Year 2, Week 6 - Back to Work and Slowing Down in Gladstone

This week marked our first week back at work, and the change of pace was definitely felt. Ryan settled into his new store while Rachael worked remotely from the van — although there wasn’t much on her plate this week, which meant time to sort out the wardrobe (still way too many clothes... some things never change!) and do a much-needed tidy-up of the van.

The weekend rolled around and Ryan had planned a fishing trip with mates, but the wind had other ideas. Instead, Ryan rode his bike into town to drop the bike in for a much needed service. After that, we went for a drive and wander around Gladstone — catching up on the bits we didn’t get to see last weekend — and ended up at Burger Urge for a laid-back lunch.

Unfortunately, the LandCruiser threw an engine fault light, which was a bit of a worry. We called Toyota and were told it was still safe to drive short distances until our scheduled service the following week. Still, it threw a spanner in our adventure plans for the weekend and next weekend. 😕

That afternoon, we headed to the marina to catch up with friends. One drink turned into a few, and before we knew it, we were enjoying dinner at the yacht club — not a bad way to salvage a weekend!

Sunday was reset day: local markets, a bulk choccie stock-up at Silly Solly’s (Ryan-approved), and the weekly Woolies shop. Back at the van, we finally tackled the dreaded compost toilet clean — it had been way too long. Then we smoked some pork belly burnt ends in the ZGrills Smoker and spent the late arvo chilling under the awning. Beer for Ryan, margaritas for Rachael.

Not the most action-packed week, but these slower moments are just as important. A chance to reset, recharge, and rebuild the bank account — so we can keep this adventure going.

Hit the road 🎵 — we’ve got places to be. – R&R