Waiting, mooching and enjoying....

The waiting continued, though in a much more positive way.

I left the campground at about 10.00 and set off to walk the 2.5kms back to the garage.  The lady at the camp asked if anyone was coming to pick me up?  I said no.  She said she didn't have anyone heading to town at the moment or she'd have arranged a ride for me with them.  I thanked her and set off.  It was cold, but not freezing and within just a few minutes I was feeling very warm and rather puffed after walking/scrambling up the steep-ish path back to the main road.  After a wee rest at the top I continued.  I was mindful that I'd 'found' ice on the path yesterday afternoon when I walked to the camp so was placing my feet rather carefully.  I stopped at one point to swap the hand I was carrying my bag in and a car pulled up alongside me.  "Would you like a ride?  Where are you going?"  Aha!  An angel!  To cut a longer story short this lovely lady, Barbara, took me to the garage, waited whilst I dropped stuff off and checked on the state of Gerty then took me in to town after I was told there was progress but Gerty wasn't ready to take away.  What a lovely gesture, from a total stranger.  Heartwarming indeed.

Coffee and a scone sitting in a lovely sunny cafe was wonderful.  Great staff, great magazines, great coffee.  I think I stayed for about 2 hours - there were certainly more coffees involved.  I took the opportunity to have a look around one of the most interesting shops I've seen in a long time.  Jake's hardware store reminds me of the old hardware stores of my childhood......aisles of closely packed paraphernalia covering a myriad of needs......kids toys, drill bits, woolly hats, camping stoves, slow cookers, gifts, knick-knacks, curtain hooks, fridge magnets, kitchen utensils, gardening gloves........I could go on.  In this picture though, it's the wood burner at the back of the store that drew me closer and held my interest.  At 5 degrees outside it was a bit of a magnet.

Set off to walk back to the garage via a motel/lodge that I decided I'd stay at if I didn't have Gerty back by the end of the day.  Back at the garage I settled down to wait again and by about 4.00pm - yay!! - I was driving Gerty out the gates with my bank balance a lot lighter, heading for tonight's stopping spot.  She needs to go back tomorrow for a fuel filter replacement that should arrive overnight but that should be a straightforward fix apparently.  In the meantime, I get to snuggle back into Gerty's cosiness :D