Friday 20th June.
My brother Al and wife Rae are on their annual pilgrimage north to warmer climes. They arrived in Bowen earlier in the week and arranged to meet us for lunch at Whitsunday Sailing Club.
View of Pioneer Bay from the Whitsunday Sailing Club.
This is a bonus photo. I was impressed by the diamond sparkling sea when I took the photo. At the time I failed to notice the man at the top of the mast. You will need to double click to enlarge the photo and get a clear view.
While parking TERIOS (A rear caliper on RALLYE’s all wheel disc brakes has seized) I noticed a Winnebago Alpine Motorhome parked in the carpark. The name on the back was Endless Summer. Hmmm! I thought, digging back in the mist of time. We know, or at least knew the owners of this motorhome. After lunch I planned to put one of our cards under their wiper but as luck would have it, just as I was walking towards the vehicle they started to pull out of the carpark. My walk turned into a trot then a gallop before they drove off into the distance. I finally got in front of them and held up my hand in the time honoured tradition to STOP. They did. Yep! The same people still own the MH and when I showed my card to Peter & Megan K they remembered us. They normally live at Bargara Beach near Bundaberg and as more luck would have it they are travelling with Rod & Bette P, another couple we have known for years who have been travelling on and off for 11 years. We first met Peter and Megan when we had a Coaster Bus and stopped at Balgal Beach near Townsville. Poor Megan was suffering from many sandfly bites and could not venture out in sunlight as the bites became worse. We arranged to meet tomorrow for coffee.
We also had a nice lunch catching up with Al & Rae (well the catching up was nice) but I cannot recommend the sailing club for good meals or good prices. As always parting was a sweet sorrow but we may catch up again when they return around August.
Today we also spent a good portion of the afternoon spending big busks at Bunnings Hardware.
All I wanted was some chair gliders to replace some which were damaged when we placed them in storage 4 years ago. We ended up with a 15 litre drum of paint , a tin of varnish, 2 LED sensor security lights, LED strip lights for the kick board under the bathroom vanity,
The LED lighting in the ensuite set into the kickboard.
packs of LED globes, paint brushes and rollers. Oh well I guess I would have bought these items somewhere along the line anyway it just seems like a lot of money all in one visit.
Oh, we forgot the chair gliders!!!
Saturday 21st June.
We caught up with Peter and Megan and Rod and Bette for coffee at the centrally located Seabreeze Caravan Park at Cannonvale. The four of them are in Airlie for a few days before they too head further north to for the Tropical Coast Wanderers annual Dam Fine Rally held beside the dam wall on the Ross River ,Townsville. They have stopped in Airlie for Rod & Bette to attend the annual Back to Airlie get together and mystery dinner tonight. Rod’s family started the first caravan park in Airlie sometime back in the 60’s. They were pioneers. Along with other pioneers from that era they get together annually to bring out their photos and historical notes and newspaper clippings and reminisce. We had the opportunity to view Rod’s historical photo’s, notes, newspaper clippings and memorabilia as well as other contributions from original pioneers or their families. We only had ten minutes to view the display as it was the last day and the display was being packed away by contributors. As well, Peter is diabetic and his blood sugar had dropped to the point where he needed something sweet.
We had a wonderful night over a dinner of ribs, sweet potato chips and crispy salad. Peter and Megan talked about their history, particularly Peters three encounters with cancer, operations and bouts of radiation and chemo therapy. Megan is a marriage celebrant based in the Bundaberg district. She has a web site, Marry Me Megan. Peter who was once a Baptist Pastor (he had to stop work when the first cancer was discovered) also acts as a male celebrant but couples usually prefer a female to conduct the weddings.
The meeting with Peter and Megan was a coincidence and a bit of lucky timing to catch up with them. During the course of dinner Peter revealed he was a Power Station designer in his youth and worked at Lake Munmorah Power Station in NSW. I casually asked if he knew Phillip Strong, my brother in law from my first marriage. Indeed, Peter did know Phillip and recalled some lively conversations as I recalled lively conversations as well. Peter was shocked and saddened to hear that Phillip passed away over a decade ago while still in his early 50’s. (I was also shocked at the time as Phillip was s few years younger than me. It seems rather a remarkable coincidence that Peter and Megan just happened to be parked at the Sailing Club on the one and only day of the year when I visited. The further coincidence was they were travelling with Rod & Bette another couple we have not seen for several years and that Peter once worked with my Brother in Law.
What does it all mean???
Frank & Donnis Travel Blog "the more we see the more there is to see" 