It was the perfect day for it.
The afternoon sun gradually sinking behind the stalls of the Wollombi Markets in the paddock next door, where Deb Deak's authentic German Kransky wagon was doing a roaring trade parked up next to the market-favourite, Chip-on-a-Stick.
The markets are a special event for the long weekend and attract countless crowds to the small Hunter Valley village about 30 minutes outside of Cessnock.
As the vendors packed up their wares on Monday afternoon, and the local RFS counted their donations from the gate, we lounged on the grass with the long-weekend crowd outside the historic Wollombi Tavern.
In the courtyard, the chefs were making a steady trade with the pub's new wood-fired pizza oven, as live music filled the air and kids passed a footy around in the yard.
If a long weekend had a postcard, this would have been it.
It's hard to believe that it was almost a year since all of this was underwater.
The major flood height of 12.2 metres had broken some time past lunch on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, when the water breached the pub and quickly rose at the height of the bar.
The water would lap at the rafters before long, as the Bureau of Meteorology prepared for a 13.5 metre flood - about 200 millimetres higher than the infamous Pasha Bulker storm of 2007. Then owner, Chris Brooks - a member of the local RFS - could do nothing but watch his beloved tavern go under.
It had been a hard tenure - in five years behind the bar, Brooks had dealt with fire, then a pandemic, and then floods.
"I was supposed to retire years ago would you believe, and only bought it as hobby. So much for that plan," he told one of our veteran newsmen Rick Allen in August last year before deciding to pull up stumps.
These days, the pub is under the care of publican Justin Scrymgeour, who took over the lease about six months ago while he conceded that many businesses in his bend in the valley were still struggling in the wake of so much turmoil, there was light at the end of the tunnel.
"It's gone so fast," he said yesterday, coming back down the phone line after stepping away to pull a beer for a customer, "When you look at the place now, compared to then, it's a whole new ball game."
He said that the past year, as the town made the slow recovery from the years of disruption, had shown the spirit of people who called it home.
"It's that old Australian help-your-mate kind of vibe," Mr Scrymgeour said.
"I've only lived here a few years, but whenever anything hits - it doesn't matter what it is - everyone jumps in and helps out."
Mr Scrymgeour added that there was still plenty of work to do as he and the owners continued to improve the grounds.
But, for now at least, the long weekend had been a welcome return to normality for the little village in the heart of Hunter wine country.
