Australia ~ back in Melbourne

The return trip on the ferry was uneventful, and we managed to smoothly make one connection after another to get back to Mordialloc. Yvette was out walking Kya, so she met up with us and walked us home. After we got settled in, Yvette drove me back to the chemist (pharmacy) to have a look at the creepy rash on my leg. The chemist looked pretty horrified (and yet professional, all at the same time). He gave me a topical cream, told me to keep taking the antihistamine that I'd gotten for the earlier reaction to a bunch of bug bites, and told me to either stay out of the bush or to wear long socks and tie down my pant legs with a rubber band.

We took it pretty easy during the day. Later in the afternoon we all piled into the car and drove up to the Dandenongs. We stopped briefly at the William Ricketts Sanctuary. It's a great combination of cool and a little creepy. A short hike through a rainforest area, with Ricketts art placed throughout the paths.

After touring the sanctuary, we drove on to Sassafras. We were arriving at closing time, so we had a little trouble finding a place to have some scones. We finally tried the church at the top of the hill. Brother Jon's Holy Scones, I think? Anyway, it was manned by a cute old Scottish guy. It is a church, but it's also a restaurant? It looks like it's permanently set up for a wedding. Brother Jon (I'll correct the name later if it's wrong) was dozing at the counter when we arrived. I asked him if he was still open, and he looked at the time and said yes. I think he was really closing, but hadn't gotten around to it since he was dozing, and since we were there ... a very nice old guy. I asked if he had iced coffee, and he said not really, so I said just water. So he made up an iced coffee for me. He brought Loren's tea without the teabag (yes, a pitcher of hot water), and when Loren said something he said "Oh, good lord ... Scottish tea", and laughed, and went off to bring back the teabag. Gregg and I had never had the Devonshire Scones experience, so it was pretty cool to try something new. And the view couldn't be beat. We decided to bus our own table ... poor guy seemed a little shaky after his nap, and we were a little concerned he might trip over one of those steps. Anyway, he invited us to tour the gardens out back. Very well manicured and maintained, and very Brittish looking. There's probably a lot more to see in the Dandenongs, but it would definitely mean renting a car and staying in B&Bs, and that sort of thing. It's a very nice getaway though, and very near Melbourne.