It has happened like that, that over the past two years we didn’t had a vacation. And then came the moment of no return for this summer. Work shaft, preparing for a rally, expedition, business trip. But we found 4 days)
Of course, I worked for the generator of brilliant ideas, and this is what we got along the route:

Well, and from Kropyvnytsky to Kharkov) Google just can’t add more points to the route))

On August 23, we packed things and left towards Kakhovka. Before 22:00 it didn’t work out to start, but what can we do?))))
The choice fell on the Melitopol highway, as it is believed that it is better than Nikopol one)) Maybe so, but it’s rather conditional better. On the way, we came across much more reckless people than we did – they drove to this track on Lada Kalina without wrenches, a rope or other joy, broke one wheel on the road, somehow changed it to a less leaky spare tire, drove it and went on the emergency gang drive at the speed of a sick snail, cheerfully carving sparks. Compassion did not allow us to pass by, we took both of them and a wheel to our car, drove to the only 24h tire service – about 20 km or more, waited until the wheel was fixe and took them back. It turned out it was great, that we’ve made a company to them – they needed wrenches to install the wheels))))
Honestly, it was the first time our passengers caused me such a state – I sat quite strenuously and with a small knife in my fist. But everything was fine) And it’s good that my state wasted in vain)) Many times we took stoppers with us, but such never happened)
As a result, I got to the steering wheel at about 4 a.m. and slight after the 6 am we were in Kakhovka in the parking lot of the hotel, which we really liked when we were buying the Hedgy there. I don’t remember the name of the hotel itself, but on the ground floor there is the restaurant “Vecornitsі”. Very tasty food, large portions (I was done with one serving of salad) and very polite and friendly staff. Who will be in those places – highly recommend)
I must say that after the exit from the Melitopol highway, I drove the same 110 – 120 km/h, but I do not advise doing this in a car of another class)
Sunrise in the steppe is an incredible beauty… How much I think about that – still can’t find the words(( Boundless steppe with rare islands of small curly trees, orange-pink rays of the sun and flocks of frightened birds, an incomparable smell of hot dry grass … Unfortunately I haven’t done photos there.
After some sleep, we had a hearty breakfast and drove to Askania-Nova. I dreamed of getting there for many years.

Unfortunately, this year the reserve in the steppe was closed for visiting ((But we were very pleased to wander through the “enclosure” part – the animals delight the audience one by one)) Today this zebra, tomorrow – different one, and the first – goes to the steppe to comrades)))

Tatanka!

We’ve fed nutrias with a purchased in advance bread, admired pink flamingos, magnificent bisons and a host of other birds, horned and equine)
And then we crossed the road and went for a walk around the arboretum … Friends say that back in 2008 it was complete ruined. Now it’s great there! At first it was not clear why you had come – just a piece of an ordinary city park – nothing outstanding, nothing interesting – hornbeams, oaks, linden trees. And then suddenly you find yourself in an unusual place)) The paths are either paved with stone or sand, everything is neatly trimmed, groomed and combed, signed and numbered… I don’t know for how long or by what means they grew ginkgo more than 10 meters high… And many other trees. I was struck by the well-thought-out irrigation system: a system of grooves was laid throughout the park around each tree and bush, and somewhere there is a reservoir that opens at night and water flows from it by gravity through all these grooves and collects somewhere. Very simple and effective, but I think a lot of thoughtful digging was required)))

Interestingly, peacocks, pheasants and other animals walk everywhere completely freely))

Despite the evening, we did not find a single rubbish in the park. And it’s not the ministers who clean it so carefully, although they do that too – people don’t spoil there! It’s great!
Highly recommend visiting this wonderful place!
In the evening we returned to Kakhovka to the same hotel and had a hearty dinner)
The next morning we packed and went looking for a salty pink lake …
I read about them and really wanted to get at least to one of them, found that there is one on the way to Odessa near the village of Grigorovka … We arrived, and there was nothing like that(((( It turned out to be not that Grigorovka, we were looking for. But we were not taken aback and drove to Dofinovka. We arrived, looked at the sea and decided to eat first, meet with friends, and then think what to do next. By that time it was already afternoon. While we had managed with our gastronomic needs, it was already getting dark and it was decided to go to 411 battery in Odessa – there is a fleet of military equipment there. Well, at least somewhere I needed to show myself))) First we politely moved through the exposure of different-sized guns and anti-aircraft guns, looked at a tiny combat I-16 fighter and moved to the armored train.

Then my climbing nature could not be stopped. We climbed onto the roof, walked around and found a way to climb inside)) Unfortunately, most of that is already rusty, so I had to climb very carefully by braces and steel cables, and some places were wiped with slippers, of someone like us, to the mirror state)))
When we got out, it was already completely dark. We rented electric motor-scooters and went to inspect the rest of the park)))) Until now, from a two-wheeled vehicle, I only sat on a bicycle, and here I had almost a motorcycle – gas on the steering wheel handle, brakes there also and stable, wide wheels)) I I liked it)) We got off, went to touch the coastal guns. I saw such once at Cape Fiolent, it seems. But there is larger tangibly there, but without the guns themselves.
And then the turn came to the anti-mine trawler. A civil ladder to the upper deck is welded to it. For sure – nothing can remain unexplored))) Well, we went around it, inspected it, and I listened with pleasure to a lecture on the equipment and purpose of all the protrusions and holes. I was brave to went inspecting ship’s head and found myself sitting on the fifth point and in some perplexity. My foot knee-deep went to CLUSES! Yes – now I know this word well))) An anchor chain hole, sheathed with metal and at 45 degrees to the surface. Exactly the diameter of my paws … The first thought was that the bones are intact. Well, so – a leg heavy wounded. I listened for my arrogance … along the way of getting first aid … On the way back I was not so vigorously moving. Well, I had to) that’s distinguished)
From there we drove back to Dofinovka, stopping to pick up friends. Once again, the gastronomic question arose, and it was midnight on the street. As it turned out, in Odessa at this time it is difficult to find food without driving to the center. We stopped at a couple of gas stations, tried to find some kind of pizzeria or something like that … They again relied on the navigator and traveled in a circle around the only place found. As a result, we went at the voice prompts of our friends) We ordered pizza and sausages for everyone and went to the sea.
We arrived, started to unload, and I realized that my paw is not just heavy wounded, but it is also sprained in the ankle very well. I can’t step on. I also listened about myself and my heroisms)))) But the sea was magnificent – tolerably cool, slightly waved)) And most importantly, on this beach there are no bars, discos and other joys – just the sea. A very interesting effect is obtained if you put a bottle of water on the switched on flashlight on your phone – such a soft light) beautiful. We got our food and were upset. It’s good that we took pizza, because two large foil boxes contained only two sausages and small boiled potatoes in a row … Well, let them live well.
We got a lot of pleasure from a quiet peaceful conversation under the soft rustling of the sea, but at 3 a.m. we were knocked down and everyone went to bed.
When I frantically thought out the places of staying before leaving, I came across information that the famous Koktebel-jazz festival was being held in Ilyichevsk (Chernomorsk) from September 24 to 27. With my love for this music, I could not pass by. And, as usual, I dreamed of getting there for many years. And here – here it is)))
We sat down, let’s go. At first we tried to find where to eat, but the city was again not very prepared, and in the middle of the day, in more or less decent places, everything was eaten and packed with tea-drinking festival people. But we “conquered this kindergarten” and still found a place to eat! And very tasty and for the very reasonable money)))
Then we went to find out the conditions for placing ourselves at the festival. It turned out that we can put up a tent, but we can’t bring food and sharp objects into the territory … Here’s a setup. And the words in the program did not tell us anything know from that day, the sea was very cold and a strong wind was blowing. At the moment, our friends decided to dispel our doubts and called to invite us to a concert of Irish music in some cafe. Jolly’s Group.
Before the concert, we stopped by for a birthday party, simultaneously finding in the city a little shop of our beloved “Vatsak”. I tried a lot of sweets (of “industrial” production) and these cakes and pies conquered not only me, but also everyone who tried them from my friends and acquaintances.
Merry company, hot tea and great music – what else is needed for a pleasant evening?))) If the leg was fine – it could be better))
Do not punish me much for the video – shot it on the phone ((((

While we were looking at the festival program during the day, we saw a familiar name there – Hypnotunez. Some time ago, we enjoyed listening to them at the rockabilly festival in Kharkov (“Atomic Snowball”). And decided to go listen to them the next day at the Koktebel Jazz Festival.

It was decided and done – in the afternoon we went back to Chernomorsk, bought tickets, and even managed to have a second or third composition of these “hypnotics”. This time the program was really very new … It’s not at all what we listened to a couple of years ago. After them, some “dried fish” crawled out onto the stage, mixing pop music, some trip-hop (or something like that) and a hint of jazz. We decided that it was time to grab a bite to eat and think carefully if there was a place for us here, with our perception of the “jazz” concept. While we were searching and choosing what to eat and were sadly eating that, she finished her … performance and we decided to listen to the rest. Here we were incredibly surprised and delighted – a very funny group whose language we could not recognize until we were told from the stage – the Lithuanians.
Great pleasure, sea of drive:

After them, we again sadly drank tea for one and a half bands performance time (this is all a completely personal opinion that does not pretend to anything, based on purely personal musical preferences) and decided to go resting.
And yes – the water was cold again, we put on sweaters, fleeing the wind and again did not get salted in the sea … On this occasion, I resolutely spoke out that on the next (last) day I would certainly jump into the sea, whatever it would be – coldy/ jellyfishy/hard… Then you could take me out, wrap me up, heat me up, lay me down, but without this moment, everythign will not work.
In the morning we went again to Dofinovka, because there was the greatest probability of catching even a relatively warm sea. And on this day a storm warning was transmitted. The beach in Dofinovka has no breakwaters – it is an open sea. In short, it’s good that we went there – we overtook the barrage)))

There, on the beach, someone decided to feed the seagulls and they swirled in such a screaming ball)))

The sea took pity on us and we sniffed the salt closely – that is, with a squeal, we plunged into it)) And I even layed down a little in it. In Dofinovka the beach is “froggy” – very shallow (knee-deep) for a long. Apparently, due to this, it is warmer than in deeper places. Practical training in marine affairs was also possible – squeezing wave, pinch wave, wind direction, scallop on the left side, on the right. Wow, how interesting it was) (even without sarcasm)))
So, we swam, waited for the rain to pass in the car, once again wet the paws and headed home.
We decided to go along the Kiev highway and then through Kirovograd. Of course, the Kiev highway is just a holiday! 2 – 3 stripes, evenly, calmly, almost empty – mm …)))) We even took melons and grapes. To my surprise, prices are on par with Kharkov and peaches at 40 UAH / kg … ((
But after the turn from the Kiev highway the road is ruined again. And our navigator joked with us again … We have such a joke – to compete with “Osmand”. He tells us – you will travel these 150 km in 3 hours. And we’ve tried to beat that for numerous times. A maximum of 26 minutes managed to overtake at long distances. Once. And now we are going, we are overtaking the “Osmand“ for almost an hour … And after some time we understand that this bastard led us in some kind of bushes. We lost this hour, then we lost one more to it. As a result, it beat us for two hours and we arrived home a bit after 3am. The last piece of the driving went to me again, as I had time to nap a bit.
And waking at 7:30 and run to the Chef to adjust the cardan, because another “Nakipelo” expedition was planned the next day.
But that is another story))))
The vacation turned out to be just magical, we got a lot of pleasure and impressions)) I really regretted that I didn’t have a good camera to make a photos of all the beauties we passed … A huge amount of wild animals, birds of prey, herons, storks … I don’t know how it can be said, that we have nothing to look at. Outside the window, pictures no worse than people shot in Africa or other savannahs appears, forests and meadows are the most beautiful, lively places. And they exist anywhere in our country))))
Nearly 3,000 kilometers in 4.5 days of a magical journey.