Friday, 2 August 2013
There wasn't a great deal on the actual agenda when everyone finally stirred on Friday morning, other than packing up and running down the accumulated odds and ends we'd put together for Wednesday night's soirée. We'd done a reasonable job with the seafood, though there was a whiff or two to remind you of what had recently gone down.
Still, there was enough left to kick start the morning and fuel us through the process of packing.
Having checked out we headed down the hill, turned right and headed over for a look at the retail side of things at Port of Airlie. Purely for comparative purposes, you understand, since the second phase of the day's activities had a daylight walk through downtown Airlie pencilled in.
It didn't, however, take too long before The Niece, who we've come to see as Observant and Analytical Girl, decided there wasn't that much of interest, so we moseyed back to the car by way of Mangrove Jacks and Dish D'Vine and started on the homeward journey.
I'm not sure why The Driver decided we needed to call in to Bunnings, but we did, and further visits to Plants Whitsunday and Cedar Creek Falls meant it was well after noon when we pulled into the car park at IGA in search of spaghetti for lunch.
I'd opted to walk back by way of the news agent, the ATM and the Post office and, frankly, by the time I hit the servo at the crest of the hill just past the Cenotaph I was considering medical attention.
But it's marvelous what an hour's rest can do, and a quiet lie down after a late lunch had me back up ready to fire, but possibly not quite on all cylinders, around three-forty-five. In the interim Madam had taken The Visitors for her own version of the lap through downtown Bowen, running into various acquaintances, some of whom she hadn't seen in a while. That shows, I guess, what happens when you break your regular routine and do something slightly out of the ordinary.
That last point was further demonstrated when we set out for an abbreviated version of the regular show someone from out of town the sights of Bowen tour. We'd already been to Gray's Bay, Horseshoe Bay, the Front Beach and Flagstaff Hill, so this version was going to involve Queens Beach, Yasso Point and Rose Bay before looping back to spend a bit of time with the Fringed Warbler and Dragon Lady.
Madam, knowing the relatively abbreviated itinerary, was concerned we were going to be early for the Warbler session, but passing The Actor's bijou duplex she'd spotted him in the yard and turned back to say Hello, and when we got to Yasso Point we ran across Jimbo, Helen and Grandkid Baxter, so a couple of brief conversations ensured it was after five when we pulled up to admire the Warbler camping set up on the back of the bushwhacking vehicle.
A pleasant couple of hours chatting over a drink or three (Hay Shed Hill Chardonnay for the elders, fruit juice for Investigative and Analytical Girl) and a look at some of the Warbler's art work along with the regulation nibbles meant we weren't after anything substantial on the way back to base and, in any case, after a hectic couple of days we were ready for an early night and a rest day on the morrow.