Chinchilla

I woke up at 6AM, had scrambled eggs and toast for breaky. Mundy repeated the directions to Chinchilla several times to me again, he even drew me a map. It was funny how he kept thinking he was running out of paper because he tried to draw out the distances when he could've just shortened everything and I would've understood just as well. He also showed me how to feed Bear. I headed for Chinchilla at around 7AM, didn't get lost on the way there because it was pretty straight forward. I stopped at the main drag to take a look around, it was basically 2 blocks of cafés and random shops. I bought myself a sudoku book at a news agency (kinda like their stationary store) to keep myself company, then I went to the Information Centre and bought a postcard to send home. I'm planning to send a postcard from each place that I've been, partly as a souvenir, also as a way for my family to know that I'm fine.

I wanted to do a bit of sight seeing and the people at the Information Centre told me about the Pioneer Cemetery across the street, as well as the Chinchilla Museum. The Pioneer Cemetery is where the first settlers in Chinchilla rest, it was quite simple. It was my first time going to a cemetery. I walked around reading the tombstones where some of them wrote how the person past away, majority of them were accidental, and quite young. Then I came upon some children graves and I started tearing up, it was just so sad. A lot of them were still borns, or just months old babies. Afterwards I went to the museum which was on the other side of the Information Centre. It had an open gate and was outdoors, and it looked really small, and there an admission of $5. I looked around, didn't see anyone at the reception and just walked in. There were a bunch of old tractors and wagons and some old shacks. It took me about 10min to walk around the whole yard just looking at old junk. Things weren't really put on display, they were just put together in one area. Then I came to this room where some staff were setting up for something but in the back there were some more stuff to see. I asked if I could go in to take a look and they said sure. I first read about how the first settlers had such a hard time surviving due to the infestation of the prickly pears, a kind of cactus, because it was invasive and hard to get rid of. The room showcased a lot of antiques like pianos, typewriters, phonographs, kitchen utensils, etc. Before I left I talked to one of the staffs there, and turned out he was a physiotherapist, part time magician, and they were setting up for the Christmas show that night.

I drove around town a bit and was hungry, so I stopped by a plaza with Subway and KFC. Got myself a 2pc pack from KFC, which was soggy, and as I was eating there by myself a lady walked by just said hello out of the blue, which was nice. We even chatted a bit before she left. Small town people are nice. I finally made my way to the saddlery shop, turned out they closed at 11.30AM on Saturdays... I left town around 2PM because I wanted to get back in time to feed Bear, but before that I needed to get some stamps for my postcard. I tried asking at the servo, the lady there said the post office is closed on weekends, but I could try this convenience store just down the street. I tried getting there but I didn't see anything, so I ended up back at the plaza and I asked this construction guy having lunch, and he told me I could try the business centre close to the main drag, telling me some grassy bit and landmarks. I think I got to the business centre with a restaurant, IGA, Target, and a bunch of dental offices, but I didn't see any shops that could be selling stamps. I went into IGA, bought myself a PUMP (flavoured water) and asked the cashier but she couldn't help me. Guess I'll just have to try the tiny post office by one of the apartments on Monday.

I got back at around 3.15PM, knowing that Bear would get me dirty soon as I let him loose... He's always happy to see me. So I fed him, let him run around a bit, and soon after he jumped into the water trough he came running up to me and jumped on me! I chilled out with him for a bit, took shower, and did my washing. It looks like everyone's away. I think Mundy went to Dalby for the night, and Mrs. Morgan actually came to check up on me, that was nice of her. I was about to have some of the pastas that I've made for dinner but they've all gone bad! So I just had some toast instead, looks like I gotta make a grocery run to Miles tomorrow... It was a quiet night and I actually didn't feel as lonely. I was more relaxed, and I kinda like the quietness where I get to sit outside the kitchen, enjoy a beer and watch the stars. It's amazing how many stars you see in the outback. The weather's been good, so every night I get to see the milky way. I'm also thinking of checking out Roma or Dalby next weekend.