I thought this blog idea was a good one…. but then that means I have to find the time to write it, so I’ve been failing dismally so far…. I’m going to try and catch up. In my defence, I’m always using my time pretty constructively – in the end, it is more important to practice my instruments than it is to blog. Full stop. Especially, since I seem to have caught Peter’s instrumental disease and am trying to play and learn far too many at once. I’ve been inspired with the mandolin, getting started on the fiddle and I’ve even resurrected the harmonica….must be crazy.
Anyway, we stayed at a beautiful rustic camping beach at Agnes Waters for a few nights, a chance to start slowing down. Ritchie ambled down the tracks to the beachfor the walks and we enjoyed being at the ocean again. We drove out to 1770 where Captain James sailed, a stunning little hamlet that one! One slight disaster one morning, I managed to pick up a large stick that had washed up, to play with the dogs. Lola picked up the stick and ran away with it and when she dropped it I noticed she seemed to try and spit something out of her mouth, she carried on frolicking around but I noticed this same action a few times. We carried on playing with that stick, Ritchie, Lola and I, walking up the beach and back. On the return I noticed some fishing line wound around the end of the stick…. something twigged then and I called Lola and investigated inside her mouth….. there was a fishing hook stuck in her tongue!! Afternoon trip to the vet!
Lollie with the fish hook in the tongue
On to Gladstone for a few days, where the majority of the town wear high visibility work clothing 24/7, as they chase the mining dollars. We stayed in a nice caravan park with access to a nice big green area for the dogs right beside a golf course. And chatted to various neighbours, all living in the caravan park, all from somewhere else, come to take the work while they can.
The weather was changing so we thought we might make the run to Airlie in one day rather than make any more stops in the rain. But fate was against that, as the caravan tyre shredded just north of Rockhampton. 
What else to do when you’re waiting in the long grass and the wind beside the Bruce Highway for the RACQ but practise mandolin
Mandolin Wind
and play with the dogs!
Ritchie and the 'Oinker'
Needless to say, we had to go back to Rocky, get new tyres, wait around (walk the dogs and practise more while we waited). So we drove out, checked out Yeppoon with a beer in the Sailing Club on the waterfront and then went looking for a dog friendly place to hole up for the night.