After the long day trip to go house-hunting, with its obvious limitations, John decided we should take Bus and spend a few days viewing properties – going where the flow, or agents, took us.
To that end, Bus needed a service first. Not that we had done lots of kms since its last mechanical attention, but with it sitting unused for lengthy periods, I worried that things might go “off”. To my disappointment, found that the bus service establishment that was adjacent to Ventura in Knoxfield, now no longer serviced buses for the general public.
This brought to the fore another drawback of Coaster ownership, which I hadn’t realized back when contemplating buying one. It is not easy to find places and people to work on them. Many owners of motorhomes based on Coasters belong to the DIY fraternity, both in terms of doing the original conversion themselves, and then doing their own mechanical works. From what I had seen they were not always experts at either aspect.
When we bought our Coaster, I was determined that it be a professionally converted one, where I could be most confident about the quality of things like the plumbing, gas and electrical fittings, the overall balance of weight, and so on. But, just like it was increasingly hard to find professional converters, it was hard to find mechanics.
Good looking Bus
I sent out a plea for advice through a couple of online forums, and received from some different people recommendations to try FMA Car and Truck Repairs, in North Nayswater. That was just down the road – very convenient.
Bus duly went there. We were most impressed with the set up and expertise. Came home satisfied that Bus had been checked over thoroughly. Were not so happy, though, with the finding of a small radiator leak and the verdict that a re-core would be needed. However, there was not enough time to get that done before departure, so I bought some Stop-Leak – and hoped.
I also had the same place service the Terios… when you are onto a good thing. More bad news – new muffler needed, and CV joints on the way out. These would also have to wait until after the coming jaunt.
The agent we’d dealt with in Bendigo had booked an inspection of the unadvertised house he thought we’d like, for a Friday, but vehicle servicing had run us short of time, so John phoned to move the inspection to the following Monday. He wasn’t able to speak to the agent, but left a message.
After much online browsing, John also phoned another couple of agents, and organized inspections of places that looked possibilities.
With only a few days away planned, packing took minimal time. A few food items, the usual electronic gadgetry, the dog’s requirements, and the medications that must go everywhere with us, these days.
The six day duration of our stay here was determined by John’s Saturday bowls, so today was going home day.
Our pack up was quick and easy. I wondered what our watching neighbour thought of that? His would take him hours…
Between Lakes Entrance and Bairnsdale, we had to slow down for a small group of wood ducks crossing the road – no young ones amongst them though.
Lake King in the distance
I noted the existence of the Bairnsdale to Orbost Rail Trail and wondered if grandson and his father had ridden that one, yet. I hadn’t known there was ever a railway through to Orbost. Knew that it went as far as Bairnsdale, of course, from taking groups down to the school’s camp at the Banksia Peninsula, in the late 80’s, on the train. I had been very pleased when the Victorian government re-opened that service, after a period of being closed down. I am a believer in the efficiency of country rail transport.
Nicholson River
Also in that section, we slowed again, where a traffic policeman had pulled over a motorist. It was only after we’d trundled past, that it occurred to either of us that John should probably have slowed to 40kmh, in line with the new rules regarding emergency vehicles.
Saw more interesting, new signage, out of Bairnsdale. A sign regarding tailgating and an instruction to allow three seconds between vehicles. There were arrow marks on the road surface for a distance, which I presumed were meant to show the actual three second distance, at 100kmh. It looked an unrealistic distance to me, one that very few drivers would try to maintain between cars.
We were rather intrigued by the multiplicity of coloured roadside posts. Apart from the usual white ones, there were blue ones in some sections, orange and yellow in others. I had no idea why this was so, but spotting the different coloured sections provided some interest.
The black and white Friesian dairy cows were dominant on the pastureland around Sale.
There seemed to be so many caravanners and motorhomers travelling east today – wondered where they were all heading. We passed same, regularly, from the time we left Lakes, right to where we turned off the Monash Freeway, in Melbourne.
Before Sale, we again had the GPS instructing us to travel via Maffra and Heyfield. We’d intended to try this route, but John was not listening to either the GPS or me, and missed the turning.
Today it was very obvious why the GPS made that instruction. Roadworks! Lots and lots of sections of roadworks. Both sides of Sale, in the town, and on from it. It will be good, though, when the highway is duplicated all the way through from the Latrobe Valley. So travel was rather stop/start.
Coming into Sale, I suggested to John that we detour back to the Victoria Gardens to give the dog a walk and us a coffee break. So he turned down the side street – only to see that it was closed off on the corner by the Gardens. There was no other street for us to turn into, and with parked cars the road was too narrow for us to U turn. He continued on, slowly, toward the traffic controllers at the barricade. One approached us and said we could turn into the street to the left, and moved the barriers for us.
There was some sort of bicycle event happening, with riders going around the edge of Victoria Gardens, and support vehicles and crews parked up the side street we turned into.
Unfortunately, that side street was a dead end! It was just wide enough for us to U turn at the end, complicated by the rubbish bins left out – must have been collection day. We cleared a green bin by millimetres!
Our friendly traffic controller waved us back the way we’d come and moved the barricade again for us.
So my bright idea had not been so bright, after all. Just one of the little hiccups of Coastering with the car behind. It would have been an equal problem in our caravanning days – except they would probably have made us turn in the first street – with much to-ing and fro-ing.
Just out of Sale we were passed by a Coaster, going the same way. It was a new one, with the new more square roof shape, which will make it easier to put cupboards inside, when conversions are done, we think. It was still in bus mode, but with an older couple as driver and passenger. I wondered if the people were running it in before converting it. Think I’d like one of those……… We could see it for some time, getting further and further head of us, slowed by the roadwork sections.
Today we could see the ranges to our right, from Sale through to the Latrobe Valley. They were still slightly hazy, after yesterday’s rain, with the moisture in the air.
Avon River at Stratford
Travelling through Traralgon is the pits. Why on earth didn’t they put a bypass around the place when the duplicated road reached there from Melbourne? It is going to be ridiculous: good duplicated and divided road cruising from Melbourne to Traralgon, ditto the Sale side, before too much longer, and in the middle the long slow crawl through sprawling Traralgon, with so many sets of traffic lights. Ridiculous.
It was a relief to get onto the freeway.
Just on the edge of Traralgon there was a rail bridge over the road, with a sign reading Briquette Rail Line. I’d never noticed this before. Wondered do they still make briquettes from coal?
Coal mine
There were more roadworks, on the freeway, around Morwell. A long one lane crawl at 40kmh. There was the usual moron who came speeding up the left hand lane, after all the rest of the traffic had slowed and merged to one long lane, as per electronic instruction board, some distance back. Then he had to push across into the merged lane, in front of us. A white Mitsubishi AWD type vehicle – John let him push in front of us, but honked at him. I hoped the loud noise gave him a fright. Karma will catch up with him, one day…….
At Moe, we left the freeway on the slipway to the Old Gippsland Pioneer Settlement, where we knew there is a long stretch of parking beside the road. Parked there, along with several caravans and cars. Walked dog. Took ourselves over the road to the toilets, then sat in the bus and ate the lunch I had thought to pack this morning. It was a good place for such a break, and straightforward to get back onto the freeway, after.
Good parking area at Old Gippstown
It was 12.25 when we left there, on the last leg.
Traffic on the Monash Freeway was not too bad – it actually did not seem as heavy as it had been on Sunday! The roadworks continued……
Freeway and roadworks
Somehow, John missed the turnoff to Eastlink. I think he was expecting the lane he was in to become part of the slip road, but he actually had to diverge left onto it and realized too late. I have to admit it is rather a confusing deviation, and the GPS instructions of merge left and keep right did not help!
We took the Wellington Road exit, further along, then had to make our way back to Eastlink.
On the trip down, last Sunday, the ETag had not been registering and beeping. From Lakes Entrance, John had phoned City Link and they said they would send a new tag out to us. However, on the way home the damned thing began to beep again, when it should! So do not know what had been going on there…..could be interesting to check the City Link account in a few days!
We came off Eastlink at Canterbury Road and made our way on the familiar road home, getting there at 2.20pm. Just missed the start of the big afternoon traffic build up on these roads.
By 3pm, we were all unpacked again and trip was over. Except for washing the bedding, which can wait a while, and wiping out the fridge, tomorrow.
I love motorhomes – it is just so easy.
Lakes Entrance had proved to be an excellent place for a short getaway and one I’d be quite happy to return to.
There had been a rather leisurely preparation and pack for this short trip, in amongst tests, scans and appointments. With the news that a necessary specialist appointment would not be until May 17, we had a clear fortnight – and were away!
John was up early and sent the dog in to wake me at 8am. Crude, but effective. 28 kilos of dog doing a flying leap onto the bed, than going into the so-happy-to-see-you routine, is impossible to ignore.
All organized, dog on board, house locked up, Terios on back, we drove off down our street at 10.15 am. A couple of hundred metres along, John managed to collide Bus with a large green wheely bin, fortunately empty. It was minding its own business on the nature strip, but he was trying to activate one of his dashboard gadgets and strayed from the road. There was a most impressive noise, and bin bounced off, somewhere. Obviously, our solid bull bar was not going to be injured, and he did not stop to check on the welfare of the bin. According to John, it had no right to still be out there, since collection day was last Friday.
The day was cloudy and cool.
Took our usual route via Yarra Glen, Yea, Seymour, Heathcote.
There is a property between Coldstream and Yarra Glen that I always look at with interest. Once it used to have alpacas grazing but now there were very handsome sheep, with black faces and legs. I don’t know the breed, but they are much more attractive than the standard variety plain white sheep.
Topped up the fuel, as usual, at the Glenburn servo, where there is plentiful room to get the rig in. $1.149 cpl for diesel.
Stopped at the old railway station rest area at Yea – mainly for a comfort stop for the dog. We walked her across into the area that once was tracks, and let her have a run. Ungrateful creature! There was one small patch of mud where a tap was dripping and, of course, she found it – and wallowed in it before either of us could reach her. I swear the look on her face meant something like “I know you are cross with me – but it was worth it!” I’d gone to the trouble and expense, last week, of taking her to the grooming service at the Animal Aid, for a bath, so we would have less of a doggy smell about the place. Now there was a distinct swampy doggy ambience.
Old railway station Yea
After Yea, there were some encouraging patches of blue sky appearing to the north.
Next stop was Heathcote, for lunch from the bakery there. John took dog for another walk, firmly on the lead, while I did the buying. A pastie and sausage roll for John – he had been looking forward to the yummy pastries from here, for days. Egg and lettuce sandwich for me, a couple of coffees and a pumpkin and garlic scroll to have with tonight’s soup. $29 in all. Supporting small town economies…
I had been coming through Heathcote regularly, over the fifteen years that daughter had been living in Bendigo and had noticed how much this small, historic, Goldfields town has revitalized in that time – much of it due to the impact of tourists.
1.30pm when we left Heathcote for the last leg to Marong. Good timing as far as making our way through Bendigo before school traffic time.
John was happy with the feel of the new clutch. He had feared it would be very stiff, but not so. The gear changing seemed smoother and easier.
Lake Eppalock must have been really full as Mt Ida Creek, just to the west of Heathcote, was overflowing its banks. This links to the Lake and I can’t remember seeing it this full, here, before.
Our Garmin, with me carefully checking its instructions against my paper map, took us on the through traffic route that skirts the centre of Bendigo. It involved a few turns and the need to be in the correct lane in advance, but was not too hard.
Arrived at the Big 4 Marong Holiday Park at 2.30 and were allocated en-suite site 1, the same as we occupied last time here. We would be comfortable. The site cost $37.80, after discount.
I had not let daughter know we were going to be in the area until we were actually on our way, given how things had been going for us, lately. We decided not to actually meet up with them until tomorrow, because John wanted to nap for a while and then see if he could get his newest tablet working as a mobile hot spot/modem for the internet for our laptops.
Both ventures were successfully accomplished. I relaxed on my bed, and read.
Tea was cucumber soup brought from home, some slices of cold roast beef left from the weekend roast, and the scroll, which was very nice eating.
After tea, rain started and lasted for most of the very chilly night, but we were snug and cosy in Bus.
Bus repair place was organized. RACV sent an experienced operator and truck to move Bus there.
John managed to get the clutch to work just enough to back Bus off the grass, for the tow truck. But it wouldn’t work at all at the other end – Bus had to be pushed into the workshop bay.
A too-common sight for us…
The repair place does the servicing and fleet maintenance work for one of the large bus fleets of the eastern region. John reported that this included several Coasters.
The burnt-out clutch would be replaced and the flywheel machined as part of the repair. Didn’t mean anything to me, but John seemed to think this was good.
M decided the Yorke Peninsula was too wet and windy and came straight home. So maybe we wouldn’t have had a great time there, anyway.
The Bus repairs cost us $2,500. John decided he’d take it to that place for routine servicing, from now on, so that was one benefit to come out of the saga. The other was that he didn’t miss any Saturday bowls, after all.
We managed to leave home at 8.45am – something of a record for us. It was raining steadily, but looked like it might be clearing, a bit. Or maybe that was wishful thinking?
Being a Sunday, and reasonably early, John decided we’d brave traffic on Eastlink and the Tullamarine Freeway, and take the Calder Highway.
Only a couple of kms from home, that ominous revving noise we’d experienced on the last trip, appeared again. By the time we reached Croydon, it was starting to happen in top and third gears, as well as fourth. By East Ringwood, there was a bit of a smell, too. We decided to turn around and head back home.
Part way back, we stopped and took the Terios off the tow, to make it easier for the struggling Bus. There was a definite acrid smell about the rig, now.
I drove the car behind the Bus. A couple of kms from home, there was a huge cloud of smoke came out from under the Coaster. I flashed my lights at John, who pulled over. The smell of something burning was very strong.
We agreed that Bus was not going to get up the last, fairly steep, hill to home.
I phoned the RACV, feeling pleased that I’d taken out their new Tow Pack option, last year. No problems, they said, they would arrange a tow truck for us.
I took the dog and drove home, leaving John to wait for the tow. When the truck arrived, it turned out to be the operator’s first day on the job. Not a good sign. He tried to charge John $300 before loading up Bus, which John refused to pay. Operator made a phone call, which straightened him out about a RACV job. Then he set about loading Bus onto the tilt tray, which took quite a while.
Bus had to come home because, being Sunday, repair businesses were closed.
Now comes the hard part…
Offloading at home was not easy. It had to happen out on the street, and Bus would have to stay out there. Ours is a narrow, dead-end road, and we are on a slope. What was that about “life” and “easy”? The operator managed to scrape the tow hitch receiver on the road, before realizing that the angle meant he needed to run it down wood planks, off the bottom of the tray. We supplied some planks!
That didn’t sound good…
Eventually got Bus off the truck. John enlisted some neighbours to help push it backwards so it was half on the nature strip, half on the road. There was no activity at all, in any gear – totally burnt out.
Not sure about this process…
Then our hapless tow truck driver had to do a multi-point turn in a neighbouring driveway, to get away. Hope his first day on the job got better…
Unloaded the fridge again. Emptied Bus of things like the laptops and camera, and the assorted pills that keep us alive. Put out a warning reflective triangle in front of Bus and hoped all would be well for the night.
Phoned M to let her know that she would be remaining on her own.
Back in September, I’d researched bus repair places, as an alternative to the local Toyota dealer, whose capacity to deal with a Coaster was limited. At that stage, John had not been inclined to act. Now, I resurrected the details of the bus repair place in readiness for tomorrow.
I told John that, despite the fact that it was quite chilly, and that we were now home, dinner for the next three nights would be the cold meats and salads that I’d made for the trip. Like it or not!
Obviously, I was less than impressed with the whole abortive episode. But did agree with John that “it could have been worse”. Like we could have broken down in the Melba Tunnel, or out in the wilds of the Mallee. I refrained from pointing out that it could have been better, too…
Son’s wedding a month previous had been a wonderful day, with his two children acting as attendants. They had even managed to crack a partly sunny, dry day – by no means certain in a Melbourne spring.
Springtime wedding
Since then, friend M had been wandering about in SA for a few weeks. Her travelling companions had, however, needed to head home. So…
We planned to meet up with her on the Yorke Peninsula, where we’d not been before, and spend a couple of weeks sightseeing and relaxing by the sea, there. The Driver was even prepared to sacrifice a couple of Saturdays of bowls, so we could fit this in before hot weather eventually hit Melbourne and we became tied to garden care for the summer.
Lovely in springtime but a tie in summer…
On our last trip, an intermittent revving that may have been clutch or gear-related had appeared in Bus. John had decided, in his wisdom, to wait and see if it got any worse, before taking action. Somehow, I didn’t think it was going to disappear of its own volition, but what would I know of things mechanical?
Did all the usual preparations, including moving all the potted plants into one shady area, where it would be easier for our flat tenant to water them.
I cooked up some chicken drumsticks and pork strips, to be our meals for the first three nights. Made some potato salad and coleslaw, that would pass through the quarantine checks between Mildura and Renmark.
M was going to suss out a dog friendly caravan park, by the sea and let us know what our destination would be.
Bus went to local Toyota for a service. Last time we had one of those, they could not check the brake condition, because they couldn’t get the wheel nuts undone. Since then John had bought the nut cracker – torque multiplier. That went with Bus, and he gave the mechanic a demonstration on how to use same. So brakes got checked, along with all else. The only thing found to be wrong was a blown front light bulb. Since we never drove it at night, that was not something we’d noticed. They had to remove the bull bar, though, to replace it!
Bus came home all checked over, and with lots of lovely clean new fluids.
For a while now, I had been looking in pet shops, for a replacement portable dog bed. The one we had been using, that came with dog, was already broken back then – guess that’s why it was given to us? It was quite wobbly. Over time, the mat part had just about worn through.
Once again, the internet to the rescue, and I found exactly the sort of thing wanted, and bought it online. When the parcel was delivered John unpacked it – and Couey jumped on the bed before he even had it fully on the floor. Definitely got the dog seal of approval.
So when are we going?
For quite a while, I had been toying with the idea of getting “something extra” to monitor for loss of coolant from the radiator. A couple of past incidents had made us very aware of the catastrophic consequences this can have on a diesel engine.
Years ago, when we were still working and had a Hilux, the mobile mechanic we used then to service it, didn’t tighten – or left off altogether – the lower radiator plug. Next day, John set off for work, but didn’t get there. That was when we found out what many people still don’t know – the normal temperature gauge does not show the engine cooking itself, if there is no coolant! It only shows the coolant temperature. On that occasion, a very expensive engine re-build was covered by the mechanic’s insurance.
More recently. friend M wrecked her Troopy’s engine, in northern NSW. For an unknown reason, the coolant was lost. As with the Hilux, nothing untoward showed on her temp gauge. Only the engine’s dying alerted her to a problem. She took a chance and had a re-conditioned engine installed, as the quickest option available. Still a costly exercise, and not all that satisfactory. It was that engine that died last year, stranding her on the Tanami Track.
After yet more research, I decided to get a Watch Dog. (Not a furry friend for Couey.) This device was, basically, attached under a screw that was already part of the engine, and monitors the engine temperature. I received prompt and excellent service from the company that makes them – literally next day delivery. We had a mobile mechanic install the device and were pleased with his work.
So, yet another gauge/alarm on the gadget central that is our dashboard – fortunately, a large one! It was direct wired, though; we already had enough cigarette lighter plug-in type things using the little power board.
I just hoped it was a more successful innovation than the tyre pressure monitors had been. The alarm signal was certainly loud enough. It came on when the ignition was turned off and went for what seemed ages because it was so piercing.
Last time Bus went to the local Toyota dealer’s for a service, they could not remove the front wheel nuts in order to check things behind the wheels. They did not have a special tool and were reluctant to exert too much force on the lever they did have, in case they stripped or broke the studs.
On the way home from the dealer, John had taken Bus to a truck tyre place and they undid the wheel nuts, to establish that it could be done, and then re-tightened them. Back home, John could not make them budge again with the “normal” gear he had on hand.
We were told at Toyota, and had not known until then, that the wheel nuts on the two front wheels undo in different directions on the two wheels: one clockwise, one anti-clockwise. Something else to remember…
When we first bought our caravan, back in 1997, we had both gone through a steep learning curve, in order to understand how everything worked, and potential issues and pitfalls. For most years of our vanning, we felt knowledgeable and secure in this.
Acquiring Bus was a whole new ball game. A much more complex one too. For the last four years I had haunted online forums that featured Coasters, and motor homing in general. Neither of us liked the sense of not necessarily knowing what was happening with the vehicle or house systems, or about potential hassles.
After this problem with the wheel nuts, we decided it would be wise to buy a “nutcracker” – a special kind of tool that helps undo wheel nuts. More research ensued, then eventually John drove to Kyneton and bought the chosen tool, which cost less than $100. He wanted to inspect it, in person, to make sure it came with the right sized fittings.
Another fact we had discovered was that the outer and inner back wheels have different sized wheel nuts. Suppose there was a reason for that, but I never found out what it was.
Six wheels on Bus, plus a somewhat inaccessible spare. And all this complexity. We’d had six wheels on our Defender and Trakmaster rig, plus a couple of spares. The KISS principle applied there – all the wheels were the same and interchangeable: Defender wheels. We had been spoilt, clearly.
John already had a tension wrench for doing up wheel nuts again.
We hoped we would never have to actually use these tools ourselves. The wheels were a bit too heavy for us to be manhandling them ourselves, these days. The thinking was that if we did have to call out Roadside Assistance to change a wheel, at least we would know that the appropriate tools will be on hand.
Nothing to do with tools….Couey’s latest game…ball in pool
I had been concerned on our previous trips with the rig, that if the Terios got a flat tyre while we were flat towing, we probably wouldn’t realize until unnecessary damage had been done to the tyre. I discovered that there were warning devices available for just such situations. So the next area of research was into tyre pressure monitoring systems – TPMS. John was keen to have these on the Bus wheels as well as on the Terios, so we needed a system that managed ten wheels in total.
John decided to buy a system from a Melbourne based firm, so he was able to go to the outlet and talk it all through with them. This was not going to be a cheap exercise!
He fitted the monitors, which replace the valve cap on each tyre, and then set up the receiver unit in Bus. Another screened gadget to add to the proliferation on the dashboard! And the rats’ nest of leads that all plugged into the extension gadget that in turn plugged into the lighter socket.
The receiver unit, in theory, showed the situation with each wheel in sequence – its pressure and temperature. The unit beeps – loudly we discovered, when a tyre is under the set parameters he entered. Getting the whole thing to work with each wheel registering in its turn, took ages, with John fiddling about outside with wheels and me inside Bus letting him know what was showing on the screen. Each of the ten wheels had to be checked and some pumped up. Good thing he has an air compressor. I kept telling myself it would be worth it.
The day after the installation, John took me out to Bus to demonstrate the unit again. It beeped. One front tyre on Bus was down to 12psi. John worked out that he had not screwed the monitor unit on properly and it had leaked air overnight. That was remedied.
We did no further testing before our next trip. Mistake….
Bus was trundled off to a local panel beater. John had previously checked out his work and pronounced it satisfactory.
Some time before, the passenger’s side front corner of Bus had an altercation with the corner of a brick retaining wall beside its parking area. The wall corner lurks beneath a bushy mass of grevillea, and there is not much room for error, on either side. When we originally built the parking bay for our caravan, a flat area had to be cut out of the sloping block, and the width of the cut was limited by the location of pipes to the house.
The result of John’s misjudgement was a scrape on the shiny metal surface of the bumper corner, and a bit of a ding in the Bus body behind that. Fortunately, vital parts like lights were not affected.
Slightly dinged front corner
As well, some of the dreaded Coaster rust had appeared under one of the back door windows. That had to go. The front corner would be fixed at the same time.
Bus was away for a few days. We were in no rush – better to have the job done thoroughly.
We were most impressed with the repairs. The man took photos of the work on the rust as it was done. He cut the rusted section out and replaced it. Even knowing it had been done, we could not tell by looking at it that there was ever anything wrong. Same with the front scrape, though the mark on the bumper remained as a bit of a tell-tale.
Repaired front corner. Bush hiding the ambushing fence corner in foreground.
So – a very pleasing outcome, and at a very reasonable price.
No sign of rust under window now
After Bus was collected, we drove home, loaded up the dog, and went for a drive through the hills, to Monbulk – just to make sure the cranking batteries were fully charged after sitting for a while at the workshop without the isolation switch in play.
To remind Couey that travel is good, we returned via Lilydale Lake and took her for a walk and a swim in the outlet creek. Back at home, I opened vents and windows to remove perfume of wet dog!
Next day, Bus was washed thoroughly with the pressure hose. We would not be likely to take it out again until summer is over, next year. The onset of hot weather ties us to garden watering and we do not like to be away during the fire season.
We had discussed taking Bus on a trip to Adelaide, this month, because John wanted to go there to watch his grandsons compete for the ACT in swimming championships. Decided that he would drive his car over, alone, stay in a caravan park cabin, and I would remain holding the fort – or at least the garden hose – at home.
So we put on the covering tarps to protect Bus from the elements and all the stuff that falls from the neighbours’ trees.
Back in Lightning Ridge, in May, we’d seen the promo material for the annual Opal Fest, in late July, decided we’d return for this and stay a couple of weeks. Apart from the Fest, there was the draw of better weather than at home, and being in a place we really enjoy. I had managed to get us a booking into our preferred site at the caravan park.
Bus was serviced, cleaned and ready.
John made a type of box step, to make getting into Bus easier for us both. It was a big step up from the “landing” area to the main floor level. John’s creation was shaped so the bi-fold door would still close while it was in place.
Clever step creation…
Of course, medical matters required ongoing attention. The improved healing of the leg ulcers that really got happening on our last trip, had continued, so there was no issue with going away again. I hoped to come home completely healed! Doctor was still making adjustments to my blood pressure medications, and was not completely happy about the interval there would be between her checks, but I promised to take twice daily measurements myself. I had stocked up on all the dressing stuff needed for leg.
John did not get off so well. He was booked in again, in September, for surgery to remove some more skin cancers.
The dog went for her twice-yearly bath at the Animal Aid Centre, a couple of days ago. For a brief period, she will not smell so doggy! Of course, she resisted the process, which took two people to manage. If she liked baths, I wouldn’t have to pay to have it done….
Now, all except the last-minute stuff was packed and we were ready to go.
This Adventurous Age 