The Wandering Tops: Back to the big smoke

Time to get back into the 'big smoke' and was not long before we were travelling down the Bruce Highway with plenty of traffic and trucks. Intended to have lunch at Eumundi however forgot it was Market Day so had to drive through car park in order to head back onto Bruce Highway. Plan B was to stop for lunch at Forrest Glen as we have previously had a nice lunch at the Cafe and knew we could park the van across the road in the bush. It was a while since we last called in and were shocked to see all the vacant land now being developed into housing estates. Could not find anywhere to park so decided to continue on a narrow busy road looking for somewhere to pull off . Kept going until we came to Buderim where we found a park big enough for the van and had much needed coffee and lunch. Drove to our friends Terry and Joan home where I backed van into their drive and maneuvered into a snug area in between house gutters and fence!!

Only a few km's on the Bruce Hwy and the traffic was stationary!

Had a great catch up for a couple of nights and met with a Builder to discuss house plans. Headed off into traffic again however came to a stand still approx 20km down the Bruce Highway where we stayed for approx 45min. A car towing a caravan had rolled and was blocking both lanes and listening to the UHF radio, the truckies were not impressed!! Eventually pulled into Todd & Tenelle's home at Tugun where we parked and levelled the van right outside their gate. Briony came over and we had a wonderful family gathering. The next day Briony took us to Pasture and Co Cafe at Currumbin Valley for coffee, which was a great spot. Went for a swim with Todd and Tenelle before heading off to Kirra Beach where we booked in for 5 nights.

Parked for a few nights in front of Todd and Tenelle's

On arrival the site we were allocated had a big bus parked on it, so were allocated another site which had big tree roots which we could not park on. We chose another spot and started to set up when neighbour asked Helen why we parked next to him when there were other sites!!! By this time Helen was not a happy vegemite - however after a couple of days the neighbour's wife came to apologize for her husband's tone, explaining he wondered why the office had directed us to the site when there were other empty ones around the park. Whilst at Kirra we drove to Jimboomba for a look at a couple of display homes at Greenbank however the more we look at the more confused we become. Had lunch at Canungra then drove around their Canungra Rise estate looking at larger blocks. Way too steep for us and good to have a look so we can cross off our list! I had been enjoying riding the bike early morning however one morning the bike was missing. Probably the first time I did not lock it to the caravan wheel and someone came and helped themselves while were sleeping. Even had the chairs stacked in front of the bike but believe people wander around the parks and grab whatever they can. Reported to Police, our son put message on social media and I kept an eye on Gumtree and visited Cash Converters. Was just saying to Helen that the bike was getting a bit rusty and had had a hard life being stuck on the car and out in the elements most of the time. Instead of riding I went walking and saw people riding their bikes - Helen said I came home grumpy. Went out to get fuel and called into a couple of bike shops however both had sold out of the hybrid bikes I would have liked (people were buying during COVID) and were waiting on new stock. Just happened to call into one more shop and there was a Merida 21 Crossway Hybrid Bike, which is what I was looking for. Sent Helen a photo asking what she thought - she knew full well I was buying it!! Was able to go to Todd's home to watch Bathurst on the big screen - great race this year as was a sprint to the end and great result with Holden winning. Had a long day driving up to the Sunny Coast - stopped for great coffee at Nicky's Cafe, Little Mountain. Viewed a GJ Gardner display home at Palmview before heading back down the M1 before peak hour. I attended Santa Training for a day at Mermaid Waters before we packed up and drove to Ballina where we stayed 2 nights free thanks to New Age for a photo I had taken and submitted for a competition. Ballina Big 4, Skinnershead Road is a nice Caravan Park and once again we were busy visiting display homes. I had a great bike ride to Lennox Heads on the bike path - glad I had the new bike as had to negotiate quite a steep hill. Had a drive to Bangalow where Helen purchased another 'hippy mat' for the van, visited the Op Shop before driving back to Ballina and cruised down the very busy main street before stopping for a great lunch at Salvatore Cafe in the Shopping Centre.