Saturday

"You don't have to go to WA to do it" someone said to me the other day - they were talking about dolphin feeding at Monkey Mia - but it turns out you can do it closer to home - at Tin Can Bay - at Barnacles. Each morning volunteers are there when the wild (yet familiar enough that they have named them) dolphins come to accept fish from them and the folk who come along to trade - a hunk of wood, bottles and even a pair of sunglasses. Their "noses", which aren't really noses, were empty the morning I was there. Strict rules are in place as to how much food they can be given and each dolphin has a bucket with its name on it. The dolphins have been coming in to Tin Can Bay for 60 years or so, multi-generation families, and it looks like folk will be able to enjoy the experience for many years to come. The volunteers running the show did a fantastic job.

Tin Can Bay should also be famous for the perfect potato scallops at the Snack Shack. We had lunch there when we arrived - looking out over the Bay. After checking in to the motel after lunch, we went on to Cooloola Cove to see Mum's sister, and then, on to Rainbow Beach just before sunset - which meant there was no time to go exploring before we headed back to the motel for the evening.  We hadn't planed on going out because it didn't seem there was going to be much night-life in Tin Can Bay on a Tuesday night. Yes, I now know I was wrong. The night-life was at the Backpackers attached to the pub next door. They kicked in (or isthat off) just after 10 and I finally fell asleep at some point - I'm not sure when.

We were back in Toowoomba for the blood moon lunar eclipse.  We were going to go to Picnic Point to see it, for the unobstructed view over the Lockyer Valley, but ended up watching from Te's driveway with the children. It was a wonderful evening although the blood moon during the eclipse was, as someone on the ABC said, a little underwhelming. But there were memories in the making.Riley is teething and has one tooth so far with at least one more not that far behind. She has been a bit grumbly but that's definitely to be expected.