Woke up around 6:30 but didn't get up until 7:30. Got ready and finished packing. Then had breakfast. Mark had toast & honey and I had some cereal. As we were eating, Mark turned on the tv and we started watching the news. Then Pamela woke up and joined us. She told us that Graham was still asleep and may not wake up before we leave. However, he did wake up early. We visited with them before finishing our packing. Mark wheeled our suitcase out to the car. Then we took our other bag and were walked out by our hosts. We were grateful for their great hospitality. Didn't leave until almost 9. We were told it was only a 6-hour drive, but it was at least two additional hours to get to Melbourne.
It had rained a little overnight and our windows were wet. It was a little overcast, but cleared right up. The sun came out for our drive. We took Graham's driving suggestions as we followed Google Maps. It was a lovely drive thru hilly country. Lots of farm pastures with cows, horses, goats and sheep. As well as several wineries. We stopped in Holbrook and toured the small submarine museum. We climbed up on the submarine, but there was no way to get inside. The museum included an interesting hologram with the history of one of the subs in early WWI. They changed the name of the town from Germantown to Holbrook after the submarine captains' victory. We grabbed a quick lunch at the cafe next to the museum. Then continued our drive south. Mark got tired, so I took over the driving for about an hour. He actually caught a few minutes of sleep. He took over and I was able to sleep some. We made one last stop to top up our fuel and Mark got a coffee and I had an ice cream. As we got closer to Melbourne, the hills disappeared. We saw lots of houses and a lot of very large buildings in the downtown area we got closer. Found several tolls along our route. Not sure what they all cost, but we will get a bill from the rental car company, when we return our car. We eventually found our way to our hotel. Part of the hotel reception area included a restaurant, wedding reception hall, kids' game area, plus an adult game room with slot machines. At some point we will have to try our luck. It was after 7pm when we got our room. It reminded me of a Motel 8. They provided a free boxed breakfast of cereal and muffins, so that will be nice. Headed over to the hotel restaurant for dinner. We actually got to order off the senior's menu. After dinner, we drove over to a very large mall close to the hotel and picked up a universal plug so we could recharge our laptops. By this time it was after 8 pm. Working on our blog. Ending our day with watching the movie, The Firm on our hotel room tv. It's been quite a while since we last saw it. Not sure I like all the commercials. We got spoiled watching movies on board with no commercials. Our relatives fly in at 9:30 am tomorrow and we will figure out which Melbourne tours to begin with. Thanks for the many emails and updates. Great to hear from you!!