Driving Rain

We went driving in the driving rain to the other end of The Bay for the birthday lunch today.

Firstly, we started at the Seat of Knowledge, where BGWLBH asked the boys "How long do you think we have til that rain hits us?", to which they replied "Nah you've got plenty of time.  It's not going to rain yet."

Within twenty minutes the heavens opened just a little and gradually it got heavier until BGWLBH and I were triking and walking home in a steady drizzle.

Luckily, we had plenty of time for a hot shower before getting ready for our lunch date.

We drove to Aussie H's house first to pick her up and then made our way into town.  It was miserable weather and horrible to drive in because the road has so many places where water pools and makes it tricky.

But BGWLBH is a competent and careful driver in all situations, so I didn't feel unsafe at any time.

We arrived at our destination much earlier than the agreed time, so we signed in, found a table, bought drinks and were quite settled in when the others arrived twenty minutes later than the agreed time!

I was disappointed to discover that The Boat Club doesn't have a gluten free menu, so I risked steak and salad.  I also had a lemonade and two glasses of wine.  Something that I ate or drank did not agree with me ... so there was gluten in SOMETHING!

The discomfort is quite intense, in waves, and I'm going to bed early so that this passes quickly and I can wake up refreshed and feeling better tomorrow.

The weather seems to have eased now and we three are going to The Bay tomorrow to run some errands and see the Chicklet family (can't wait).

I had a nice moment this evening when one of my photos triggered a happy childhood memory for The Nikonian.  Even though it wasn't a great photo, it's now special because it gave her a happy, warm and fuzzy feeling.  I really love that!  Sometimes, that's even better than a fabulous photo that everyone wants to compliment.

A couple more photos from the rock star road trip ...

... and a couple of potential bird shots.  Disappointing, but oh what could have been!

On Sunday, we will be experimenting with shots for the 'frozen in mid-air' challenge, which closes on 28th May.  We'll be cutting it fine!

I almost need toothpicks to hold my eyelids open ... so I'm outta here.  Let the driving rain be gone tomorrow!

Nite all.

Trivia Champion

I started the day quite late in the morning and didn't even leave home til after 7.30am.

BGWLBH walked with me while I rode the trike, firstly to the bakery for coffee and then to the Seat of Knowledge, where only two of the boys were waiting.

We spent an enjoyable hour with them and after we parted company, we made our way along the river path and then directly home.

BGWLBH and Adoring Husband cleaned their cars in the driveway and I desperately tried to firstly 'tweezer' the prickles out of the passenger side floor mat and then vacuum til the vacuum cleaner stopped due to over heating!

It was about the second week in, when we went on our first drive to catch a sunset in Griffith, and I stepped on a blanket of prickles which I then 'unknowingly' wiped on the floor mat of the car.

Instead of attempting to clean the mat immediately, I have spent the last 6 weeks rubbing them deeper into the threads of the carpet.

IMPOSSIBLE to completely clean even with both tweezers and a vacuum cleaner!

It is, at least, now passable - by BGWLBH's standards anyway.

I have spent the rest of the day going through my holiday photos and posting some to facebook.  None of today's photos are worthy of going to flickr, but here are a few that I shared in facebook.

Tonight the three of us played Trivia from the 1990s.

Surprisingly, I won!

No doubt we will play a few more times while BGWLBH is here and I rather imagine that she will thrash me ... although I must say that Adoring Husband has some pretty scary trivial stuff stuck in that brain of his too.

Actually, when I think about it, it was a fairly even game.  Even if it's only briefly, I am still going to boast that I am the current trivia champion in this house!

Tonight, I'm keeping 'The Rev' in my thoughts and hoping that he is strong enough to get through this health scare.

Grannymus, I know you must be doing it tough during this worrying time, but I'm sure you have enough love and support around you to help you manage.

My love goes out to you both.

Nite all.

QUEENSLANDER!!

Yes, it's that time of year again :D  State of Origin football.

Seven years ago tonight, my Mum passed away at the end of the first State of Origin game.

I thought of her tonight, as I do every year at this time.  It's like a heavy wave of darkness that engulfs me, so that I struggle to keep my emotions under control, ever so briefly, and then the moment passes.

I'm a Queensland supporter and we've won the series for six years running.  Tonight, we won the first game of this year's series (best of three).

Adoring Husband (NSW supporter) and I caught the courtesy bus to the pub and watched the game on the big screen with some friends tonight.

There was a rowdy crowd there and for a change, there were mostly QLD supporters there.  Usually, the NSW supporters outnumber the QLD supporters, two to one.

It's great to be a Queenslander!

I picked up my beloved computer today and thank goodness it was a simple problem that could be repaired quickly and now all is right with my world again!

Tomorrow, I hope to go through all of my holiday photos ... well probably not ALL of them, but a LOT of them!

I was going to try to go to indoor bowls for the first time in 3 months tomorrow, but I think I might wait til next week and give myself all of tomorrow to catch up on work that I've missed while the computer was getting repaired.

So, before I head off to bed, I would like to wish my friend 'Woman of Many Talents' a very happy birthday.  I'm looking forward to the birthday lunch on Friday and catching up ... it's been so long!
I hope that you've had a great day today!

I apologise for my brevity, but I'm all footballed out and the sugar high that I was on from the three cans of lemonade that I drank tonight, has now well and truly dipped.  I need sleeeeeeeeeeep.

I promise photos tomorrow ... oh, here is one that I worked on earlier ...

Nite all.

Chicklet Heaven

Before Chicklet arrived today, I took my camera outside to where we would be eating and placed it beside my table setting, so that I would remember to take photos.

You know, I always become so involved with her, that I forget to take photos and I always kick myself for it afterwards.

It has been six weeks since I saw her and I REALLY wanted to get a nice current photo to post here and share with all of you.

Can you believe that I completely lost focus on everything around me, except Chicklet.

Not a single photo was taken.

She has grown up so much while I was away and she has so many words in her vocabulary now.  A regular little chatter box.

We played for a long time together and she sat in the chair for ages playing with the little stuffed animals that BGWLBH had brought for her.

We went for a walk in the garden and talked to the chooks.

She toddled through the pebbles along the back fence and then tried to eat some of them.

She pointed to the birds and the frog garden ornaments, making the appropriate noises to match.

She named the Psychotic Dogs.

She pointed to the fish on the walls and said 'fish'.

She knows most of the animals and their sounds.

She likes to have long conversations with words strung together that nobody can understand ... but she speaks so confidently, like we ALL know what she is talking about!

She is always checking out of the corner of her eye, to make sure that Mama and Papa are still close by.

She says 'help' if she needs help.

She's just adorable and I can't get enough of her!

It was a wonderful afternoon for me.  I have no idea how everyone else felt, because I was focussed on my baby. 

After the family went home, BGWLBH and I went for a walk down to the river hoping to capture a sunset OR the impending storm, but both fizzled out. 

The dark clouds filled the sky so that no pretty sunset light showed through them and then built up beautifully, but fizzled to provide just a light shower just after dark.

I got a couple of photos down at the beach.

... and I played with a couple of photos from the last few days since we arrived home ...

We had a light dinner of chicken and vegetable soup that I made yesterday and everybody, including Psychotic Dogs, are in bed sleeping peacefully.  No snoring coming through the walls tonight!

No word on my computer yet.  Nerdy computer man said to wait 24 hours and that he would contact me ... I will now give him til lunch time tomorrow and then I will be on his case big time!

I need my computer back!!  If I can't have my computer back, then I need to get a new computer NOW!!

Ugh ... the frustration of it all!

So after a day of Chicklet heaven, it's time for me to sleep so that I can be prepared for the computer onslaught tomorrow. 

Nite all.

Menopausal Madness

My computer is now hospitalised **sad face**

He doesn't know how much work needs to be done, or if he can even fix it **sad face**

He will let me know tomorrow, how much he expects it will cost with parts and labour, and then Adoring Husband and I will determine whether it's worth doing, or if we are better off getting a new one.

All I really care about are the holiday photos and it shouldn't be a problem retrieving them.

I miss my computer **sad face**

Tomorrow will be catch up time with the ladies at morning tea and then the most exciting part of the day will be lunch with Vegan Chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and Chicklet, who are all coming here ... finally, I get to see them after almost 6 weeks!

I can hear Adoring Husband snoring through the walls tonight ... not really inspiring me to go to bed, but tomorrow will be a big day, so I need some sleep.

Speaking of inspiring ... I wish I had something more interesting to write tonight, but I am too tired to think!

Oh!  Just an interesting little thing that I've noticed recently...

**warning to males reading this - I am about to talk women's business, so step away from the monitor if you are squeamish about women's business**

I began my 'strictly' gluten free diet approximately one month before I flew to Griffith - so that means I have been gluten free for about two and a half months. 

Prior to this diet change, you may recall that I was complaining of all the menopausal symptoms that I was experiencing ... I calculated that of the 34 symptoms that are associated with menopause, I was experiencing 36 of them!

All of the physical symptoms, like hot flushes, dizziness, nausea, claminess, itchy skin, heart palpitations, aching joints, swollen joints, fluid retention, cravings, digestive problems, sore breasts, bloating and burning feet have all either disappeared or eased dramatically.

I still have mood swings, irritability, memory lapses and difficulty in concentrating, loss of libido and brittle nails - but it seems that my menstrual cycle is regulating itself again and these are occuring as PMS symptoms for the week leading up to my cycle.

It's very strange, but the change is incredibly noticeable to me - especially the hot flushes, waves of nausea and the intense digestive problems which have all gone (my digestive problems recur when I accidentally eat gluten).

I almost feel like a new person AND, as an added bonus, I have lost 3 kgs!

I think I'll stick with this gluten free thing.  I thought this information might be interesting to my female friends out there who are struggling with their own little batch of menopausal symptoms.

When I say 'strictly' gluten free ... you have to check the ingredients of EVERYTHING - it's worth checking out the Coeliac website to get all the information that you need ... there is even an app for the phone that lists all the bad ingredients/additives that you have to avoid.

It may not be for everyone, but boy I've noticed a huge difference!

Enough of this frivolity.  Once again, no photos to share and now it's sleep time for me.

Nite all.  

Stoopid Computers

Oh the frustration of it all.

I think that Adoring Husband's negative force field around technology is wearing off onto me!

This computer has a mind of it's own and the touch pad is so sensitive, that I find myself looking at pages and sites that, as far as I was aware, I did NOT request.

It takes longer to switch/toggle to the different pages that I have open and it processes everything a lot slower.

My Mac does everything instantly (well ... not at the moment ... but when it's well, it does!) 

The print is tiny and so is the cursor, so I spend half of my time trying to see where the cursor is.

Ok, now that the whinge is over ... thank you Adoring Husband for giving me the use of your computer ... at least I can visit my friends on facebook and keep my blog up-to-date.

I was even able to edit a couple of photos and post them today.  So all is not lost.

BGWLBH is feeling a bit run down today, so tomorrow I'm going to make big batch of chicken soup and I hope it will be enough to help pep her up.

We were going to visit Vegan Chickie and family tomorrow too, but she is sick, so I have to wait a little while longer before I can visit my precious little Chicklet.

At least I can send my Mac to the Dr and hope beyond all hope that she can be fixed quickly and efficiently.

I saw my boys this morning, down at the Seat of Knowledge.  They were very excited to see me, as I was to see them.

The river greeted me with a beautiful high tide of clean blue water and the morning was absolutely perfect.  Not a cloud in the sky and so many birds singing, I almost joined them!  The turtles were cruising on the tidal flow and lots of people were out in their boats.

 The caravan parks are beginning to fill with people.  The people who travel here from interstate to spend Winter in our town, because it's the best place in Australia for Winter!

It's good to be home and Adoring Husband is spoiling us with delicious cooking for lunch and dinner.

So, apart from the stoopid computers ... it's still good to be home :D

Nite all.

Home Sweet Home at Last

It truly has been the greatest Rock Star Road Trip EVER!

It is also truly wonderful to be home :)

After farewelling The Nikonian this morning, we headed north and then took a detour to Eumundi for the markets.

We arrived nice and early, before the big crowds arrived, so we had a nice easy stroll through the stalls for the first two hours, but by 10am, the carpark was full and the crowds were so thick that it was difficult to move from one stall to another.

There is so much to see and the variety of stalls are too numerous to mention.

We had a lovely time and I bought some cute little pants and some overalls for Chicklet, as well as some nice tops for myself.

I was under orders from Adoring Husband to buy another timber bird house.  Our fist bird house, which was a feature in our front garden, got eaten by white ants, so this time we'll treat the new one to prevent that from happening again.

It was very lucky, because the man who makes them has been incapacitated for over 3 months and hasn't been able to attend the markets for that period of time.  He has diabetes and an ulcerated foot had him hospitalised for a while (I know somebody who reads this blog who has the same problem!).

Today, the man wasn't back yet, but his wife was manning the stall and it was her first week back - so lucky for us!

I also bought myself the most adorable bag made of colourful rags with a braided rag shoulder strap - it's thick and lush and better than Joseph's technicolour dream coat!  I would show you a photo, but my computer is out of action, so this blog will be 'photo-less' for a week or so, until the Dr can tend to it.

BGWLBH had a great time too and bought some lovely stuff, but soon her back was causing her some discomfort and I was ready to head home, so we decided to grab a take-away coffee, load all of our goods into the car and follow our noses in a northerly direction.

It's only two and a half hours to my house, but crikey it was a LONG two and a half hours!  We were exhausted and just wanted to STOP.  BGWLBH just wanted to start her relaxing holiday and I just wanted to see Adoring Husband.

I didn't tell Adoring Husband that we had left Eumundi and all he knew was that we would be home before dark. 

As we drove into town at 3pm, I sent him a text which read "You knew we were coming, so did you bake a cake?  Turn on the kettle and open the garage door because HI HONEY, WE'RE HOME!"

He was very excited, as were Psychotic Dogs, who took quite a bit of time to settle down.  They were almost doing back flips for about ten minutes!

We gathered all of our goods from the car and then I spent 2 hours unpacking everything!!  Now, you can't even tell that I have been anywhere (except for the load of washing in the machine and the other load waiting to be washed)!

Adoring Husband cooked us a delicious dinner of gluten free chicken snitzel and salad and now we are relaxing and watching the footy on telly, while BGWLBH has set herself up in the bedroom with some dvds and her knitting.

**sigh** it's nice to be home.  It's nice to be with Adoring Husband and I'm looking forward to seeing my boys at the 'Seat of Knowledge' tomorrow morning.

Home Sweet Home at Last :o)

Dramatic Turn of Events

My best friend is suffering.  My macbook is struggling to stay alive.  Gasping for every breath and I am feeling it's pain.

I feel like I've lost a limb!

I can't cope, knowing that it could breathe it's last breath at any moment!

This will be a very short post because I can't rely on my computer to stay alive or stay on line for any length of time.

I set my alarm for 5am and drove with The Nikonian to the beach, hopeful of a beautiful sunrise.  It failed to eventuate but we got some pretty shots while we were there anyway.

Later in the morning we went for a drive with her and ended up back at Montville where we ate a delicious lunch at 'Poets' restaurant.  If you are going there ... I highly recommend it!

We did a little shopping and came home only to discover that my computer was sick.

This afternoon we went for a walk because BGWLBH was excited about the sunset and the birds that were flitting about in the bushes.  Another failure.

However, we took some shots of BGWLBH modelling in the bushes, and we are yet to look at those, so tomorrow morning could bring with it, a pleasant surprise, with some possible good shots in there.

The Nikonian and The Brain made us a delicious dinner tonight and we had a very pleasant meal with wine, good conversation and some good laughs.

They are a wonderful couple who provide the warmest hospitality (and I'm not just saying that because The Nokonian will be reading my blog from now on!) and have made us feel so welcome in their home.

It's been a lovely relaxing end to our Rock Star Road Trip and I truly hope that one day soon, we can return the favour.

Tomorrow we are off to Eumundi Markets early in the morning and then we'll be heading home.

I will probably use Adoring Husband's laptop to update my blog until my baby gets repaired.

Tomorrow night I will be sleeping in my own bed after almost six weeks.  I'm looking forward to that.

After such a dramatic turn of events today, I need to sleep (a couple of glasses of wine with dinner may have contributed to my sleepiness as well)

Nite all.

Mountain Beauty

The Craft Queen gave us directions for leaving Toowoomba via the back roads and through some beautiful mountain roads and countryside.

I sent her a text about an hour into the journey thanking her, because the drive was just glorious.

We took a leisurely drive through the mountains and even pulled over when other drivers came up behind us, so that we could continue to drive at a leisurely pace.  It was all too beautiful to rush.

There were lots of yellow signs along the road, with pictures of koalas indicating that they were about, but we didn't see ANY.  How disappointing!

We stopped at a couple of lookouts and got some shots of the mountain views, but I will have to share them tomorrow.

We had lunch at Mary Cairncross Park today, which overlooks the Glasshouse Mountains.  When we first arrived, there was a fire near the mountains, and by the time we had finished lunch, the view was completely obscured by the dark smoke hanging in the sky.

Lunch was enjoyable and we then cruised on to Montville, where we spent some time and money - but not too much.

We went to visit my photography tutor, The Master, and he said some nice things about my photography, which boosted my ego no end.  I discovered tonight that after I left, he posted on facebook, that the 'Queen of Photography' had honoured him with a visit!

After we left Montville, we tried to find our way to Ms Nikonian's house, where I had been only once before.  Google maps is a wonderful thing ... to a point.

We got lost.

Ms Nikonian had sent me a text and said 'ring me if you need me' then promptly put her phone down in her bedroom and walked outside!

Six missed phone calls later!  We pulled into her driveway and found her there with her partner, The Brain, having a wine!

"Where's your bloody phone?" I asked "You said to phone you if I needed you!!"

"Oh" she laughed "It's inside and I am outside.  Sorry about that!"

She and The Brain welcomed us warmly and we spent the afternoon and evening chatting at the dining table and then they served us home made pumpkin soup with fresh breadstick for dinner.  It was delicious!

They are lovely people.

BGWLBH and I are now housed in separate bedrooms for the next two nights and are looking forward to a quiet rest day tomorrow.

Wilbur Herbert has been quiet today.

We are looking forward to going to the Eumundi Markets on Saturday morning before heading off on the final leg of the trip home.

It's almost midnight and I'm hoping to wake up early enough to go on a sunrise photo shoot with The Nikonian in the morning, so ....

Nite all.



 

Lazy Holiday Day

We had a nice sleep-in this morning and didn't leave the Motel in Warwick until almost check out time!

The people who own the Buckaroo Motel in Warwick are just lovely.  The gentleman welcomed us warmly and actually came with us to the room when we arrived to show us where everything was and how the air conditioner worked.

This morning, as we were leaving, he and his wife were cleaning the rooms and had their two cats out with them.  The cats were very happy and friendly little things ... I am not a cat person, but even I found them endearing.  He wished us a safe journey and we were on our way.

It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining.  Not a cloud in the sky.  The air was clear - which was a nice change from the smoke filled skies that we experienced in Griffith for the last week that we were there.

First stop was ... you guessed it ... Maccas.  We didn't hang around long because we had an hours drive in front of us and we were meeting The Craft Queen at 11am for morning tea.

We arrived in Toowoomba with time to spare, but when I sent a text to The Craft Queen, she didn't respond, so after 30 minutes, we decided to have lunch.  We did a little shopping at the Rivers Clearance Store and then found a nice little cafe that served gluten free food - another delicious meal! Two days in a row!

During lunch, The Craft Queen contacted us to apologise for the fact that her boss had waylaid her.  She gave us directions to her house and said she would contact her son to let him know that we were arriving.

Well, we knocked on the door, rang the metal bell, pressed the doorbell, turned the buzzer and hit the chime - all to no avail.  We were just about to drive to her work to pick up the key, when Sleepy Teen finally opened the door, looking very 'put out'.

He showed us around so that we could find everything from the toilet to the beds to the tv to coffee and tea, and then he scuttled back to his bedroom ... I did tell him that he didn't have to entertain us.

So while we sat silently in the lounge room with the two cats, we could hear him pounding away at his computer keyboard through the wall that separated us.

We relaxed for a while - both of us feeling quite worn out.  We strolled through the old house, a big old run down Queenslander that she is currenly renovating.

There must have been 15 or 16 rooms, maybe more!  High ceilings and planked walls, lots of antique furniture as well as modern stuff.  She has very eclectic taste and no one particular style.

Arts and crafts galore for all different genres and a love of butterflies and dragonflies - they adorned the walls and were noticeable in little decorative touches all over the house.

After a while, it was almost time for Number One Son to finish work, so we decided to walk to his motel and wait for him.  He has just moved back to Toowoomba to take his old position with Boeing and they are paying for his motel until he moves into his own accommodation on Monday.  Google maps made it look much closer than it actually was!

What we thought would be a ten minute walk, turned into a 25 minute walk and then Number One Son's lift from work dropped him in town, so he had to walk 30 minutes home as well.  When he finally arrived, we used his bathroom, sat for twenty minutes and then left - having made plans to meet for dinner.

We booked into a motel and then walked to The Craft Queen's house to give her the plans for dinner as well.

Surprisingly, the evening was very mild, and we drove to The Coffee Club in Margaret Street and sat outside to eat dinner.

The food was good and the company was great.  No alcohol required.  We told some stories and had some laughs and parted company just after 8pm.

I'm so annoyed that I didn't think to get a photo!  I only see Number One Son once a year if I'm lucky ... I SHOULD have got BGWLBH to take a photo of us together and The Craft Queen could have taken one of us all together.  Ugh!!

Our motel is very comfortable and we will be heading north to Montville and Maleny tomorrow.  Should be home in a few days.  I miss home and I miss Adoring Husband.

We've done a lot of walking today, but it still feels like a lazy holiday day.  Only one photograph taken all day ... and I'll post it tomorrow ... maybe.

Nite all.

Living on the Wild Side (by BGWLBH & Me)

Dang!  It was cold in Inverell last night!

We left there early and drove to Glen Innes, where ... surprise surprise ... there was a Maccas for breakfast!  We all know how important it is for BGWLBH to have her Maccas start to the day!

There were some excellent photo opportunities, but nowhere to stop on the highway.  Why don't the engineers who build the roads make allowances for photographers who want to stop along the way???

We spent some time in Glenn Innes taking photos of all the old buildings, which I will post on here another time ... too many to edit tonight and there are others that I want to share.

After Glen Innes, we continued on the highway to Tenterfield ... singing 'Tenterfield Saddler' loudly, the whole way!  We did have to google the lyrics at one point because we got a bit confused about one line.

We stopped at the Cumquat Cafe for lunch, but they had no gluten free, so I left to search for a nice lunch.

BGWLBH ordered her lunch from Cumquat and was told by the owner about his Heritage House called 'Delorain' which was near a park where we could eat lunch.  He also told her the way to Boonoo Boonoo Falls (pronounced Bunna Banoo).

I got a delicious gluten free lunch at another cafe and we headed to the park.  I got some photos of the lovely Heritage House across the road and whilst eating lunch, BGWLBH studied the map in the park and memorised all the features along the road to the falls.

'Delorain' surrounded by Autumn leaves.

First stop was Thunderbolt's Hideout ... so we trekked 300m over a lovely stream, through rainforest and over rocks.  BGWLBH went exploring down the mountainside over moss covered rocks to find the waterfall that we could hear in the distance.

Unfortunately it was barely visible because it flowed 'under' the giant boulders.  She then had to scramble back up the mountainside.  She used muscles that she hasn't used for a while!

From there, we drove on.  I saw a wallaby on the side of the road and said to BGWLBH "LOOK AT THAT!!"  She immediately looked up (because I have trained her to look for birds) so she completely missed the wallaby!

We agreed that while she was driving, she should look 'up' for birds and I would look 'down' for other wildlife.  We like to live on the wild side!

We found the turn off to the falls which was 14 kilometres of dirt track with a bit of corrugation - but being the adventurers that we are, we pushed on and travelled through hill and dale, dangerously dodging the vicious wildlife (wallabies), while I sang "Skippy the Bush Kangaroo".  BGWLBH told me to stop because I was scaring them.  How rude!

Platypus Hole was our first stop for photos.  A beautiful little spot, but there was strong evidence of the floods that had been through with so many trees knocked over and we could follow the flow of the floods by the fallen trees.  There was also only one concrete post left of a jetty that was once there.

Five more kilometres over the track and we found the picnic area where the 'walk' begins, to find the falls.

It was a steep decent but the sound of the falls kept us going until we found the lookout at the end.  BGWLBH couldn't cope with the height, so I had to take the photos!

We walked most of the way back up, until we found the fork in the path that led to the rock pools.  It was even steeper!  We tried to find a spot on the rocks for a good photo, but all the action was happening behind the rocks and out of sight.

Wilbur Herbert struggled to get up the final part of the hill, but proved that he had more stamina and willpower than both of us ... he was still as fresh as a daisy (compared to us) by the time we reached the top of the path again.

A kookaburra was waiting for us near the car, so we got a couple of photos of him too, which I will share another time.

After we left there, we had to stop the car to watch two Wedge Tailed Eagles soaring high above us. These were younger than the one we saw yesterday ... apparently the older they get, the darker their feathers ... these had a lot of lighter coloured feathers in their wings.

When we got back on to the main road, we decided to continue our adventurous ways and take the unsealed road, which was the back way to Stanthorpe.  It was a beautiful drive with very little traffic and we came across a wallaby and a crimson rosella, both of which had their photos taken by me.

Bald Rock was 5 kilometres down another track, so, because the man had told BGWLBH that it was spectacular, we decided to check it out.

There was lots of wildlife along the road - apparently.

I didn't see any of it!

I saw the rock through a gap in the trees!

BGWLBH didn't see any of it!

It was a 3 km trek to the rock and since it was already after 4pm, we decided against seeing the rock and turned back to the main road.

We found the border of Queensland as we meandered along the dirt track.  There were lots of little properties hidden behind the trees and finally we found Stanthorpe.

We discovered a little deli to get some coffee which would help us travel the next 60kms to Warwick.

The deli had the most delicious little bits and pieces.  BGWLBH bought a pack of different flavoured fudges with which she has fallen passionately in love.  I bought a couple of gifts in there too.  Their coffee was absolutely delicious!!

Stanthorpe didn't appear to have suitable accommodation, so we continued on to Warwick.  We discovered upon arrival, a little motel that we stayed in, on another road trip, about 16 yrs ago.  We think Bubbles was with us on that occasion.

So we've booked into that motel.  Unfortunately, the main road is a lot busier than we remember, so the trucks are speeding past and making a LOT of noise as they go by.  This could be a big mistake!

I shall now attempt to sleep through the traffic noise ... wish me luck.

Nite all.

Back roads rock!

Instead of driving the boring route to Moree, we decided to take the back road to Inverell.

It was a good choice.

What beautiful countryside we have in Australia, if you just get off the highways and freeways.

The roads, of course, are not as good, but there is MUCH LESS traffic on them and if you are really looking at Australia, you don't have to drive at 100kmh!

We like to drive slowly and really see everything.  Take an unexpected side road and find landscape treasures around every corner.

We've seen kangaroos, emus and echidnas along the way and are still on the lookout for a wild koala.  Wrens, Finches, Robins, Kites, Kestrels, Galahs, Cockatoos, Rosellas, Lorikeets and Eagles to name a few of the wonderful birds that we've spotted.

It's been great.

The road to Inverell was the perfect choice.  We drove over mountains and past rolling hills covered in golden grasses.  Beautiful big gum trees lined the road and dotted the fields.  There were mountain streams every so often and Wedge Tailed Eagles soaring high above the mountains.

We drove 10kms down a dirt road to the Pilliga Pottery and Barkala Farm Stay and Bird Haven.  I bought some lovely pottery coffee cups there (one as a gift for a friend) and found, much to my delight, little blue fairy wrens fluttering about.

The male patriarch who keeps his blue colours all year round.

A male who has lost his blue feathers for Autumn.

A female blue fairy wren.

One of the ladies there showed me how she drew the fairy wrens on the pottery pieces and she was amazing.  Her drawings so smooth and perfect.

The other lady gave me lots of information on the happenings of the place including a festival which will be starting up this year in October.  They have lovely farm stay accommodation available all year round and there are lots of activities to do and see in the area.

I think it has to go on Adoring Husband and my 'to do' list!!

We decided to take another turn to the picnic area of Sawn Rock, where we ate lunch and then took the walk along the trail to the rock.

It was amazing and felt a bit like 'Planet of the Apes'

We left there and made another interesting discovery when we took an unexpected turn off.

A geo-glacial waterfall.  Unfortunately it was the wrong time of day, with poor light for a photograph to do it justice, but believe me ... it was beautiful.

So tonight we are sleeping in Inverell.  We found a motel with a kitchen that provided room service AND a gluten free menu ... first time on the trip so far that I've found anything gluten free.

It was not the greatest bangers and mash that I've had, but it was nice to have a cooked meal knowing that it was 'safe'.

It is very bloody cold here ... and you know it's cold if "I" notice it!!

I'm going to crawl into my warm bed and sleep.

Back roads rock!!

Nite all.

Day Three - Wilbur Herbert's day

We arrived in Coonabarabran late yesterday afternoon ...

Wilbur-Herbert needed to rest up ready for the Warrumbungles tomorrow!

We took our time getting ready this morning, after a disappointing and expensive breakfast from the motel kitchen.  I guess we have learned our lesson the hard way there.

Before we headed off to the Warrumbungles, we booked in for an extra night in the motel and phoned to book our star gazing evening at one of the observatories in town.

Wilbur Herbert was so excited that he wouldn't even allow us to stop and take his photo to start the day.

We had a beautiful day for it, though it was bitterly cold up on the mountain - due to strong cold winds.

The observatory was disappointing.  We couldn't get close to anything of interest.

Maybe boys would find it more interesting than me?

We left here and found our way to the walking tracks that led to the lookouts.

There were kangaroos and beautiful yellow wildflowers.  Signs everywhere indicating that koala were in the area, but I searched the trees without success.

After we decided that we'd had enough walking and that we were hungry and ready for a late lunch, we slowly drove back down the mountain so that we could take photos of all the strange and wonderful letterboxes along the way.

Here are a few of them ...

Wilbur-Herbert enjoyed the letterboxes the best.

Finally, there has been a series of signs which I intend showing you in order one day on here, but this is the one that tickled our fancy today.

We were booked in for a star-gazing night tonight.  This amateur astronomer has four different sized powerful telescopes and he even allows you to take photos through the telescopes of the different planets!

We were excited about this because every other time that we've been here, there has been thick cloud cover, which, of course, obstructs a clear view.

Our booking was for 7pm and at 4.30pm, the clouds began to gather above us ... we got the phone call at 6pm from Peter advising that the evening had to be cancelled due to the heavy cloud.

Sadly, we were duped by the cloud yet again!

There are many, many photos yet to be posted, but I think many will have to wait til the journey is over, because I can't keep up with them while we are on the road.  They will filter through in the coming weeks.

Tomorrow, we recommence our Rock Star Road Trip, so I'd best get some sleep.

Nite all.

Day two - the journey continues

I am exhausted!

Day two, 8.35pm at night and I am ready for bed ... actually, I am already sitting up in bed as I type this.

We stayed in Canowindra last night in the Riverview Motel, which did NOT have a view of the river and we had a delicious dinner at the Canowindra RSL.

We left town bright and early this morning.  We had set our alarm for 7am, but we were both awake at 6am, so we were packed and in the car by 7am and heading out of town towards Orange where we would find, none other than, Maccas, for breakfast!

Just as we headed out of town, we came over a rise and all the morning mist was floating over the hills and valleys, so we stopped to get some photos.  While we were there, in the distance, a hot air balloon floated up from behind a hill!

What a fabulous sight!  What a way to start the day!

We drove on to Orange, taking a few more lovely misty shots along the way (which I will post later when I have more time).

After breakfast, we were driving through Molong and came across this interesting place with a sign out the front that read 'Antiques and Collectibles.  Come in for a browse.'

So we did.

I can't wait to show you all of the photos that I took here.  Somebody had made huge detailed pieces of art out of all the scrap metal and bits and pieces from the yard - which must have been at least 2 acres, possibly 3 acres in size.

The man was opening up as we arrived, so I walked through the front of the grounds to the building where he opened a huge door into a giant shed which was absolutely full of everything you can imagine, from iron kettles, flags, signs, car parts, furniture, crockery, cutlery, bottles, china, salt and pepper shakers, glass cabinets, suitcases, lamps, saddles, hubcaps, tools, silverware, toys, ties, chains ... oh you name it, he had it!!

I walked through the shed to the doors he was opening at the back and stood there absolutely awe-struck!

I looked to the left ...

and then I looked to the right ...

I can't wait to show you all the other photos that I took, but they will have to wait for another day.

Amazing stuff.

Not long out of Molong and we came across another strange and wonderful sight.

What looked like a graveyard for planes, trains and trams from all different eras.

Such strange things you see on the back roads in rural NSW.

Soon after that, I desperately needed to use the bathroom ... and I mean desperately!  There had been no signs for rest areas and the next town was 46 kms away.  I couldn't wait that long.

Luckily, Wilbur-Herbert had nicked some toilet paper from the motel that we'd stayed at, so after much hilarity at my expense and quite a few swear words from me, BGWLBH turned into a side road and dropped me off at a bit of a culvit, where I was hidden from the highway.

She drove away up over the hill, to give me some privacy and I said that I would text her when I was ready.

Still feeling very vulnerable to the world, I took a deep breath, slid my jeans down and squatted in the bushes to do my busness.

No sooner had I done that, when a bloody council ute turned off the highway and drove down the road past me.  I don't know how many were in the ute, or if they even saw me.

I couldn't even look up.  I closed my eyes as he drove past, muttering to myself "Oh my god!  I can't believe this!  I can't believe this!"  Many swear words passed my lips in horror and embarrassment.

I quickly rearranged myself and sent BGWLBH a text and she appeared rather quickly over the hill to pick me up.

I shrieked to her what had happened and we squealed and laughed and swore and cringed as we swung back onto the highway and drove for two kilometres when we suddenly came across a very neat, solar powered, clean looking rest area with ... you guessed it ... public toilets!!!

UGH!!

Even worse ... another 5 kilometres further up the road was a similar set-up!!

Could not believe it!!

I guess every holiday has to have a story doesn't it?!

My last photo for tonight is Wilbur-Herbert, who claimed the double bed as soon as we arrived in Coonabarabran.

We plan on staying here for two nights and will be hiking in the Warrabungles tomorrow and star gazing tomorrow night.

Right now, I want to be gazing at the back of my eyelids.

Nite all.