Those concerns delivered what amounted to a trouble free run from Bowen through Townsville. We got a chance to liven things up with a momentary panic when Hughesy's reading glasses went missing after we'd checked the air pressure in the tyres at the Servo near the Townsville race course, but that resolved itself when they dropped out of my shirt.
We took the ring road after refuelling, and were crossing Ross River shortly after ten thirty, having left Bowen just before seven forty-five. It was, as indicated, a clear run through, with a minor delay at the roadworks just north of Brandon, and things continued in the same vein as we headed towards Ingham. We identified the scene of the accident that could have been infinitely worse on the last trip to Cairns, sailed through Ingham and over the Cardwell Range and were pulling up outside Vivia Cafe in Cardwell shortly after twelve fifteen.
The Vivia has been the standard stop in Cardwell for a while now, and that's not likely to change after a minor incident last time we were passing that way. Somewhat shaken by the accident we'd just been involved with, I'd failed to notice my mobile drop out of the lap when we pulled up in Cardwell. It had ended up in the gutter, where the management of the Vivia had found and held onto it.
The following morning, not realising what had happened we tried the usual trick when you can't locate the mobile. Call it and wait for the ring tone, in other words. That obviously didn't work, because we were in Mission Beach and the phone was in Cardwell. The attempt did, however, result in a call back, and when we got home a couple of days later there was a message on the answering machine as well.
So we got the phone back, and the very least we can do in the way of thanks is to call in for a meal when we're passing.
This time the meal amounted to a Tex wrap for Hughesy, crab syngas for Madam, and a couple of coffees. We were back on the road comfortably before one having bought the loop that will hold the reading glasses around the neck, thus preventing a repetition of the servo incident in Townsville on the way up.