Trophy Time

 

We were done.  We headed north to Chateau McBurney, arriving there around noon. Jan needed to get back to Carters Ridge ASAP because it was her husband John's birthday.

 

Michael, meanwhile, needed to do the dreaded prize judging.

 

First up was the Quirky Book Title.  The three major contenders were Orbiting the Giant Hairball (mine), Kosher Lust by Rabbi Shumley Boteach and The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead.  Michael chose the Rabbi, so Jo had won the first trophy.

Next was the Quirky Kitchen Object.  There were four contenders but Michael chose the thing that looked like a shark (which later research revealed was for cutting avocadoes - the teeth are for the stone).  Jo wins again!  We still don't know what the thing with the green handle is for.

Finally came the Ugliest Souvenir, and we all knew who was going to win that!  So Jo won all three, the first time that feat has been achieved.

Michael presented me with the bingo winner's trophy and Jan with the runner-up award (newly instituted this year).  Then it was time for hasty farewells and Op Shop Road Trip Number ten was over.  

 

A few weeks later, I donated the ugly wall tile to the op shop where Jan works in Cooroy.  Good luck selling that!

For the record, my stash, minus two items redonated along the way:

9 tops

7 pants

7 books

5 balls of wool 

4 small storage containers

2 children's books

2 jigsaws 

2 thin cutting boards for the van

2 postcards

1 pair earrings 

1 pair shorts

Covered coat hanger

PJs for granddaughter

Ornament for my friend Emma

Knife, fork and spoon for van

Ugly souvenir wall tile

Pierre Cardin (!) purse

Beatles Abbey Road mug

Large folding container for van

Baking tray for van

Mysterious kitchen object

Oven glove for van

Barbie doll for granddaughter

Miniature hip flask

Trophy for bingo runner-up

Harrods mini address book

 

Total outlay $175.50

 

Canungra Curiosities

I felt like a morning walk, but not one of Jo's marathons, so waited till she had gone before I crept out, hoping not to wake Jan, with whom I was sharing the chandelier room.  There are some lovely cottages for rent in the street where we were staying, plus a quirky house with a display of old telegraph pole insulators in the front yard.  The couple who lived there had also built a roadside seat completely out of recycled materials, specifically for an old woman who used to walk past every day.  Less than a week before they finished it, she moved to Bundaberg!

Not to be daunted, they turned the seat/shelter into a community library.  Beside it is little wheeled trolley where they bottle herbs from their garden, which can be paid for via an honesty box.

I passed all this, crossed the park, and was headed for the FoodWorks for a sticky beak at the fire damage, when I spied Jo on the front balcony of a coffee shop.  No marathon for her that day.  I ordered a coffee and one of a pair of high-viz blokes tried to chat us up which we were drinking, but they eventually gave up.

After the fire inspection, we headed for the still-closed op shop,which used to be such a good one, but which Jo said had gone downhill, sadly.  Around the side, and in full view of passers-by, is a huge pile of their stock, including books and magazines, all unprotected from any rainfall.  

We resolved to not wait for it to open, went back to breakfast with Jan, and headed up Tamborine Mountain, after a quick, but fruitless, visit to Canungra's wonderful little shoe shop, which was considerately open before 9am.

It rained quite heavily on our way up the Goat Track, which would have been fine, except that Jo's windscreen wipers make a shrieking noise with every pass.  I couldn't help but worry about those books and magazines back in Canungra.

All the oppies we planned to visit were at North Tamborine, and they all turned out to be good ones.  First was the Presbyterian Bargain Centre, where I finally bought two jigsaws.  I had restrained myself up to that point, but these two were too good to leave. 

Next was the RSPCA which is in an old church, with a lovely garden path leading to a back shed full of larger things. Upstairs
is the "man cave" which even has books especially selected to appeal to blokes, as well as the usual clothes and accessories.

For morning tea, Jo had arranged to meet her old friend Julie Lake who now lives on the mountain.  It didn't take long for us to discover that Julie know Jan's brother well, and she and I had had a mutual friend, whose funeral we both attended last year.  It is, indeed, a small world.

Our clothing theme was "clothes not made in China" and we had all managed to pull that off.  Julie did the honours and took the compulsory photo.

We said our goodbyes and headed for the last oppy of the trip, which was Vinnies.  I hit pay dirt there, finding two books for my granddaughter, a Harrods address book, a pair of shorts and a fork and spoon for the caravan collection. Total outlay $13.  

Jan finally got to say Bingo in that last shop, but Jo never did find that foot spa.

Spice Girls

We needed coffee, and Aratula was the obvious spot.  Avoiding the always-busy bakery, we tried the bright green place next door, which seemed to be empty except for us.  So were most of the food shelves.  There were chairs stacked up in one of the windows, and a sort-of half-hearted Disney vibe.  The owner spent the entire time complaining loudly to another woman about how locals would not support her business because she was competition for the bakery, but we could see many things that should be improved to attract customers.  Better coffee would be a start.

Boonah was next, home of one of our all-time favourite shops, the Salvation Family Store, where on our last visit I bought Tardis earrings for $2.  We had high hopes because the pressure was on the fill our bingo cards.  Jo and I both needed a foot spa and a camera, both of which were proving elusive. She headed off in one direction looking for the electrical section.  I took another path, which turned out to be the wrong one.

By the time I got there, I expected disappointment, but it turned out the section was L-shaped and Jo hadn't looked around the corner, where a foot spa was lurking. Mine, all mine!  Only the camera to go.  I eventually found the likeliest section of the shop, also previously visited by the girls, but there was no obvious camera.  Then I spotted something vaguely familiar, just visible inside a leather case.  That's a flash cube, I thought, and sure enough, when I pulled it up, there was a camera attached. BINGO!

I also found a pair of grey trousers made in Bangladesh, which I would need on the morrow, some more wool for Suzette and a folding container for the caravan.  Love that shop!  

Vinnies was next, and it is bigger than it looks. The hooks in the change rooms are marked 'yes', 'no', and 'maybe', which is cute.  Jo found a skirt made in Lithuania, but, sadly, it didn't fit.

Lunch and the loo were next, further down Boonah's busy main street, then we went looking for the shop in the church around the corner.  There were people inside, but there was no signage, so we assumed that it is no longer an op shop. Pity.  Many years ago, Michael and I were going camping in Condamine Gorge and forgot all our bedding.  The old church came good with everything we needed.

Onwards to Beaudesert, and straight to the Red Cross shop.  Despite the fact that the bingo game was won, Jan was still hoping to fill her card, and she was missing a Scrabble game.  In that shop, we found the best 'Travel Scrabble' game ever.  It was actually a truck, which opened up as the board, with all the other bits inside. At $20, I was sorely tempted, but as we already own two Scrabble sets, I restrained myself.

We were running out of opportunities to have our photo taken, but the young bloke in the shop was cooperative, even though I hadn't bought his Scrabble set.  Today's theme was Spice Colours, so here we are. Jan is curry and cinnamon; I am paprika and black pepper (hot stuff), and Jo is allspice!

The Animal Welfare shop was sadly closed, as was the Anglican church oppy, but there was a Vinnies over the road that we had never seen before.  I found a mini hip flask, that will be just perfect for emergency supplies of port. Then I needed the toilet urgently, and was directed to cross the road (where there is a big shopping centre) and "go behind the bush".  Once she realised what she had said, the volunteer and I and the rest of the staff lost it a bit. 

Our home for the night was to be an AirBNB in Canungra, and when we arrived, we discovered that the town was in mass distress, because there had been a fire in Foodworks two days before and groceries were not obtainable.  Luckily, we had everything we needed, except the energy to go out for dinner.  Jo bought some takeaways and we made do.  We didn't need anything fancy, because our digs were fancy enough. We even had chandeliers.

Ring Around the Roses

We arrived in Warwick, the Rose City, for the third time in ten years, and headed straight for new territory.  After the Condamine River crossing, the highway heads north/south for several blocks, then turns sharp right, avoiding the CBD, but all our previous shopping had been done west of that road.  It turns out there are three op shops to the east of the highway.

The Salvation Army Store was our first stop, and it was big and hot.  I tried hard, but couldn't find anything I needed.  There is a Vinnies further down the same (Grafton) street. We knew about the one in the main drag, but this one was clearly a secret.  I lucked out here too, so went exploring and found the most beautiful old pub on the corner. Built in 1887, O'Mahony's Hotel apparently has pressed metal ceilings and did a roaring trade in its heyday due to its being opposite the railway station.  I had never seen that before either, and it is also heritage listed.

One block away is Lifeline, where I did managed to find a top I liked.  To try it on, the sign said I needed a key from the counter.  When I asked there, the woman went to grab it, but the key had disappeared, apparently leaving the store in someone's pocket.  This is why you attach a large kitchen tool to your keyring, people!  The top set me back $3.

The first time we stayed in Warwick, we were in a lovely suite in the gorgeous old Criterion Hotel, but we don't do country pubs any more because we are too old for all those stairs.  This time, it was the Comfort Inn Motel, which just so happens to be next door to a pub anyway!

It is also opposite Harvey Norman, where Jan finally tracked down the printer cartridge she had been pursuing all trip.  

Next morning Jo headed off on her walk. which was also a coffee shop and oppies recce, while I shot out of bed when I realised there was a beautiful dawn coming.  The motel was right next to the rugby fields on the banks of the river, where a big metal statue celebrating men and horses was built a few years ago.  It was the perfect place to take photos and I managed to not only check out the statue but find a couple of geocaches as well.

Jo had managed to find a shop with a window full of clocks, and I had been searching for a glow-in-the-dark clock for the caravan, so we headed there first.  Almost in front of it was an intriguing old truck covered in biblical quotes. It turned out to be not only a 1927 Chevrolet but The Australian Bible Van, which meandered through Queensland and northern New South Wales for decades, spreading the word.  In 1992 it was fully restored in Redcliffe, as a memorial to Australian bush missionaries, and now travels to schools.  If you ask, the "man in the van" will give you a free bible.

The shop with the clocks had obviously been in Warwick a long time, founded and still run by the Greek Samios family.  I found just the thing, and Mrs Samios (I am guessing) insisted on taking me into a little room under the stairs and turning off the light to prove that it worked. I had to buy it after that!

Our old favourite Warwick oppy used to be the Uniting Church one in an old house. It was a rabbit warren of small rooms plus a garage packed with cheap goodies.  It has now become a proper Lighthouse shop, and as a result has lost all its character. The woman behind the counter kept singing Way Out West, but only knew a couple of lines, which stayed with us for the next hour or so.  The change room there also double as the conference room, so a man with a briefcase had to vacate before I could try on clothes that didn't fit.

Our final stop was Vinnies number two. One of the girls had commented that most op shops don't sell saucers without cups. Well this one does.  It has beautiful shop design and some cracker vintage goodies out the back.  Jo bought a Crown Lynn sugar bowl that matches her set for the princely sum of $1.  After that we decided to move on.

 

A Little Bit Country

Our clothing theme for the day was 'a little bit country" and we had all managed that fairly easily, although Jan's country appeared to be Mexico.  We stopped at the big Lifeline at Drayton on our route to places southern, and it once again lived up to our expectations: cheerful staff and lots of good stuff.  I remembered buying honey the last time we were there.  I found my mystery kitchen object, which we later discovered is some sort of detachable handle, but I still can't work out how it works.  Jan picked up a couple of bingo items.

We then asked the lovely volunteers to take our photo. One of them insisted we needed hats, so while Jan retrieved her Clint Eastwood hat from the car, our photographer found hats for Jo and me.  We were not required to buy them.

Next stop Pittsworth.  I had checked out the oppies there last year, and didn't like Vinnies much, then found Beauraba Aged Care, where I found everything I was looking for for the van.  This time the situation was reversed, with Vinnies coming up with the goods, and Beauraba looking a bit sad.

My navigation skills failed me as we left Pittsworth and I sent us in the wrong direction. I don't know if the girls will ever let me forget.  We then meandered through the back roads to Clifton, which is a town whose glory days are long behind it.

There are two oppies, the Clifton Community one and the Darling Downs Community Shop, where the depressed socio-economic status of the town is reflected in very low prices and some sad-looking stock.  I found a Barbie doll in almost perfect condition for $2, and bought it for my granddaughter, who loves to "redesign" (think "mutilate") old Barbie dolls. In the first shop, all clothes were $2.

Somewhere here Jo found her Ugly Souvenir contender. She showed it to me and my face fell.  She said "That's exactly the same look as Jan's".  She interpreted this as "Wow, that's truly ugly", which was partially true; but the real meaning of the look was "We have been defeated by The Master".  The photo doesn't really do justice to its large size and cheap plasticity.  The broken corner is the final, subtle touch.

Just down the road from Clifton is Allora, which is a different kettle of fish. Like Maryborough, it revels in a Mary Poppins connection, as P L Travers once lived there with her bank manager father in a beautiful old timber home.  This makes the town a tourist/day tripper magnet, and there is a nice air of prosperity about the town.  The Salvation Army Family Store reflects this.  Jan complimented the shop assistant on the innovative way they display their jewellery using an old colander.  We spent quite a lot of time there.

Unfortunately, the Scope Anglican oppy does not open on Wednesdays, which is a pity, because it is a good one too.  The girls were reluctant, but I insisted we have lunch at the Railway Hotel, as I have been there before, and they have great food.  I warned the girls about the size of the servings so we chose form the Starters menu.  My plate of sweet potato chips was the size of a small watermelon, and provided us with plenty of leftovers.

Toowoomba Take two, take two...

One of our prize challenges is to see who can buy the ugliest souvenir.  At the RSPCA, I found a truly dreadful South American wall tile, which cost me the rip-off price of $5 (the same as the "Pierre Cardin" leather purse).  Who prices these things?  I recently saw three camping champagne flutes, identical except for the stem colour, for three different prices, at the same op shop at Brendale!  Anyway, I was feeling pretty confident...

The next stop was another old favourite, Vinnies at South Toowoomba.  I managed to find a couple of pairs of jeans there, for $8 each, so know I would not be completely naked the next day.  We were wearing our outfits that we had supposedly chosen one for another, but some cheating had gone on. Still, if Jan hadn't been my dresser for the day, I would not have been swanning around Toowoomba in a shirt covered with sequinned pineapples. Jo dressed Jan, and I dressed Jo, kind of...

Lifeline in Perth Street (a newie) was good and cheap, with all the books for the local bookfest in stock.  It was there I found my shirt for day three, plus several other goodies, and the lovely volunteer took our photo. Then it was off to lunch.  Our photographer told us about a shopping centre just up the road that had several eateries, so there we went.  I discovered so many new shopping centres in Toowoomba on this trip.  Anyway, we ended up at the kebab shop, which satisfied our hunger, if not our gourmet tastes, and we were allowed to use their "secret" loo.  Toilet locations are an important part of op shop road trip planning, as most oppies don't have one. I recommmend the National Toilet Map app.

Jan, who has not been well, was now given the option to go home and rest, while Jo and I ploughed on.  We dropped her at the lavender house and headed for the Lifeline in Herries Street. Michael and I have driven past it twice before, and I have always showed great restraint in not making him stop there.  Well what a disappointment it turned out to be: blankets taped up so you can't look at them, uninspiring clothing and ridiculous prices.  There was a dusty crystal bowl exactly the same as my Mum's for $95. I  make jelly in mine.

At the Wyalla Lifeline (another new shopping centre discovery), I found two tops and a pair of black pants (always handy), but lucked out at Lifeline Wilsonton. Boy, has Wilsonton shopping centre changed: twice the size, oppy right in the middle now, and even a Dan Murphys.

That was it for the day, although Jo did her best to get in the mood for "a little bit country" on day three.  Then she cooked us dinner.

Toowoomba Take Two

Jo likes to go for an early morning walk and I like to photograph the dawn, so we head off together when we get the chance.  This time our major destination was Laurel Bank Park, because Jo had never been there.  On the way, we discovered a beautiful community garden, and we saw a healthy-looking hare. 

We made it to the wisteria arbour in the park just as the sun came up, so that made for some nice photography.  The downside was that the route back home was all uphill, which didn't worry Jo, but I am not exactly fit.

After brekky, the first stop was the Range shopping centre, which had a beautiful line of autumn-leaved liquidambar trees outside. "I thought there was just a Lifeline book shop here", I said. "No, there's an op shop", says Jo. Turns out there are both, and opposite each other.  The bookshop was in the dark, with some high-viz boys inside, when we arrived, but they soon had the electrics working.  

Jo's Mum had rung the previous day, asking us to look for a book of macrame patterns, but we had lucked out the day before; so I headed straight for the large craft section (this book shop has a section for everything!) but couldn't find anything.  I was telling this to Jan, so she decided yo have a look, at which point Jo appeared and the perfect macrame book just leapt into her hands!

The actual op shop is small, and targeted to the more upmarket customer, so I didn't buy any clothes.  I found a ball of wool for my friend Suzette, to add to the three books I had swept up in the bookshop. Janet Evanovich no 15 was not one of them.

Hope Horizons was supposed to be next (another newie), but they were closed for change-of-season restocking. However, we found a lovely free library in their
shopping centre, which announced it was full and no longer needed donations.  I decided to help them out by relieving them of a book that was on my wish list.

Drug Arm at Centenary Heights was next, and we recognised it straight away. It is so packed with stuff that you can barely move, but the prices have gone up since we were last there.  Jo decided to cheat and told the woman at the counter about our bingo game, so soon she crossed off a couple of items, eg Avon product.

This shop has the strangest change room.  It is large, but part of the space is occupied by a huge (fake) floral arrangement on the floor.  Then there is a big pedestal fan in one corner.  The only place you can hang your clothes in directly over the only chair on the room, so said chair is somewhat redundant.  I guess you can put your bag on it.

I found a beaut pair of Lego pyjamas, never worn, for my granddaughter for $4, plus a couple of other goodies, before we popped into Cafe 63 over the road for a coffee. I can remember when there was only one of these, near my brother's place at Ascot: now cafe 63s are everywhere.

Off to Kearneys Spring next, to the light and airy RSPCA shop, which has cats for adoption on site.  One of the three was awfully cute.  I am still missing my recently deceased moggie, so had to concentrate.  I was rewarded by a Beatles Abbey Road coffee mug, a genuine Apple Corps product, which was priced at $2, the same price as all the other mugs. Sold!  I also found a Pierre Cardin purse (yeah, right!) for $5, but it is genuine leather and it is nice.