The Travels of Mouse: staying still at last

Hello people, Mouse here.

Well, we’re finally home. After 2 weeks all the sniffs around the house were faded, so I had to go and refresh them all. Mum kept stepping over me in a very disrespectful fashion – I’m doing important work here – but I got it done at last and we’re back to normal. And morning walkies have taken much longer than usual, because I have to check all my socials and leave comments everywhere (he means it’s a giant sniffari rather than a mere walk – Mum).

I must say, I am slightly missing my home-away-from-home in Cairns, the Brother Jenkins café. I have my own spot in the sun there, they bring me a water bowl without asking, and the servings of puppacino are very generous. Not to mention the fact that the bacon is very superior… And all just a 2 minute stroll from the caravan park. In fact, I could probably get myself over there without bothering the Staff to take me… (over my dead body – Mum. If you insist! – Mouse).

Our last day in Townsville was a bit noisy. Every other year, 17,000 US and Australian troops participate in a large-scale 2 month exercise called Exercise Talisman Sabre. It’s spread out over a large area of Queensland, particularly the north, and means the roads and skies are more than usually busy with military vehicles. Townsville is a garrison town, and many of the visiting troops are stationed at Laverack Barracks. Most of it was pretty familiar to the Staff, especially as Dad was in the Reserves for 20 years and knows Laverack well and the surrounding countryside from his own past military exercises. But what was new was the sight of Osprey aircraft in the sky! They are most peculiar, a sort of hybrid between a VTOL plane and a helicopter. Personally, I thought they looked like giant drones.

Anyway, the military theme continued on the way home, when we dropped in to the Catalina Memorial on the foreshore in Bowen, which gives information about the famous ‘flying boats’ of that name which were stationed there during WWII, as well as housing a war memorial to commemorate those who served in war, armed conflict or peacekeeping operations.

Dad said it was very well done, and Mum thought the design was very clever, except that it was extremely hard to photograph well, which is why I’ve put in a link above, to the website of the company that designed it, so you can see their very good photos.

And before you ask, yes, this is the Bowen that has the excellent pies, and Dad and I shared one while Mum had a ham salad roll and averted her eyes. And then we went home, and the very first thing the Staff did was to let me into the back yard and I had a nice roll in the grass and sniffed everything and told young Rocket next door what was what and who was boss.

It’s good to be back.