to the beach in Elwood. After finally finding somewhere to park (I’d forgotten just how busy that part of the city is, especially on a sunny Sunday morning) we got a quick breakfast at Elwood Food & Wine. It was one of the only places that wasn’t packed, and unfortunately we found out why. Our food was pretty average, which is so unusual for brunch in Melbourne. Oh well, they can’t all be winners! 

We spent the morning/early afternoon at the beach, which Ella loved as usual. This was probably our last beach day until next summer, unless we take a trip somewhere before then. 

Andy and I are currently on our way home from a few days in the the Blue Mountains for our babymoon. This marks the end of our school holidays and it's back to reality tomorrow... although only five weeks left of work for me!