Day 23: Tue 18 Jul 23

Day 23: Tue 18 Jul 23 - Yeppoon

July 18, 2023

Tue 18 Jul 23 - Yeppoon

Weather: 18 Deg overnight - how unbelievable is this QLD winter we ask ourselves. It only climbed another 4 Deg to 22 and remained partly cloudy all day. The SE wind hung around though with gusts increasing at times to 40km/hr.

Waking early today, I did my exercise routine outside until daylight, then went for a walk down memory lane - up the hill past Uncle's old house (which has been renovated and is now back on the market for $300,000 more than what it sold for two years ago). I continued over more hills overlooking Yeppoon and the coastline, then past my grandparents (Mums side) old family home which has been vacant for many years and is finally being demolished. I returned for breakfast, then walked to the shopping centre in search of another pair of shoes for Uncle. Mission accomplished, I returned to the van, then Noel and I wandered down the street for our morning brew, opting to give Cafe on 44 another shot at redemption, but they failed. Afterwards, we made our way back to the van, and Noel peeled off to get a pedicure, while I drove up to visit Uncle. He was on his bed having his blood pressure monitored - he had been complaining of a sore right chest and his blood pressure was through the roof at 195/?. Initial plans were to call for an ambulance to take him to hospital for checks, but because his blood pressure has been fluctuating so much, they decided to call his doctor who administered some pain relief which eventually reduced his blood pressure to a more respectable level (148 over 80ish). I stayed with him for a couple of hours, and watched him devour his lunch - the situation certainly didn't affect his appetite. I eventually left him to rest for the afternoon and spoke to him again later in the afternoon. He said his was in much less pain, and I also spoke to the RN who reported his blood pressure had stabilised. On the way out of the nursing home, I stopped and spoke with a local Byfield resident (Thommo) who visits his wife daily, and he told me stories about my Father and Uncle in their early years at Byfield. I commented that they were local identities and even considered pioneers of the area, but regrettably there is no mention of them in local history books - I find that is such a shame. I eventually returned to the van for a late lunch, then Noel and I drove out to the Causeway for a wander around, then drove back to Yeppoon for a Gelato. By now the clouds had mostly cleared and I still had a bit of energy to burn, so I dropped Noel at the van, then drove back out to the Bluff Hill Walking Trail for another 3km walk. It was still very hazy and somewhat windy, so not ideal for photos, but very enjoyable nonetheless. It's been a big day of walking today - more than 15km, including a lot of hills. In fact I've walked about 75km in 7 days - enjoying the warmer weather and often reflecting on my younger years in Yeppoon.

Uncle's old house hasn't changed much from the outside, but internally (from the photos on the real estate website) it is much improved, but still not enough to justify an additional $300k on top of what they paid for it 24 months ago.