Rodeo, golf and a very rushed exit

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When I arrived in Toowoomba on Thursday the 29th somehow I had it in my head that I had until Tuesday, which for some reason I thought was the second, until I left for Singapore where I am now (Monday) but more about that later.

I only got the chance to have a fleeting visit with the family again but luckily I got to see everyone, go to a Rodeo, play a round of golf (well 9 holes anyway) and organise what I was going to do about getting to Indonesia despite the little mishap at the end.

I saw the Rodeo at the Toowoomba town fair that we all (Me, Carol, John, Nick and Tom) went down to one afternoon and evening. The fair is huge and people from all over the place have brought in their prize animals (ranging from prize Bull's to baby chickens. You name it, it was there. They had pig races, camel rides, a huge fair with bumper cars etc, dog shows going on, prize vegetable displays and the list goes on. It was a great taste of what country life is about I suppose and though it's probably not right that I did I enjoyed all of it - I never would have imagined I could take even the slightest interest in which farmer had the best pigeon. I'm pleased to say the moment has passed though and I now no longer care again.

The Rodeo was fairly short lived but they had some of the best national competitors there and rode both bulls and horses. I didn't get any decent pictures of the event really but the atmosphere was great with people cheering and dust flying all over the place. Men everywhere were donning the wide brimmed hats (I've forgotten the proper name already) and other things that fit perfectly with the cowboy image so you almost felt like you could be in a western. Almost.

The next day I played a round of golf with Nick who's now 15 and he kicked my arse. I won one whole and was extremely lucky to get that. I lost several balls that shot off in completely different directions to the way I was aiming too but it was all good fun.

Later that afternoon they had the good news of managing to get all the contracts signed so they can definately move (again) into their new house so that was nice to be around for. It also put Carol in a much better mood about going down to visit Becky, who's just started at Uni in Brisbane in Jan so everything was turning out perfectly at that time.

That evening Carol, Becky and I headed down to Southbank where we took in the city scape and stuffed our faces with a kebab followed by ice creams while we caught up on the 9 years it had been since I had last seen that part of the family. Since then I've vowed not to leave it so long until I see them again next time. With me this normally means it will be 8.9 years until I see them again but hopefully it won't come to that.

That brings me back to my departure date. The next morning (Sunday) we went to visit Gran Grandad and the kids on Charles's side of the family quickly. Unfortunately Carols car died on us just as we arrived and wasn't capable of driving back but it wasn't the end of the world. While there I thought I would have a quick look at bus timetables for coming back to Brisbane on Tuesday after the planned fishing trip with Nick, Tom and Carol on Monday. It was then that I discovered my flight actually left in 9hrs and I had to get up to and back from Toowoomba which was a 1.75 hr drive away to get my stuff and say goodbye.

In the end I was lucky and it wasn't too much of a drama getting me sent off but it was a very close shave and a couple of hours later might have been a very different story. That kind of absent mindedness is definately not one of my best habits.

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Photos

Golf
Our putting skills, mine in particular left much to be desired

Boredom is a thing of of the past here
There really is never a dull moment with these kids.

New shoes
It's sad to think that at that age because it's the first time they've met me they won't remember me in 6 months time. Still, it was great while it lasted.