And the Winner is...

After Crows Nest, the plan was to check out Charlotte's Shed at Cabarlah, but Charlotte appears to have abandoned the shed.  The rain, which had been threatening all morning, came down hard. In five years of Op Shop Road Trips, this is the first time we have driven through serious rain. 

I turned the car towards home and down the range past Spring Bluff. In fine weather, we would have stopped to look at the flowers at the station, but not this time.  There was one more op shop to visit, the Lifeline opposite the Big Orange (which isn't really; the proper one is in Gayndah).  I had driven past it many times, but this was my first visit. It is a very big shed, with quite a lot of furniture.  If you peek out the back door, you discover you are actually on the edge of a typical Lockyer Valley veggie farm.  No one bought anything, but we did find what may have been the loveliest bit of bling of the whole trip: what we used to call a cheongsam in my younger days, and oh, so sparkly.

Avoiding the highway, we headed north-east through Lowood, noting the location of the Blue Care oppy for future reference, and then proceeded to the bakery at Fernvale for the serious business of pie-eating.  Jan and Jo were starting to clock watch as they still had to drive home to the Sunshine Coast, and the pies were rather slow to arrive.  They were worth waiting for, though.

If you've read the whole story of this trip, you will remember that there was a competition happening for the book with the best title.  Michael says that when we arrived home, three wild-eyed women burst through the door, arms laden with books, shrieking "Which is the winner?"  Books were hastily arranged in front of him, with no clues as to who bought what, and he had to choose.  

I thought Jo was a sure winner with Arsenic in the Dumplings: A Casebook of Poisonings in Suffolk, but she couldn't find it amidst all her stuff.  Michael was quite taken with my Stormy Omartian offering, but then Jan gazumped us both with How to Make Your Man Behave in 21 Days or Less, Using the Secrets of Professional Dog Trainers.  She posed with her winning offering, and then it was time for the girls to head home.

I dithered about, showing Michael my brilliant purchases, and so it wasn't till about 45 minutes later that I spotted a familiar handbag on the floor.  Sadly, it was Jan's, containing purse, phone, the lot.  I figured they would be halfway home by now, but rang Jo's phone.  It turns out they were stuck in a massive traffic jam at Bald Hills, but with an exit close by.  Back they came, retrieved the bag, and we suggested a better route north.  Jo made it home to Imbil at about 7pm.

So Op Shop Road Trip Number Five was over.  We visited 24 shops and left out heaps. We visited four digger war memorials and soaked up lots of history. My total spend was $118, not including the honey, accommodation or food  My favourite buy was a double-sided cryptic crossword jigsaw, which I have already completed (both sides). Roll on 2019.