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.