Upwards and Onwards

February 17th

Packed and ready to go, with 10 hours until flight time. what to do! what to do!

Jack comes up with a fabulous idea - let's go shopping - no wait, I believe that was my idea. His was to walk along the boardwalk along the oceanfront to get to town for breakfast and then he would be willing to suffer through my desire to hunt down a couple of very specific items which I desperately wanted to find. I know that Leslie will understand my need for a touristy information book about the Great Barrier Reef, and couple of nights ago we had seen a funky bead shop. It was the closest I had been to a craft store since home, with the exception of a five minute stint in one in McArthur Square with Jess.

As we walked the boardwalk we noted that although it wasn't yet 10:00 a.m. it was already getting very warm out, and the humidity intensified that by several times. We found a nice little oceanside café with a breakfast buffet and enjoyed our meal in the shade of he canopy. birds flew in and out of the café quite used to it being part of their world.

Task 1 - boardwalk, check
Task 2 - breakfast, check
Task 3 - Great Barrier Reef souvenir shop - next stop.

It was interesting that along the boardwalk there were various exercise stations set up so those wishing to be physically fit could enjoy the ocean breeze, birds flying overhead, rays of sunshine and the whole sense of easy living all at the same time. this equipment was free to be used by anyone passing by.

After accomplishing our specific shopping tasks, and a few additional ones, Jack went for a swim in the Cairns lagoon. Incredibly, it is a very large well maintained outdoor swimming pool alongside the ocean in downtown Cairns. There was even a beach for sunbathers built along side the pool, using sand from the ocean. By early afternoon it was swarming with people enjoying yet another city sponsored free benefit.

It was also evident what prompted the city to develop this oasis. Not only was the extreme heat and humidity driving people to seek means to cool off, but the ocean had receded, leaving behind just over a mile of mucky mud and sand infested with creatures deposited there until next tide would come in and rescue them. It was unbelieveable the number of crabs that popped in and out of the muck and sidled back and forth feeding themselves all the while. there was another active mud dweller of which we were not certain its species. It burroughed into the mud and popped up again, propelling itself with two appendages that looked like underdeveloped legs, but overdeveloped fins.

There were also a variety of lizards playing in the wet mud. We entertained ourselves by watching these unsuspecting performers periodically on our way back to teh hotel to gather our luggage.

Thank goodness we got back for Miller time - or in the case of Australia - XXXX Gold time.

I had short sporadic bouts of nausea from the heat and was more than ready for half a pint of amber fluid, followed by a litre of cold water, while sitting in ice cold air-conditioned comfort of Tesha's - the pub belonging to our hotel.

We checked our emails, our blog and a quick peak at facebook one more time before heading to the airport.

As I am preparing this entry we are high above Australia, about half way between Cairns and Brisbane. Every refreshment on our flight costs extra - with the least expensive item being a $3 cup of instant coffee. Our airline attendant somehow made a connection that we were foreigners. I don't know if it was our accents, our reddish glow, Jack's Great Barrier Reef souvenir shirt, or our attentiveness whilst counting out our coins that gave us away, but she asked a few polite questions about our vacation and on learning we intended to visit Brisbane and then drive to Byron Bay she went on up the aisle to return a few minutes later with a package of complimentary Byron Bay cookies for us to share. I did not see her do this for anyone else so we concluded that she either felt sorry of us as , in her words "there's really nothing to see in Brisbane" or she was encouraging us to follow through on her suggestion of stopping to see Byron Bay as she thought we would very much enjoy it.

Well we are now approaching Brisbane and Jack has realized he may not recognize Ailsa and Paul. I was very sure I would. Well, Ailsa was easy to spot with her welcoming eyes and arms open wide for a hug as we debarked from the plane.

We are here, Brisbane, Australia, with Paul and Ailsa. I have visiting to do now so I'll sign off for now.