The last two days have been a bit of a blur. Our stay with Ben and Bronwyn was brief but very rewarding. To be able to stay in such a tranquil setting was relaxing and wish we had made more time available to stay longer with them.
It was then down to Noosa Beach which is very well known to Queenslanders and a mecca for surfies and beach bunnies who like to fry themselves in the sun. We met up with a cousin of Di’s who she has not seen for over 50 years. We had a great chat for about three hours going over some of the family history and she was indeed a wealth of knowledge. Some members of the family are putting a tree together so connecting them up with one another is going to make the job that much easier.
Back down to Brisbane and straight to dinner with Fraser’s old boss Carl and his wife Kym. Carl was the boss of the Calgary office when we first arrived in Canada and after six months he returned to Australia. Kym really struggled with three little ones under five in the cold climate and was grateful to be out of the cold winters. There is the story of her getting her drivers licence in Calgary of which it took three attempts. Nothing to do with her ability to drive but her penchant for arguing with the examiner that some of the road rules were stupid.
It was good to catch up with them and their three kids Max, Claire and Evie. Evie was only six months old when they left Calgary and is now a 15 year old high school student. Time just flies.
Yesterday saw us scramble out of bed in a hurry as we had a coffee meeting with the retired founder of Runge Mining. We were so tired after such a long day yesterday, so it was quite the effort.
Some of you may know that Fraser first worked with Runge Mining back in 1992 in Brisbane. The company was just in its infancy then and it was very close knit and many long term friendships made from it. After being there for 18 months we then moved down to Muswellbrook for the next 10 years to then return to Runge Mining and go to the Calgary office.
We have kept in touch with Ian and his wife Sue over the years and it was great catching up and having a chat with them. Like all people our age, they are also having parent issues. It’s good to talk to other people and hear their experiences and find out how they are managing the process.
After lunch we had a drive around some of the suburbs of Brisbane to find that they had changed significantly. The rest of the day was spent at Casa Nick catching up on washing and planning the next phase of our trip back to Melbourne.
Rowkin Rovings Blog 