As the weeks fly by, I wonder again where the time has gone. We are still here at Banora Point, watching over Jo and Phil’s house. Me spending time with mum and Chris pottering around the house and yard, keeping everything in order for them. We’ve been here in the one spot for a few months now and are really missing our travelling lifestyle.
We did move in with our friend Dorothy for 10 days at Palm Beach while her daughter Jan, who she lives with, went on holiday to China. As Dorothy is now 92 we all thought it best she had someone staying to keep an eye on her. After those 10 days I’m not sure why! Dorothy is still so active, on the ball and has more energy than me. It was great to spend those days with her though, my low maintenance mum as I call her!
We did get to catch up with both the Booroowa Jones and the Coolah Jones for a quick weekend visit. That in itself was a story.
Emma and Graham were looking to upgrade their very small caravan to something bigger. I found one while looking on Facebook that was advertised as being on the Gold Coast. After making enquires Emma like the idea of this van but found it was actually located at Tin Can Bay which is about 5 hours up the coast from us here at Banora Point. Did we still want to go check it out for them??!! The things we do for our kids!
We took the opportunity to make a visit to my brother Simon and his family, spending nights with them on the way to Tin Can Bay and back down again. We purchased the van for Em and Graham, another old van (2004) but much bigger with a bed big enough for both Em and Graham to sleep together in, something not possible in their old one.
Now with 2 vans parked at Jo and Phil’s place we are wondering how to get the van to Emma and Graham. Chris suggested that we would drive the van to Coolah, a 10 hour drive away but nearer than Boorowa while Em, Graham, Josh and Ellie would drive the 5 hour trip to Coolah. I think the only reason I agreed with this suggestion was because it was a chance to catch up with all the grandkids in the one place at the same time. Something that doesn’t happen very often.
We had a really great weekend with everyone together which was only slightly overshadowed by me putting a dent in the back of the car. Stupid pole jumped out and hit me while I was parking to buy bread. There wasn’t even any bread left on the shelves to buy!! (We’ve just had the car at a body repairer and $440 later, everything is good again.)
Back again at Banora, we were awaiting the kids for the Easter school holidays. They arrived on the Saturday tired after a long day driving but were all excited to be back, checking out their home and the few things that we had added. We had bought new bedding and bookcases among other bits for them which I’m sure they’ll appreciate.
The next day, Sunday, I didn’t feel well and was the start of a few weeks of me feeling not good. I picked up a tummy bug from somewhere which had the usual unpleasant bodily effects and lasted for 3+ weeks. I couldn’t enjoy our time with the kids as I would have liked as I really felt awful. Not eating and feeling nauseous among other things is not good.
Jo and Phil had 2 families visit them over Easter and with 8 adults and 7 kids in the house, things were a bit crazy! Luckily I managed not to share my bug with anyone else.
We had arranged to meet up with our friends Bob and Ellen at Elliot Heads so we left Banora on the Friday as Jo, Phil and the girls were to leave for Coolah the next day. After several visits to the bathroom before leaving we arrived at Elliott Heads 6 hours later in heavy rain, meeting up with Bob and Ellen and friends of theirs, Eric and Di who we hadn’t met before. It was decided that I should find a doctor the next day so Chris and I set off for Bundaberg. We tried to find a medical centre that was open on a Saturday and was taking new patients but couldn’t so we ended up at the hospital instead. This probably worked for the best as they did lots of tests and put me on a drip as I was by now pretty dehydrated. I had hoped that I would be better then but after another eventful night it was obvious I wasn’t!
Despite all my issues we did have a good 10 days at Elliot Heads with our friends, new and old. The boys played golf, watched lots of sport and visited the club a few times. Us girls gossiped and put the world to right as you do, played Rummykub in Di’s van and Bingo at the club. We all had a go at barefoot bowls which Chris proved to be quite good at.
As we returned to Banora Point, I made an appointment at the doctors to find out the results of the tests done at Bundaberg hospital. Turns out I had a case of Giardia so had to take a course of foul tasting tablets which I think added to my nausea. Hopefully now, things should settle down for me.
I had mentioned in my last blog that we were thinking of upgrading our van. As we were emptying our van for viewing by prospective buyers we discovered we had water damage in the wardrobes. There was rotting boards but no mould or smell so we were blissfully unaware until we emptied out the van. Not a good look and now we are in the process of making our first insurance claim of 7 years on the road. The van is booked in for repairs next week and as we officially live in our van we can also claim our accommodation so we’ve booked 4 nights at a serviced apartment on Bribie Island and will make the most of a mini holiday. Bonus!