Apr 14, Hahndorf, Woodside, Birdwood, Williamstown, Lyndoch

We left Adelaide and Anna's lovely home and drove out to through Adelaide Hills. It is autumn here and on the drive we saw leaves changing color. The eucalyptus don't change color, so the trees were probably nonnative, but with the cool weather this morning, it really felt and looked like fall.

Hahndorf, a community settled by German Lutherans fleeing religious persecution, was a charming village. We stopped for a coffee and chocolate croissant and walked around looking at the shops and stone buildings. At Woodside we went to a chocolate factory and watched a man kneading a big pile of licorice. There was a cheese factory next door and we sampled a few and bought a triple cream Brie that was rich and delicious.

We went to Birdwood to go to the National Car and Motor Museum and when we came into the town there were signs announcing a community event today. It turned out to be a Rock and Roll Rendezvous at the museum. We toured the museum first. It had a gallery of Australian made cars with a large collection of Holdens. There was a good representation of cars from Britain, Europe and the US, as well as a motorcycle collection.
The Rendezvous was a car show with perhaps 300 or 400 cars, including many US cars from the 50s and 60s. People were dressed up in the clothing of the time frames of their cars - lots of poodle skirts. There was 50s music playing and a full dance floor. It was one big party and we had fun looking at the cars and talking to the owners.
I did learn that the term "station wagon" came from the early days of automobiles. It referred to a car that was large enough to carry passengers and luggage to the railway station.

Beyond there we stopped for a look at the Williamstown mural and a listen at the Whispering Wall in Lyndoch. The Wall was actually the dam across the Barossa Reservoir, a long curved concrete dam. A person standing at one end of the dam could hear a person at the far end just as clearly as if they were standing next to them - quite impressive.

Lastly, we came into Tanunda in the heart of the Barossa Valley wine country. We stopped in the caravan park for the night so we could meet Hanneli and Peter and see Anna again. They had met here with their children to celebrate Anna's birthday. When we arrived the children had gone their ways. Hanneli is Anna and Hester's sister and we were fortunate to be able to meet them before they started their trip to eastern Australia. We had a lovely meal and good visit at their caravan.

Pictures - Huge chocolate croissant, Telephone car that can be used to make phone calls, Dancing at the Car Show, Interesting sign on the Williamstown mural