The Recce

Inspired by The Great Op Shop Road Trip, I decided to organise a social trip for our four-wheel-drive club. It is to be an Op Shop Crawl on July 10.  I figured I would start this - my first ever solo trip leader effort - by sticking to what I know, namely, the op shops of the north-east Brisbane area. And where better to kick off the tour than my beloved RSPCA Strathpine, opposite Westfield, where we had our shop for eight years. 
 Heather and I recced the trip a few weeks ago.  The trip plan was a cuppa at Westfield, off to the RSPCA Shop, then hit the road.
There are two big good stores side by side at Lawnton. The first is Neighbours Aid, where I found the suit for my son David's school formal many years ago. Pity they can't spell!
Right next door is Vinnies.  I decided I need a competition for my trip participants, so we devised a scavenger hunt along the way, and I found the prize for it here.

I figured this heavy glass salad-or-whatever bowl would appeal to most people's tastes, and it set me back $8.
Heather bought a piece of 1970s artwork here, which delighted her (you will see it later). Everyone to their own taste, I guess; but I fell that only those who didn't live through the 70s would value these images.

Now it was time for morning tea, so we headed for Bullocky Rest on the shores of Lake Samsonvale.  On a weekday, we were almost the only ones there. And a koala walked right past me, moving from tree A to tree B.
While weekdays are inconvenient for many, the opening hours of op shops make a trip like this almost impossible to organise on weekends.  The shops that do open on Saturdays often close at lunch time, and forget Sundays.  And Bullocky Rest is chockers on the weekend. 

We now headed for Redcliffe, parked one block back from the waterfront, and found ourselves neatly positioned next to two op shops and a retro shop. Inside, I found a wonderful unused 1970s floral teatowel for my friend Jo's collection, but look at what was in the window!  By the time we returned to the car, this reel-to-reel tape recorder had been sold. 
Up the street a bit, there is a big old-fashioned haberdasher, so it's a fun area to explore, and if you nostalgically inclined, you are right beside Bee Gees Way as well.
I was actually back in the same area a few weeks later, with my Great Op Shop Road Trip buddies, Jan and Jo, and Jan found this water jug in one of those two op shops.  We love its simple lines.

  A bit further south down the Redcliffe Peninsula is Margate, where there are two BIG op shops side by side, the new-and-improved Save The Children store, and the Lifeline Superstore.  This photo shows one half of the 'outside' section of the latter.

It was here that Heather spotted and I bought a heavy-based 28cm Tupperware frying pan. Who know that Tupperware made frying pans?  I didn't.
 

I had a look on the Tupperware website: $249 with lid.  No lid?  For me, no big deal. I have lids that size anyway.  Cost to me? $5. And it has been in almost constant use since.
Now it was lunch time, so headed back over the Ted Smout Bridge to Sandgate and Shorncliffe where we had lunch at Cafe on the Park, overlooking beautiful Upper Moora Park and Bramble Bay.

The plan for the trip is for participants to either picnic in the park, with the cafe as backup (especially for those who want coffee), but we though we should check to see if the food is edible. It is.  The final stop was the collection of four op shops at Geebung, where the obligatory 4WD Club trip icecreams are obtainable, prize presentations would be made, and people could shop further if they choose or drift away in their own time. In all, a most enjoyable day.

This is Heather's haul for the day: the 70s art, jeans, shirt, shoes and a box/easel which is perfect for her artwork projects.  She had a great time.
And now the big question, how many club members have signed up for the trip in two weeks time? None.