I slept in and then had a great quiet time. I read a lot in the Bible and talked with God. We had a good chat. I also was able to talk on skype with Mom, Granny and Paps, and Alan. It was nice to catch up with home. Then I went to the grocery store. I wanted to cook for Kristy’s friend’s who’ve had us at their place. They have been so kind. I wanted to say thank you in some way. I was so proud because I took the tram by myself and bought groceries and beer and made it back in one piece all by myself. Then I made them spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread and salad. They were so appreciative. They don’t cook in much so they loved having a home cooked meal. We ate outside and enjoyed the nice weather. Then Kim and I watched The Beaver with Mel Gibson. That was an interesting film. Not sure what I think about it. It’s definitely different, with Mel as a deranged father who deals with his depression by talking through a puppet, the Beaver. Different. Odd. But original.
Tuesday, Feb 14th
Kristy and I went to Longbeach. It is a beach about 45 minutes outside of Richmond. We had to take the tram and then the train to get there. I read my book on the way there. It was so pretty. There weren’t many people there. The beach slowly sloped into the water so you could wade out pretty far. It was nice to relax and soak up the sun. I finished my book. I can’t wait to start the next one in the series. It ended with quite the cliffhanger. And I’m not too sure what I think about the ending… But I’m excited to see what’s going to happen next. Then we came back to Kim’s house and ordered some Thai food. Then we ate outside and played a few card games.
Wednesday, Feb 15th
We packed up and flew to Gold Coast. I started the second book of the Hunger Games. It is getting really intense. I’m completely sucked in. My camera died and I don’t have my charger with me, so I’m extremely frustrated. Tomorrow in the morning I’m going to try to find an Aussie equivalent to a Best Buy or something, so I can charge it. I’ll have the charger again when I go back to Sydney. But until then, I’ll still want to take pictures in Gold Coast and Gympie. We took a bus to our hotel. To save on the cost of our hotel, we stayed in a hotel 7 km away from Surfer’s Paradise. While on the bus, I felt like we were in Hawaii, with lush plant life on rolling hills a viewable beachfront.
We arrived at our destination and strolled into a Chinese restaurant for dinner. Then we walked around the town, played on the playscape and viewed the piercing stars on the beach. Back at our hotel, we looked up fun things to do in Gold Coast. The Strip, a detective TV series is filmed and set on the Gold Coast. I watched it back at home before I came here. It’s so neat to now say I’ve been there. I’ll have to rewatch a few episodes to see if it looks familiar.
Our hotel (well, it’s actually Apartments) is very spacious and modern. It also had a very nice pool overlooking the river channel to the beach.
I would love to stay here for a week or two. There are so many things to do here since the rainforest and mountains are so close to the beach. We may want to do an Island cruise that includes snorkeling, beaching, dolphin viewing, boating and fish feeding… or maybe a 4-wheeler journey along the mountains and forest. I talked with Jan and Margot today on the phone about meeting up with them in Gympie. They are Ian Thomas’ sisters. They plan to show me around as well.
Thursday, Feb 16
Since we were staying in a spacious apartment with a full size kitchen, Kristy and I headed to the grocery store to save a few bucks from going out to eat. We purchased some grub, then made our way to Surfer’s Paradise. We stopped by a camera shoppe to buy another camera charger so we could capture the moments of the rest of our Gold Coast journey.
It was a bit of a walk to the beach since we stopped early for the camera store, but we made it. It was actually really windy. We laid on the beach for a bit, but sand started blowing into too many parts of our body, it became uncomfortable. At one point, I’m pretty sure the wind was coming from both directions, entering into both ears. So, we decided to lay out on the grass behind the beach. We did so for a bit, while I continued to read the second book of Hunger Games. It’s riveting.
Then we grabbed a bite to eat at an Irish pub. The service is quite different compared to America. They aren’t trying to turn tables, so the whole experience is much slower. This could be a good or bad thing. They also don’t earn tips, so often times the service is minimal. So, we grabbed our own menus and ordered at the bar and then sat down outside, watching the passersby. The boys all walk around with their shirts off and the girls all have minimal clothing on, complete with messy hairdos. Then we headed to the shops along the board walk. A salesman grabbed our attention and pitched a night out on the town. He nabbed us. We are going tomorrow to several different pubs, a bowling alley and a pizziria with free drinks for only 40 bucks. Can’t beat that. We bargained on the price and flirted a bit and then went shopping for our outfits. I found a cute red and black dress with heals and a black belt. Kristy found a flashy blue sequin dress. We’re ready for tomorrow. We’ll be on an island cruise all day and then out on the town at night. I have a feeling we’ll be pretty tired… Hizzah and Hooroo!
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