Over-exuberance

It is great to see drivers acknowledging each other. In a motorhome, I find motorhomers and caravanners usually wave. What I have noticed is that I get an exuberant wave. As a child I remember my Dad acknowledging other drivers with the laconic lift of an index finger. Now we seem to raise four fingers or even lift a whole hand and wave.  Is this the result of the hugging kissing culture that has developed over the past few decades? Is it because we are now better drivers and can afford to drive one-handed? Are we just friendlier?

One of my little detours was to the former gold mining town of Hillgrove. Somewhere in the back of mind is the possibility that my great-grandfather may have tried his hand at prospecting in that area. Someone will probably tell me. The town is obviously just a shadow of what it has been. I was impressed with one of the solutions they had come up with. Right through the town, signs had been erected showing what had been there initially, with information boards also dotted about.

Over the past couple of days I have circled back and will be home tomorrow to get work done on the van. One of the things that I love is when someone asks where I am going today and I say I haven't looked at a map yet. After I left Bellinger, I headed back towards the coast and amazed myself when I passed Annie's new property, then the turnoff to Tracie's. At that stage I decided that I'd go back to New Italy for the night. Bad decision! On the weekend, it had been a lovely camping area. On a Monday night, trucks thundered by without a break. Because I was awake most of the night, I did a lot of counting. The lowest count was an average of two trucks a minute. At times eight or nine passed in a minute. My neighbours Jan and Ken had gone before I got up. I don't know when they gave up and left.


At a Toastmasters meeting last week, one of the men talked about the Lions Way, the road built by the Lions club from Kyogle into Queensland. I had intended to drive home that way but somehow missed the signs. I followed the Mt Lindsay Highway which is a very picturesque trip but narrow and winding. The big advantage was the lack of trucks, and after the previous night, I was quite happy not to see or hear them!