Family Walk: Melbourne Cycle Path

We've had about 5 consecutive days without rain.  This is a record dry spell for our time here, and something that my colleagues swear will change soon.  Because it was also a sunny and warm (~10 deg C) day, we decided to take a family outing this afternoon.  It was supposed to be mostly bicycles, with Kristine keeping Clare and Charis company.  Unfortunately, Clare's (old and cheap) bike had some bolts come loose while being shipped from the US.  Naturally, the wrench to tighten those bolts didn't make the trip because I didn't think I'd need it.  At any rate, we wound up taking a family walk where we'd planned to cycle.  The route is part of the way I've been cycling to and from work.  We started at the edge of Melbourne where the cycle path intersects the road, walked to the canal, went a short way the opposite direction on the canal from where I'd head for work, and then turned around.  All told, it was 1.9 miles.  Elise and Charis walked the whole way.  Elise probably could have kept going another couple of miles, but I was really proud of Charis for hanging in there.  It might have had something to do with the promise of hot chocolate and marshmallows when we got home.

We walked over the river Trent and along a canal path.  These swans were in neither.  They're actually in a field next to the cycle path, which is covered by a great deal of water.  That's how wet this winter has been.

Clare spent most of the walk riding on Kristine's back.  This part of the cycle path has several of these  stone bridges.

 

Although she did do some walking on her own.

Over the river and up the hill, there looks to be quite a large estate.  We weren't sure if it's a farm or just a really large home.

I think the girls had the most fun along the canal path.  They were initially pretty skeptical that the narrow dirt between the grass was really a path.  I think their idea of a path was the wide, flat gravel that we walked on for the first mile or so.

I pass houseboats when I cycle to work.  Evidently this canal has some level of traffic.  Enough to justify signs like this one.

We walked over and under several stone bridges.  This one is definitely on the shorter end of the spectrum.  Fortunately, I don't have to go under it when I'm on my bike.  The girls were excited that they could reach up and touch the arch when they walked through.

As promised, we finished up with hot chocolate and marshmallows when we got home.