Last Days on Holiday and the Long Drive Home

The mornings of the last few days in Yeppoon were glorious. The boys were taken to Lammermoor beach just for a change. Graham liked sitting in the warm water of a tidal creek.

Meanwhile, the older boys kicked a beach soccer ball.

This photo was taken at 5am from the top verandah at Grandad and Grandma's house. Sleeping in was not an option for people whose bedroom windows faced east.

In the evenings, Sean had an excellent solution to an unusual problem. Graham had a habit of singing at the top of his voice while listening to music. Giving him earphones to wear stopped the singing, to the relief of music lovers throughout the house.

Mornings at Lammermoor continued to be beautiful.

Craig and Graham dug in the sand while their father swam up and down the beach.

Amusingly, Graham wouldn't go near the ocean. He was afraid of the waves! No, really, those tiny waves scared him.

He still surpervised Craig carrying water from the sea up to the castles they were building.

The afternoons were spent at playgrounds where the boys could practice their climbing skills.

They can stay busy for quite some time.

They even climb on things that aren't really built for that purpose.

There's plenty to climb on in Yeppoon.

On the last night, Grandad had given Dad a voucher to spend at The Strand Hotel. So, the boys had a really nice dinner there.

Craig and Graham both liked their chicken nuggets and chips.

Living in Yeppoon must be very healthy because Dad lost almost 5 kilos in less than two weeks. All that swimming probably played a part, too.

Sadly, the time came to start driving home. They set out just after 5am. After some rolling hills west of Rockhampton they turned onto the Leichhardt Highway. It's quite a straight road.

They stopped for breakfast beside the road at around 7:30am after travelling about 200km. They still had another 625km to go for the day.

Fifty kilometres later the road didn't look much different.

Fifty kilometres after that it hadn't changed much again.

The playground in Taroom was a very welcome break. Craig and Graham ran around playing as much as they could for 20 minutes. After travelling 350km so far they had plenty of energy.

Back in the car and the road was ...... straight.

A snack was had in Miles beside a memorial and playground because it was too early for lunch and the driver needed a break.

The road between Miles and Goondiwindi is unbending.

But, the scenery was slightly different due to the appearance of farm fields.

Still, the road stretched out ahead.

After lunch in Goondiwindi there was more farmland as they continued south.

Finally, they arrived in Moree, 835kms from Grandad and Grandma's place in Yeppoon. The little boys were ever so pleased that there was a playground beside the Mehi River, walking distance from our motel.

Fortunately for all concerned no photos were taken of Day 2 of the long drive. The scenery was different. The road had bends and there were many more farms especially in the Liverpool Plains but the driver was too tired to do anything other than concentrate on the road that led them all the way home.