April 11th - Day 13
Toowoomba
They must trust me - they have let me out on my own!
After a late sleep (10 ish!), David drove me into Toowoomba. While he went for his wheels (and I assume they are open today after last time!) I went and had breakfast at the Valletta (the same cafe that we went to yesterday). Bacon and eggs set me up nicely for a day of exploration.
And I finally got an answer to the question I had been asking myself - "who were Cobb & Co?" I had seen signs to the museum and the scenic drive, so I wanted to know. Well, they ran stage-coaches around Australia. They began in Victoria, and extended to Queensland in the 1860s. I spent a very interesting hour looking at the collections of carriages and wagons, which included one by the Metropolitan Carriage & Wagon Co of the UK. Shades of Met-Camm, and a possible forerunner to the class 101, though this one didn't look quite so comfortable (no picture available).
Then talked to the wheelwright who was making a wheel for a cannon, one of the original pom-pom.
It was a good museum.
I like Toowoomba. Even on an overcast day, it was very pleasant walking around.
What was not so good was finding that my phone was flat, which meant I could not ring Lane to arrange where to meet. Fortunately, there were Telstra Air phones, so I could email her. As it turned out, I rang her from a pay-phone. I am the Calamity Kid sometimes!