Melbourne

As soon as Joe woke up he spied a cat out of the window of the tent. While the rest of us were sluggish and resistant to facing the day after a dreadful night of unrelenting heat, Joe set off out the door to meet the cat! Oh my goodness- it was so HOT!!!! ALL NIGHT!! 

Joe made friends with this very sweet little kitten, with no idea where it came from, while we all tried to prepare ourselves for another very hot day exploring the city.

The discovery of fountains were much appreciated as we made our way from one end of the city to the other. 

The museum also provided us with some cool air for a while.

It became a wonderful day, even with the heat! We found Minotaur quickly and the boys got to spend the last of their money on their favourite pop culture collectables. We made our way across town to see what other treasures we might uncover.

 They also remembered this comic book shop in Bourke street and managed to find it again this time.

We found yet another cool Salvos Store at the end of Bourke street- has anyone else noticed how Salvos are really working on their image? No longer slightly smelly and unpleasant- these op shops are trendy with cool displays and decorations. We haven't felt the need to find the books and escape quickly like we have always done in the past.

This fabulous day ended with an even more fabulous evening. We had a swim in the pool to cool down  before packing up for the beach at Seaford. We had plans to meet up with a family I know through blogging.  Seaford Beach was much easier to negotiate with a wheelchair and we finally got to enjoy the ocean together- all 5 of us!!! It was so special and I know it will be a memory I will always treasure.

It really is bizarre that we had such a relaxed evening with this family that we have only really got to know virtually. It felt like we had all been friends for years and recognised each other across the crowded beach. We had a wonderfully relaxed Thai meal together and chatted away and laughed about our funny family stories. We all feel very fortunate to have met this gorgeous family and we all hope that we get a chance to chat over a meal again soon. Thank you to our lovely new friends for helping us to have one of the most memorable days of our entire trip. Between 6 kids to watch and constant conversation (in fact sometimes multiple conversations at once) none of us managed to get a single photo of us all toegther. I have several snapshot images in my head though.

Another swim at the beach after dinner completed our wonderful day and ensured that we were all able to sleep better that night...well until the thunderstorm hit!!!!!