In the Reeds and the Mulga

It was time to move on from the Gold Coast, but not before one last walk along the beach and an easy geocache pick-up close to our unit.  I'm glad we went to that spot because otherwise we would not have discovered the remains of Bilinga's Aloha Surf Motel.  It looks like it was built in the 1960s or early 70s at the latest, and is still occupied. I am guessing it's low-income housing. The letterbox collection is an artwork in rust. Sadly its days are numbered because both the SOLD and development signs are up.

Back at the unit, Jo and I finished the Wacky World jigsaw, and then it was time to see if three days' worth of purchases would fit in a Subaru XV.  They did...just.

We headed for the highway where, strangely enough, there was no traffic travelling north from New South Wales.  Our destination was Reedy Creek where there are two oppies, both church-run, and just off the main drag.  Reedy Care was the first.  What a lovely shop!  It has its own proper coffee shop inside, where those with cash can pay forward cups of the good stuff, and those without cash can drink it.  

Just after we arrived, a bus from a retirement village or nursing home pulled up, and two elderly women alighted.  One of them took a shine to Jan's top that featured lemons, in keeping with the day's L theme.  She kept saying "I'd luv a top like that" in a delightful English accent, till eventually Jan offered to give it to her for the cost of a replacement shirt, if one could be unearthed.  

Once the top was found, the handover was duly photographed and I asked Jan if I could post said photo and the story on the Gold Coast Op Shoppers facebook page, which I had joined while planning the trip.  Up it went, and one enigmatic comment said "Well look who it is?"  I didn't think any more about it until last week, when I received a message from a woman called Sue in New Zealand, telling me that the lovely lady was her Mum, Joan, and how delightful it was to see her on facebook.  I passed her thank-you on to Jan and we both got a little teary

We moved on to the Kings shop up the road and it just about took my breath away,  It is huge, with a separate furniture section out the back, and I have never seen such an organised oppy.  Everything was sorted and labelled without the place looking sterile, and there was just SOOO much stock.  Even the bras were sorted into individual sizes within separate drawers. And then guess who walked in...our two lovely bus passengers from Reedy Care. We greeted each other like old friends.

Jan found another top that fitted in with the L theme, and changed once again. I found the ring-binder organiser diary that my daughter-in-law was looking for, and on the way out we helped ourselves to not only more free bread but bananas as well.

It was about now that Jan realised she had left her small, specially purchased, bottle of Moccona coffee in the unit at Bilinga, and it had barely been touched. Well we weren't going back for it now!

I had found a nice little Anglican oppy in a shopping centre at Coomera on the day of the recce, so we stopped there next, bought a couple of things and had coffee at the nearby cafe. 

The next excitement for me was turning onto the Logan Motorway, as I had never travelled its entire length before.  For parts of it, I had absolutely no idea where I was, but just hoped we would end up on Ipswich Road, which of course we did.  I had promised the girls lunch at a country pub, so we left the Warrego Highway and headed for Mulgowie, the Lockyer Valley's best-kept secret, at least for those from the northern suburbs of Brisbane.

We had a leisurely lunch watching all sorts of agricultural machinery drive by, and the barmaid took the obligatory photo.  Jo, as usual, dressed differently to we lime ladies, as she was wearing lavender and lace.  By now, the clouds were gathering, as we continued west then onto the Toowoomba bypass. Jan hadn't been on it before; Jo had, but by accident!

As we were about halfway up, the rain hit, and as I tried to pass a line of large trucks, we were hit by walls of water.  It was quite hairy there for a bit.  The heavy stuff didn't last long, and we found the Toowoomba exit easily, before heading for Toowoomba oppy number one.