Brisbane

Last minute blogging from Brisbane airport. Our flight to Melbourne is in 50 minutes time.
We spent a great day at Wet n Wild Water World but only after a near disastrous start. We all got out and Dad drove off and as he disappeared toward the exit I realised that the tickets were still in the car!!!! His mobile phone was turned off so I couldn't call him. I ran, chasing him up the road, yelling and waving and hoping he'd look in his rear view mirror and wonder why I was gesticulating so wildly! Alas, he did not. I waved madly at passing cars until finally one took pity on me and stopped to see what my problem was.
"Follow that car"!
I've always wanted to say that!
But, it was too late, he'd gotten away and could not be caught!
The driver suggested I tell the people at the park the story and they'd sort it out for me.
And sure enough they did.
I paid for us to get in and when Dad came back to pick us up in the afternoon I took the original tickets in and they refunded the amount I'd paid in the morning!
It all sounds so simple now but as I was running down the Pacific Hwy in pursuit of my father it didn't seem so easy!

As I said, afetr the ticket drama everything else went well and we had a great day sliding down tubes and flumes and whirlpools and vortexes.
Pictures to follow at some stage.

The trip back to Brisbane was uneventful. We stopped for some noodles for tea and got to the airport in plenty of time.

Melbourne here we come!

NB. I had mixed fortunes with the footy tickets this morning. The system froze up just before I completyed the transaction on three seats in the Southern Stand and by the time I got back on the only thing I could get was a couple of standing room tickets.
Not ideal and I don't know quite what we'll do yet but it was the best I could do under pressure.

Movie World

I got my ticket to the Preliminary Final first thing Monday morning, but not without a few hassles.
The net was overloaded so I did it by phone which was a long-winded process and not entirely satisfactory. But, at least I've got a ticket.
Tomorrow morning I'll try again and hopefully get tickets for Carolyn and Sport Boy too.

Then it was time to pack the car and head for the coast.
The trip went smoothly, with just a stop for some Famous Yatala Pies for lunch and a close encounter with a sticky-footed pigeon. When we were leaving the pigeon in question landed on the roof of Dad's car and would not be moved! Even sudden stops only sent it skidding forward so that it's tail hung down over the windscreen. It hopped about, regained it's balance and would not be budged. I got a picture but won't be able to load it tonight as I'm on a net kiosk computer.
It finally took flight once we hit the motorway but not before causing us a great deal of merriment and feathered entertainment.

We found and settled into our apartment at The Windsurfer Resort which is pleasant enough but considerably smaller than I'd imagined! Just as well none of us is claustrophobic! Still, it does the job and is nicely located on the water's edge at The Broadwater, looking out to South Stradbroke Island and the spit where Seaworld is located.

The boys are happy because not only is there a games room with pool and ping pong tables, there's also Foxtel!!

Tuesday:
This morning Sport Boy set off for MovieWorld for our big day. He had a GREAT time and loved the rides and the stage shows. He overcame his fears to ride the Batwing which launched us into the air like a rocket, and dropped us back almost as quickly.
His favourite ride was the Wild West Rapids Log Flume which climaxed with a massive plummet into a small lake sending water cascading all over the boat occupants! He loved it so much in fact that he chose to go around again for his final ride of the day.
Even a headache during the day didn't deter him or dampen his enthusiasm or enjoyment.
The day in the sun took a toll on his father though as I'm weary and have a mild headache.
A shower, some dinner and a lie down should see me right though.

Carolyn FB and Dad went to HarbourTown to shop! Fashion Boy stayed true to his name by coming home with some new clothes, of particular note was the "ski hat" he bought. He's very proud of it! Not exactly sure why. He's becoming more like his big brother, The Heir, every day!
Carolyn got some bathers so she can enjoy the delights of Wet n Wild Water World tomorrow if she so desires.

One more day in Queensland before we fly down to Melbourne tomorrow night.

Last Night in Gympie

My last night in Gympie, before we head for the Gold Coast in the morning, was spent watching Casino Royale with Dad. The name is Bond, James Bond.



Carolyn and I went to a local church this morning which we both enjoyed, one guy in particular was pretty funny talking about pressure when you fly in the intro to communion. Not an obvious link there I know but he did it well.



After church we caught the last hour of the markets and picked up a few bits and pieces and bargains; a Tom Clancy book for Fashion Boy which should keep him occupied for at least one day, a Marilyn Monroe book for Pop who is partial to Norma Jean, a patchwork book for Carolyn which I haggled down from $8 to $5, a nut and apple cake reduced to $3 and very yummy, The Road Less Travelled by M Scott Peck, a classic (which I haven't read before) and a bag for Carolyn to pack her carry-on stuff in for the flight to Melbourne, for $4.50, the vendor assured her the same thing sells for $11 at Crazy Clarks!!

I also got a little toy for myself but I can't divulge what it is here.



More computer chat with Dad this arvo but sadly Scrabble seems to cause his lap-top to crash which is disappointing.

I dozed while watching the NRL semi-final then had one last game of kick to kick with Sport Boy in Grampa's backyard which drew a compliment from the old lady next door who was very impressed that we were out there playing together.



W've packed and are ready for departure in the morning after I have , hopefully, obtained my ticket to the football on Friday night. They open sales at 9.00am and I daresay there is going to be quite a rush for them what with there being more Collingwood fans than anyone else in the league and the Cats having such a great season, I expect it to be a sell-out. I'm just hoping we can get tickets for Carolyn and Sport Boy when general public sales open on Wednesday.



I can't let the day's events conclude without mentioning the bomb-shell news that Chris Judd has requested a transfer from West Coast back to Victoria. Half of WA must be in mourning tonight!!

Oh and I'm sad to say that Spurs did indeed lose to Arsenal last night despite leading 1-0 at half time!

Saturday in Gympie

After the excitement of last night's footy final, today was quiet by comparison.

For the first time in a long time I made a list of tasks I wanted to complete today, (a work style approach to life I haven't had for many weeks) and I'm pleased to report I got all except one of them done.

Chief among them was finding and booking somewhere to stay while we're down at the Gold Coast next week. I used an excellent website called quickbeds.com to track down the Windsurfer Resort at Biggera Waters (Pronunciation open to debate) who had a family apartment available for the two nights we need at a pretty good price.
Having booked that I moved onto buying tickets to a couple of theme parks. All 4 of us will have a day at Wet n Wild Water World and Sport Boy and I will also sample the delights of MovieWorld.
Fashion Boy has foregone this in favour of a day's snow-boarding in Victoria if we manage to find snow. I emailed my "step-uncle" Peter today to seek his advice and input as he works for a company who manage a couple of ski resorts. Hopefully he can point us in the right direction. We're heading up that way after the Grand Final (and hopefully the celebrations) are over.

Carolyn has opted for walks on the beach and reading by the pool while sipping iced coffees.
And even Dad has opened to the possibility of staying a night or two with us at the coast seeing as the apartment will be big enough to accommodate us all.

I then introduced Pop to the (addictive) joys of computer Scrabble and shared a few of my tips and strategies. He burned a copy of the CD in anticipation of further word-gaming.
Regular readers will know that I love Scrabble, both the computer variety and playing in real life against the old ladies in the Scrabble Club in Busso.

A trip into town was productive. Carolyn wanted a smaller suitcase than the monster model she came over with and we found a decent bag at Crazy Clarks that fitted the bill. It had some paint specks on it so I enquired about a discount. To my surprise, before said discount was applied, it was already reduced from the ticket price of $39.50 to $25, less the paint discount brought it down to $20. Betty Bargain Hunter strikes again! Not to be outdone, Carolyn also found two very nice dresses, reduced from $49 down to $10 each! Well done!

Next came the evening ritual of kick to kick with the footy with Sport Boy which continued until well after the sun went down and the only clue that a football was headed your way was the thump of it being kicked a couple of seconds before it arrived. Sport Boy's kicks became increasingly wayward the darker it got and by the time I'd hurdled the neighbour's fences 5 times to retrieve it I called the game on account of the light.

Final activity for the day was watching the Kangaroos surprise everyone, not least the Hawks, to win the 2nd semi-final tonight and proceed to the preliminary final V Port Adelaide next week.

Australia are currently playing wales in the World Cup Rugby and Pop is about to go to bed so I'll be banished from the computer shortly.
Hopefully not before I check on the result of the Spurs V Arsenal game in London. I'm never hopeful when we play the Gonners but maybe there'll be good news!!

Noosa

We had a lovely day out at Noosa today. We wandered up and down looking at the shops and galleries on Hastings St, resisting the urge to buy anything although Fashion Boy added to his hat collection with a rastafarian tea cosy.
We had a very nice lunch at a little restaurant, sharing a couple of seafood platters between three of us while Dad and Sport Boy had the basic fish and chip meal.
Coffee followed for some, ice cream for the rest of us.
Sport Boy was busting to go to the toilet and was getting pretty anxious in our search, speculating to homself whether he'd wet his pants before we found one.
His luck held and we made it and he let out the biggest sigh as he was finally able to relieve the pressure on his bladder.
When he'd finished he said to me,
"I'm just going to stay here a little longer and enjoy the moment"!!

We adjourned to the famous Noosa beach but no-one ventured in for a swim. Instead we threw the Zocker up and down the beach while Dad and Carolyn sat on the sound and watched.

We got home with just enough daylight left to kick the footy in the backyard for ten minutes.

At 8:30 we settled in front of the tv to watch the footy, the 1st semi-final between West Coast and Collingwood and it was a classic game, finishing in a draw at the final siren which meant 10 minutes of extra time was played, and Collingwood ended up winning by 19 points.
We were all excited and Sport Boy was jumping all over the lounge he was "so full of adrenalin".
"I feel like I could jump over your head Dad" he said with a few minutes to go.
Carolyn incurred the wrath of Pop by daring to barrack for Collingwood!
That's what being surrounded by Eagles fans every day will do to you!!

It sets up a Preliminary Final between Geelong and Collingwood next Friday night at the MCG.
Getting tickets for the family is going to be the challenge cause I reckon the game will be a sell-out.

Backyard Footy

Poor Sport Boy just about ran out of steam tonight, and considering the abundant store of energy that is normally Sport Boy, that is saying something. The cause?
An afternoon at the Gympie swimming pool, open but not heated, followed by about an hour of kick to kick with the footy in the backyard at Grampa's.* The sun had set, it was getting pretty dark and I needed a way to signal the end of the game.
"You have to mark 8 out of 10 kicks or we're finished"
Ever ready for a challenge Sport Boy duly marked 8 out of 10.
"5 out of 5 now" I challenged.
SB duly caught all 5 kicks.
"OK, next time you drop one the game's over"
1,2,3,4,5,6,.....he took mark after mark......all the way up to 26 before one finally hit the ground.
He'd done very well but as you can see, he was exhausted by the time we came inside.

*Grampa had 4 envious onlookers as he mowed the grass in the backyard this morning, because he was driving his John Deere ride-on mower to do the job! Even Carolyn said she wouldn't mind having a go on that!

Dad cooked dinner tonight, an event I caught on camera.
"Don't let your mother see that" he warned!
We all survived, and enjoyed dinner!

Tonight we've traded stories and computer tips while I played Scrabble and he checked the stock market and calculated his current worth.

How much? Priceless!

Peace

Sport Boy bought a Mood Ring from the $2 Shop this afternoon and had me try it on when he got back from his haircut. It turned light blue which he informed me meant "peace". Carolyn commented, "Your Dad's on long service leave and Geelong are winning, why wouldn't he be peaceful?"
It sounded fair enough to me!
Life in Gympie moves at a sedate pace, whether you're on holiday or not.
Today consisted of getting up late, though not as late as yesterday, reading the paper for an hour while discussing football with Pop, making tuna and cheese toasted sandwiches for lunch, painting a picture then playing Stingers with the boys and the Zocker, a spiral shaped soft football thrown gridiron style.
If you dropped it the thrower got to take a free shot at you while you used one hand to protect your face and the other to guard your most vital/vulnerable assets.
Fashion Boy spent half the time dancing like a man having a siezure due to the ants in his part of the backyard, and the other half ducking balls he had trouble seeing. He does have some problems with his eyesight but still Sport Boy and I decided to penalise him with a free shot if he ducked one he should have tried to catch.
The darker it got the harder it became, for all of us, not just FB.
Carolyn cooked a lasagne for dinner, mmmm! lasagne! then we watched Thank God You're Here.
A peaceful way to spend a day! The ring would still be blue but Sport Boy's taken it to bed.

Gympie

I am now blogging from Queensland, Duke St Gympie to be precise, my Dad's place. I arrived without mishap after flying in from Melbourne last night.

It was good to see him and be reunited with the rest of the family.

Today we went for a walk downtown to look around the CBD then went to see Ratatouille with Sport Boy at the cinema on Cut Price Tuesday.

Dad, Fashion Boy and I are about to head down there again to see The Bourne Ultimatum.