Bribie

Jan, our fearless trip leader, was not 100% well on this adventure, so Jo and I went for an early morning walk to let her sleep in. We walked from in front of the hotel at Bellara, along Sylvan Beach north to Sunset Park.

Partway along the route was a collection of dead trees brimming with rainbow lorikeets, and at the park itself, we were welcomed noisily by four black cockatoos.

We hadn't yet had rain on the trip, despite the depressing forecast for the week, but nor had we seen the sun.  However, while we were walking, some early morning sunshine struck Mount Tibrogargan in the distance, making for some excellent photo possibilities.  

Jo spotted a far-off wreck which turns out to be an old coal cutter, the Avon,  deliberately sunk there to protect oyster beds.  On our way back, the lorikeets were joined by a single duck, not something you see up a tree every day.

We bought coffee and found Jan awake and ready to rock and roll.  We dived into our boxed brekkies and were at nearby Lifeline Bellara, just after its doors opened. A car in the carpark had an OPY number plate, so we decided it must belong to the manager; turned out it was owned by a fellow shopper.  It's a great little shop with good prices.

While trying to get her Lifeline staff discount, Jan became best friends with the manager. I had noticed on the way in that Jan's frock had a tear down the side, so said manager insisted on finding another dress, rather than simply resorting to the safety pin solution (she had also noticed a stain on the shoulder...Jan was definitely not on form).

The dress was found, the day's Get Frocked photo taken, and we headed for Woorim.  It was in the Vinnies there that Jan realised she hadn't paid for the replacement dress!

Vinnies Woorim occupies two shops and an arcade, and is a great op shop.  I think we all found at least one thing to buy there.

The famous, very large, Busy Fingers was next, with the biggest collection of bric-a-brac you will ever see.  It was bustling, but the staff still found time to be helpful.

The next one that had been recommended was the Church of Christ shop at Bongaree, which is a well-hidden secret; up a back road, into the church grounds then round the back with signage that sends you the wrong way.  It is small, air conditioned and somewhat upmarket, but both the girls bought clothes there. I didn't.  Luckily, the propeller hat that Jo desperately desired, did not fit her generously proportioned head. I don't have a photo of it, but I do have one of the goggles she found at Lifeline.

We decided that four shops on Bribie was enough, since time was of the essence, so stopped for coffee and sustenance at Serenity on the Passage.  It is very small, but in the middle of the outside tables was an elderly gent playing a keyboard. This was not only a first for us, but for the regular customers that we consulted. He liked it when we all sang along to "Delilah". We didn't stay for an encore.

Jan negotiated the complicated one-way road system near the bridge so she
could revisit Lifeline and pay for her stolen dress, then it was back to the mainland.

Number Nine...Number Nine...

Jan and Jo arrived from the Sunshine Coast on Sunday evening, and we were all up at the crack of dawn, keen to start Op Shop Road Trip Number Nine. Jan was the organiser this time, and we were heading north, but not too far. 

For the second year in a row, Jo helped me finish a Where's Wally jigsaw before we headed off, because the first oppy was only five minutes away, and it didn't open till 9am.

It was Lifeline at Virginia, and although I didn't find any clothes there, I found a blast from my past in their glass case.  When I was a child, my Lismore cousins had a set of Builda-brix that gave us many hours of pleasure. We weren't too popular when Mum slipped over on one of said bricks, when we hadn't picked them all up.  I could not see a price, and was not game to ask.

There was also a Christmas pudding teapot for over $60. Tell him he's dreaming!

One of our challenges on the trip was to find a quirky kitchen item, and I found mine right here in shop number one.  It took us some time to work out for what it is used.  It has three little filters inside.

Our second dress theme was to be Mad Hatters, and I found my hat in the dress-ups box there for $2.

Just around the corner in Zillmere Road is my favourite local oppy, Be Uplifted, and the girls were suitably impressed.  I found two blouses and a book.  On this trip, I decided to collect Donna Leon's Inspector Brunelli books and this was the first.

The traffic on Gympie Road was horrific, because a mobile crane had rolled on the Gateway Motorway, and all northbound lanes were closed.  We inched our way to the other Be Uplifted shop at Strathpine. One of the items on our bingo cards was a postcard. I found a packet of twent-two for $2. Sold!    

Next was coffee and lunch at All Folk, just over the road.  What a lovely little shop, dedicated to helping the disadvantaged.  I did my duty and bought a pair of Halloween earrings. Jan paid forward a cup of coffee.

Suitably refreshed, we hit the oppy hub at Lawnton. The Vinnies cheapo outlet shop has closed, but that still leaves four, and a new One World shop has opened over the road.  Four was enough for us, and we didn't want to cross busy Gympie Road.  We found lots of good stuff, but I was still having difficulty finding just the right dress for the following day's Get Frocked theme. 

Jan was beginning to flag so we decided that Kallangur would be our last port of call, but first we had to find a loo. Google Maps led us to a strange but wonderful little number in the middle of Les Hughes Sporting Complex.  Les seems to have been a person of great significance in Lawnton.  Anyway, the public toilet had green and red flashing lights to indicate occupancy, a disembodied voice that relays instructions, and a loiter alarm that flings the door open after ten minutes!

We whizzed past Lifeline, and parked at Kallangur Fair, which has three close by.  The Salvos store was closed for renovations, but we checked out Save the Children and One World.  The latter has oodles of clothes, and SOOO much stuff for children.  The prices are good too.  I found a pristine Tupperware sugar bowl to replace the ageing one in our caravan.

Our destination for the evening was the Bribie Island Hotel, where we were each given a cute little breakfast box. We were all together in a well set up family room, only a stone's throw from the eatery.  Jo was trying to choose what she would wear, out of the many dresses she had bought. One was just right for me, and better than anything I had found, so she sold it to me.

When we hit the bistro, the weekly trivia competition was happening, but it was not our kind of trivia.  Too old, I suspect.  We oldies needed an early night, so had one.