Mount Gravatt, mostly

Almost eighteen months after our last trip, because the McBurneys travelled to Western Australia in the interim, it was my turn to organise Op Shop Road Trip number 11.

The girls arrived from the Sunshine Coast; we had a quick cuppa, then headed off in Mandy the Subaru to Connected Inc at Banyo.  Jo had been there before, but Jan did not know of its existence.  We crossed a few easy items off our 2024 bingo cards and I immediately found treasure.  There was a set of three old pressure cooker baskets there for $5, and they are now mine.  

Off to the southside we then headed, to the first of two church-run op shops on large church campuses.  This one was Gateway, and here I picked up a contender for the third dress theme of the trip.  I had chosen "Colour" movies: this sparkly kafan was perfect for The Colour of Water.  It was a small, but friendly oppie.

Next up was Citipointe, a well-hidden secret revealed to me a few years ago by my cousin Sue.  It is well-stocked to the point of overcrowding, and also sells cheap groceries to those who need a bit of help financially. This was shop number three and I still hadn't found a thing I could wear on day two, when the dress theme was to be The Colour of Money.  I thought that one would be easy.  Outside was a huge bin of huge zucchini...and they were free! So we added to our food stores for the trip.

We headed for Mount Gravatt Plaza, for both sustenance and the Lifeline I had previously recced there, only to find the shop was empty.  Not to worry, there was a cafe nearby.  Out to the main road and underground parking close to three shops in the one block that I had also recced, to discover that the Children's Rights Australia shop - a good one - had also vanished.  Salvos and Vinnies to the rescue.  I found a great TARDIS teapot, but at $30 it stayed there.  I started to find clothes that suited, so I began to feel better.  I also thought I had found the winner of the souvenir competition, a Glen Campbell 51st Los Angeles Open golf tournamemnt whisky bottle from 1977, but at $55, that wasn't going anywhere either.

At Vinnies, there was an enthusiastic but eccentric staff member called Crystelle who had an interesting approach to wrapping.  I had found a candidate for the 2024 mystery object competition, still in its packaging, which she proceeded to roll up and cram into a coffee mug, thus destroying the packaging.

We still hadn't completed our outfits for the next day, and I had only one optional shop left, the YMCA at Upper Mount Gravatt, so we headed there with fingers crossed.  What I found there was actually just the shoes I needed for my Melbourne Cup Day outfit, but still no top for The Colour of Money.

I suggested we try just one more shop, the RSPCA at Underwood, and there I finally found a grey and silver Tshirt - plenty of money is silver - and I even had my sixpence earrings with me, so we were now all ready for the morrow.  It was time to head for the border, where we would lose an hour because of daylight saving time.