We enjoyed two more glorious days in Hervey Bay. Ray had booked the car in for two new tyres so we stayed a day longer than we originally planned. It was great to have some time to really relax and enjoy the quiet. (I can hear your wonderings. “What exactly does she think she’s been doing this past year!”)

This morning we all got up early, pulled on our runners and went for a last walk on the foreshore. Caleb just loves the exercise equipment that is there and has already put in an order for his own home gym! 

Caleb sat on Ray’s knee to provide him with some extra weight to lift which was really impressive, especially since Caleb has had a growth spurt and now weighs about 40kg. 

We packed up and hit the road heading South towards the Sunshine Coast. I am keen to return to the Eummundi Markets. These are the biggest markets in Australia with over 600 stalls and although we stopped in at them on our way North, you can never do enough damage at a market, can you? 

We saw some unique items, a couple of which need to accompany us home and so a stop off has been scheduled. 

The drive today wasn’t too long and we pulled into our camp spot at about 1pm. We had decided to stay at the closest free camp to the markets as we could, and were delighted to find a tree lined and huge grassed area where we pulled up. 

Whenever we pull into a roadside camp for the night we don’t worry too much about leveling out the van. We leave the car hitched and hope for the best. Tonight at dinner, our soup bowls really gave away the degree of lean we were contending with. Luckily, we didn’t have to lick it up off the table! 

I got straight into reading a book recommended by one of the bloggers that I follow, downloaded from iTunes. (Gotta love the convenience of virtual bookstores). Ray and Caleb took off into the bushes with their pocket knives, scratching around hoping for wild beasts and returning with sharpened sticks so that their knives actually accomplished something. 

We spent the evening playing 21/Pontoon and introduced Caleb to some Chance and Data activities by incorporating M&Ms as a commodity. (Yes, he had his first gambling lesson!) Caleb actually won most of the games. I had absolutely no chance of winning because as soon as I won any, I ate them and more. 

We discovered that if you lick a blue M&M and rub it on your stomach it leaves blue colouring. We tried it with red and brown but they didn’t work so well. Caleb went to bed with a blue ring around his belly button, as we all wondered why blue was the only colour to do this. I remember when my first attempt at wearing lipstick was courtesy of a lick of a red smartie and scrub around the lips. Ahh… How times have changed.