This year’s National Clubs Gymnastics Carnival was held in Bendigo in Victoria, as it was last year and the year before that. Next year the carnival will be held on the Gold Coast in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games gymnastics centre.
Miss16 who is Level 9 at Delta Brisbane was competing in the Delta Brisbane B team in the Level 10 competition. Delta Brisbane was the 2016 Champion Club and is one of the largest clubs in Australia. Her competition days were Sunday and Monday.
I elected to take some days off from work and enjoy a short break. I drove down on Friday stopping along the way for toilet and food stops. My IBS seems to be getting more unpredictable, so much so I’m considering a FODMAP approach to eating.

Click on the place markers for more information about each place I stopped.

Dog on Tucker Box

I left Canberra at roughly 7 am (see the map’s marker details) drive to the iconic Dog on Tucker Box just before Gundagai. I had a cup of coffee and emptied my bladder.

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Run in with law enforcement

Not long after passing the Tumblong turnoff, I needed to pass a couple of semi-trailers going up a reasonable incline. I made an error and exceeded the 110 kph speed limit by 18 kph and a NSWPOL constable in a patrol car pulled me over. I’ll receive a substantial fine and loss of demerit points from my Driver License. This field of yellow is near where I was pulled over.

Not a yellow submarine but a yummy yellow vanilla custard

Morning tea was going to be a vanilla slice from the Holbrook bakery. I made a quick stop though to shoot a photograph of HMAS Otway at the entrance of Holbrook.

I’ll provide a rundown with the food I ate on the trip at Yummy Lummy. This will probably be published in a day or so.

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Cafe Derailleur

I decided lunch would be at Cafe Derailleur in Wangaratta. It was a delicious caramelised pork belly with an Asian slaw salad.

One of my problems, when I drive, is a desire to get to my destination in the best possible time. Even though I had cruise control on most of the way, I had one speeding infringement but this didn’t stop an internal desire to keep moving. I should have stopped at more places.

Violet Town

After I finished lunch, I got on the road again and headed to Violet town for a spot of afternoon tea.
When I arrived in Violet town I visited the Lions park public toilet and then stopped at a local cafe and pondered the choices in the display cabinet. There were no vanilla slices left so I went with another iconic Australian sweet, viz., a Lamington.

After a very nice afternoon tea and toilet stop I proceeded to my final destination, viz., Bendigo and the Comfort Inn Julie-Anna.

Comfort Inn Julie-Anna

I’ve written a Google maps review which you can read.

Lake View Hotel

On my first night, I walked down the road to the Lake View Hotel and enjoyed a scotch rib fillet steak with a peppercorn sauce, chips and greens.

A disappointing Friday evening

The good news is that each room in the Comfort Inn Julie-Anna there is a large screen television which has access to Fox Sports which meant I was able to watch the preliminary final between the Brisbane Broncos and the Melbourne Storm deep in AFL country.
Unfortunately, the Brisbane Broncos were defeated convincingly and the Melbourne Storm proceeds to this week’s grand final of the greatest game of all.

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Julie-Anna’s signature omelette

Golden Dragon Museum

I spent a good couple of hours on Saturday at the Golden Dragon Museum.

Bendigo has a rich Chinese heritage associated with gold mining. This wonderful museum has some wonderful pieces including the longest dragon in the world at about 100 metres in length.
I’ve created a gallery of photographs. Please click on one and then scroll through the gallery.

A country meat lover’s pizza

For dinner, on Saturday night I walked down to Luchiano Pizza & Pasta and bought myself a meat lover’s pizza.

It was really very good and got me in the mood for the best part of Saturday.

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Finishing Saturday night with a happy ending

No, not that sort of happy ending! The second NRL preliminary final between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Sydney Roosters was being played in Sydney. While the Brisbane Broncos are my number 1 team, the North Queensland Cowboys are my number 2 team (and the Melbourne Storm are my number 3 team). These are the teams with the highest proportion of Queensland players who after all are the best athletes playing sport anywhere in the world.

The North Queensland Cowboys were victorious and will meet the Melbourne Storm this Sunday evening in Sydney for what will be a great game.

Sunday avocado with Hollandaise sauce and poached eggs

For breakfast, I enjoyed poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce and smashed avocado.

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Bendigo Stadium

After breakfast and a walk around Lake Weeroona, I drove to Bendigo Stadium to watch Miss 16 compete. . Bendigo Stadium is pretty good for gymnastics. It’s big and can accommodate women’s and men’s competitions at the same time. The only problem is air flow which I think needs some attention given the cloudy haze of chalk dust that floats in the air continuously.

Gems are the standard lunch

For me, gymnastics at Bendigo Stadium means potato gems (or for my North American friends tater tots).

Intestinal colic

As I was leaving Bendigo Stadium I was feeling a little delicate in my abdomen. I was experiencing some colicky cramping pain. That said though, I still felt hungry so I went back to the Lake View Hotel and ate a Caesar salad with anchovies and a crumbed poached egg.

I spent the rest of the evening in discomfort and pain. All I can say is that a warm bath is so soothing.

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Monday bacon and eggs with Hollandaise sauce

I woke up feeling considerably better. The intestinal colic has stopped at about 3 am and I just felt delicate. The best way to evaluate how healthy your bowels are is to eat something so I had a piece of toasted raisin bread and then some crispy bacon with poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce.

Again I took a short walk around Lake Weeroona and spied a couple of black swans with their cygnets.

Back to Bendigo Stadium

Day two was the finals for the Level 10 girls and Miss 16 was again competing in the morning. She performed better on the second day.

What the hell! You had one job Bendigo Stadium!

The tuck shop ran out of potato gems. I had to make do with hot chips.

If you have Facebook, click on this image and check out the comments from Bendigo Stadium’s Facebook page

Saying goodbye

It was great to spend some time with Miss 16 while we were in Bendigo but saying goodbye is always tough. She is such a happy bubbly person and watching her with her teammates and coaches lifts my heart to see her so happy.

Dinner with Julie-Anna

So for my last night in Bendigo, I ate at the Comfort Inn Julie-Anna restaurant.
I enjoyed a lovely crumbed steak covered in pepper sauce and served with hot chips and greens.

For dessert, I enjoyed a berry ice cream sundae with white chocolate and pieces of crunchy honeycomb. It was amazing.

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The drive back from Bendigo to Canberra

I left the Comfort Inn Julie-Anna just after 6 am and felt a little sad. If I attend the 2018 National Clubs Gymnastics Carnival, it will be in the Gold Coast and not Bendigo so this may have been my last stay at this motel.
I had a final bath, packed up and drove out of Bendigo with a heading to Canberra. Click on the place markers for more information.

Australiana iconic sweet number 3

I didn’t eat breakfast in Bendigo so I had to find a coffee and breakfast within an hour of leaving. I stopped at Murchison and found a bakery and enjoyed an apple turnover and coffee. I remember loving apple turnovers as a kid at primary school. Our tuck shop sold a really good apple turnover. The Murchison bakery didn’t disappoint me. This apple turnover was delicious.

My final vanilla slice

Yep, I think I’m a Hobbit, I had second breakfast. I stopped at Hide’s Bakery and enjoyed the best raisin toast I’ve ever had. It was amazing.

On the way out I picked up a vanilla slice to go.

Truck stops are good places to eat morning tea

So after second breakfast in Benalla, I drove north and stopped at a truck stop northbound near Glenrowan.
This is where I enjoyed my final vanilla slice of my trip. You can find the place marker on the map.

My first pie of the trip

After morning tea I stopped just before the Victorian/NSW border and had lunch at Henri’s Bakery in Wodonga.
I love a potato pie and this one was delicious.

I can’t eat anymore and I need a dunny stop

Would you believe that by the time I got to Tarcutta I wasn’t hungry? I’m sorry good people of Tarcutta I didn’t spend any of my holiday money in your fine town. I did leave a deposit of another kind though.

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The end of the story

The good news is that Miss 16 got home to Brisbane safely and for dinner, I had salmon and salad.
I’m hoping I haven’t insulted my bowels too much and I’ll feel okay soon.

As I write this though, I feel like I’m developing an upper respiratory tract infection. I have a headache and worsening nasal congestion.
I’ll try to post a food-related story tomorrow but I am starting to feel like death warmed up.

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