Where to begin??? It has been a while since I was on here. Nick has been doing a fantastic job keeping it up to date. Between the journal, Facebook, and keeping up with pictures, it is hard to fit it all in. I'll give you an overview of my last week or so.
Gundawondaland-(Goondiwindi)-I continued to fish! We had a wonderful morning at Peter and Gloria's. The next day I twisted Peter's arm and we skipped boot camp so we could fish some more. I had about as much luck as I did in the States, caught a suntan and that's about it. We were supposed to head to a Cotton farm but the weather canceled that for us. Instead we went to Goondiwindi Cotton where the owner Sam gave us a history of Cotton around the area. His shirts are fantastic and we were actually given one after the Rotary meeting! On our last night in Gundy we went out to Bruce's for a Camp oven Cook. He had been cooking all afternoon. Roo Stew and some type of mild Curry. It was a wonderful night and we loved seeing all of our new friends in one place again. Tables were set up in the backyard and everyone just took it easy and enjoyed the company and conversation. I packed the next morning and Peter cooked up a few Yabbies(crawfish) for breakfast. UMMMM, now if that's not Cajun style, I don't know what is! We meet at the info center and said our said goodbyes. Bruce brought us some Milk for the road and away we went!
Tenterfield-Birthplace of a Nation-We handover at Zappa's winery, pour us! It was a wonderful spot and we had an amazing Italian meal. The weather was still rainy but we made the best of it. From there we headed to Tenterfield. It's called the Birthplace of a Nation because that is where Sir Henry Parks gave his famous speech about bringing the colonies together for what is now known as Australia. Pretty cool history in a cozy little town. The first night we met down at the local pub for diner and music. LIVE MUSIC! We had an absolute blast and got to know our new hosts. I feel bad for Tenterfield because they had a wonderful day planned for us and the weather would not allow it! Rain, Rain, Rain! We did our best to take in the Granite boulder landscape and Bald Rock. We had a wonderful night at Ralph and Lee's place and truly enjoyed great food and mingling. The next morning we met at the School of Arts for a history of Tenterfield. I'm not going to lie, I was that thrilled about it but after arriving, I was so happy we did it. You think of Museums and history as boring sometimes but this was so interesting! We then headed to the cattle auction which Joe loved! I didn't take a hat....Big mistake! My head was RED! We also visited the historical Tenterfield Train station. Nick has filled you in on our bumpy journey to Drake for handover. On to Kyogle!
Kyogle-Birthplace of Trooopy!-You all know Trooopy by now so I'll continue without description.
While Beth, Nick, and Joe where our slaughtering defenseless cows, I went to Euro Chair. They make all kinds of interesting chairs. All wood veneer. They do the insides of upholstery chairs but prefer to do all veneer. It was a great experience! I never knew how all of these chairs that I sale daily are made. They use radioactive waves to heat the plywood and veneer to form it into the mold that they have pressing down. The heat generated is incredible and they can form two chairs at a time. From there they go to a router which cuts the shape of the back out while also drilling the holes needed to attach the legs and arms. Very Cool! The craftsmanship and quality are unlike anything you will find from the truckloads of China imports coming to the US. Don't get me wrong, I have to sell that product to stay alive but I would much rather work with someone like Jack who does it the right way and stands behind his product. It's a small factory but they can pump out 1000 chairs in 2 weeks if they set all of the molds the same. I'm sure there are people in the US doing this but I haven't had the opportunity to go and see them. Good work Jack and thank you for taking time out of your day to show me around!
We also visited many parks and lookouts while in Kyogle. Border Ranges national park had to be my favorite! The rain forest was something I had never seen or knew that Australia had. We walked down from a mildly hot day into a cool rain forest. Awesome!
After learning how to throw Boomerangs with Wayne behind Bills house, we had a massive BBQ! It was so nice to sit and enjoy the evening with our new friends and host. Thank you all so much for a wonderful evening.
We have handed over to Goonellabah today and I'm sure there are many new things in store.
Sorry this isn't the best entry I've had but I'm tired and off to bed. Goodnight All!
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