Time is of the Essence

The traffic light's first stop was at the Uniting Church shop in Nerang.  Susan, the proprietor, not only guessed our dress theme but insisted on taking notes and posting our photo on their Facebook page.  First time that's happened.  The shop was small but cosy, and is hoping to soon expand into the vacant space next door.  

Because of Susan's enthusiasm, we would later vote this our favourite shop of the day.  The girls like the little one at Tingalpa the day before, so the Uniting Church was batting above its weight at this point. For the record, my Day One favourite was Lifeline at Capalaba.

Just down the road was the much bigger Salvos, where the two items of clothing I bought both turned out to be half price, and later comprised my Day Four $5 outfit.  Although there are other oppies in Nerang, it was time to move on, avoiding the highway.

The Animal Welfare shop is in Worongary Town Centre complex, which reminded me of the Chermside drive-in decades ago, with one big shop at one end, next to an open courtyard. We were a bit confused when Google Maps navigated us into an underground carpark, but it was quite right. This was another cramped little shop, where I found a crime novel and couple of pieces of our camping cutlery set. They were in a $1 bundle, so I bought it and donated the rest back.  Coffee and cake was next, in the coffee shop the Animal Welfare staff recommended.

Continuing southwards, we left the highway at Currumbin Waters, where there are two shops virtually side by side.  What isn't there is any parking. Jan went down side streets and did Ueys, gave the navigator (me) a near heart attack doing one of these, before we finally found somewhere to stop.

The first and bigger one was another Animal Welfare store, about five times the size of the one in Worongary.  By now we were starting to look seriously for our Day Three themed clothing, namely T-shirts with writing on the front.  I had high hopes here, but struck out.  The only thing I found was a novelty Christmas gift for a member of the 4WD club (who shall remain nameless).  

Shop two was our first-ever Lighthouse one, with a rack of T-shirts out the front. This was my second "YES!" shriek for the trip (the first was my friend the penguin).  Jo found her shirt in the same shop, and Jan bought a third, which she later decided not to wear because she found a better one.  Meanwhile, she was starting to have some success with her quest to find a 1920s outfit for her daughter Shannon, one piece at a time.

We still had a lot to do over the border, including lunch, so off we went again.  We had just passed the big red Lego border marker when I said "Shit! Daylight saving." None of us has factored it into our calculations.  We stopped at Tweed Heads South, where the first shop was called You Have A Friend. It didn't have anything I wanted, but I was impressed by their innovative signage.  Also that they labelled their plus-sized clothing rack "Real Women". 

We were in an industrial area, and in the same complex was a giant Seventh Day Adventist store with heaps of clothing, especially for kids, that was the best organised I have ever seen.  I was still looking for embroidery rings for Tash and what did I spy but a sealed bag of sewing stuff that included three of them!  And enough needles, press studs, hooks & eyes etc to last her till the next millennium. All for $5. For my friend Emma, I have been on the hunt for "paua shell tack", so far without any luck. Now here before me was a beautiful paua shell for the princely sum of $2.  Sold!

We were now both late and hungry, and the only nearby cafe was already closed, so we improvised, raiding the esky and having a back-of-the-car picnic.  The shop we had planned to visit in Kingscliff appeared to have moved to Tweed Heads, but somewhere parking might be difficult. We did, however, discover there was a Vinnies at The Cliff, so dashed there before they closed at 4.30.  They were supposed to be in a shopping complex that had appeared out of nowhere since the last time any of us were in town; and half of whose carpark was under excavation, which didn't help.  We couldn't find them, but there was a Salvation Army shop in the same complex.  It was there that I found a pair of casual trousers for Michael costing $5, that later turned out to have $4.10 in a pocket.

We asked about the Vinnies shop, which turned out to be well-hidden, almost backing onto the Salvos. We arrived at the door at precisely 4.22 but they were already closed.  Most disappointing. 

It was now too late do anything else, so we headed for the Murwillumbah Motor Inn, which promised views of Mount Warning.  It did not fail to deliver.  It also contained a full set of cutlery, crockery, a microwave oven and a toaster. Hurrah!