Now We Are Six

Op Shop Road Trip Number Six began for real on Monday 14th October 2019, as soon as peak hour had passed. Jan and Jo had arrived the night before from their homes in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland; then the first dinner cooked on our barbecue in its new location on the new deck was consumed.  Jan was the planner and driver this year, in the roomy Ford Ranger, so we had plenty of space to play with.

We headed over the Gateway Bridge, destination the Tingalpa Uniting Church oppy in Belmont Road.  It is a big, crammed-but-cheerful shed, with two little sheds alongside, one containing furniture and the other, toys and games. Both little sheds were stifling inside. I hate to think what they would be like in February.  One of the volunteers decided to adopt me, and followed me around while I shopped, telling me the story of the floor coverings!  I didn't find anything to buy here, but the others did.

Next stop Wynnum, where there are six op shops in one block. We parked in the Coles carpark, and headed for Link Vision.  We all had a long list of items were we looking for, not only for ourselves, as well as the necessary clothes for the following days.  We decided our clothing theme for Day Two would be TRAFFIC LIGHT, so whoever found the appropriate colour first, bagsed that one.  I found a red top fairly quickly, so red was therefore taken.

The first four Wynnum shops are a bit of a blur already, as Save the Children, Lifeline and the Salvos followed in quick succession.  I know I acquired a hat for one dollar from the latter.  The shell earrings were in there somewhere too.  

Jo began collecting the first of the 75 books she acquired on the trip, and had to lug them back to the car at lunchtime, before we could move around the corner to Vinnies and the Red Cross. Lunch was at Olives, the Greek cafe that has been in Wynnum for many a year.  Vinnies is big, and Red Cross is

expensive.  The former had a table of books outside, several with great titles, so Jo bought up big there. Here's just one example.  By now, Wynnum had taken up too much of our time, so we skipped the Anglican shop a couple of blocks away and headed for Silky Oaks at Manly. 


One of Brisbane's better-kept op shop secrets, it is back from the road on the northern fenceline of Manly West State School. The silky oaks were in bloom, the view out to the Bay was gorgeous, the bric-a-brac collection was huge, and all clothing was $1.

Our last city stop was Capalaba, where we started at the Lifeline Superstore.  Last year, we had a competition for the best book title. When we arrived back, Michael had to judge our anonymous entries and Jan won.  She had brought the perpetual trophy with her, and the new challenge was "a quirky objet d'art". It was at Lifeline that I found a large wooden penguin wearing bovver boots, and simply had to buy it. A few minutes later, I found my second entry, a strange little handmade plastic rocking goofy dog.  Meanwhile, Jan had acquired both a green top AND bottom.

One of my tasks was to look out for embroidery rings for my daughter-in-law, and I have been - for weeks - without success. However, at Lifeline I found this combined ring and stand, and Tash is happy.

My other favourite oppy at Capalaba is Footprints, and there I found the shirt I had been looking for, for the 4wd club Christmas party.  Jo did even better. Having read that she could fill a shopping basket with books for $10, she took it to the counter to be told that it was nowhere near full enough. So back she went. We helped out too. It probably worked at at no more than 50c per book.  Somewhere she also managed to find a comfortable pair of yellow pants, so that was the "amber"part of the traffic light. 


It was now too late to visit the interesting-sounding shop at Coomera before it closed, so instead we turned onto the M1, headed for Beenleigh.  Sadly, the Endeavour at Beenleigh closed in June, but no-one told the internet.  At least we were opposite Beenleigh Marketplace, so we did the shopping and banking.  

Next stop, our hotel in Nerang, and it was here that things got interesting...