Sunday to the reef

Sunday

Today actually (Feb 7th) we went snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. Last week there were major rains here so we thought we were lucky because the weather is beautiful. It turns out the ocean is still churned up so much that we couldn't see one piece of coral or one fish. It was pretty disappointing but it was still a wonderfully relaxing day. Better than the snow and ice. We also saw some pretty aggressive birds. As I was sitting and eating my shrimp lunch and talking a bird grabbed the shrimp right out of my hand. Another bird grabbed a french fry out of a young Chinese woman's hand and she really freaked out. 

M

Sarah would have loved it. There's a resort on this island ( were on green island) and a pool for hotel guests only. Of course I snuck in and had a wonderfully relaxing swim. So today wasn't a total loss. 

Saturday night In Oz

Saturday night

As we were walking along the Esplanade we passed a Woolworth. I couldn't resist going in. It turns out it ws a high-end grocery store with the most delicious and exotic fruit. Not your father’s Woolworth ..

Before that we went in search of opals. I’ve always wanted Opal earrings and David was sweet enough to buy me a pair for my birthday. The woman who sold it to me was very interesting. Her father started mining opals when she was young. She was one of 10 children but has a small family herself only five children. 

We had a wizard of Oz moment. As we were walking back to the hotel we heard these birds in the distance. It turns out they weren't birds but something called flying foxes. They weren't flying foxes but bats - very big bats. In fact they are called megabats and they are the biggest bats in the world. A form of fruit bat. There were hundreds of them swirling around screeching and screaming. It was quite a sight. They hang out at this specific tree and there was a note on the tree asking us not to touch the flying foxes. I didn't need a note to tell me not to touch big bats. Nonetheless it was pretty spectacular.  Why wizard of the Oz?  Because they reminded both of us of the flying monkeys scene- they were that big!

Saturday in Cairns

Big country this is!  Took the flight to Cairns and jumped an Uber to our hotel. Then took a nice walk along the esplanade which was filled with shops, playgrounds, workout stations and Crocodile warnings. Oh, did we mention it is hot?

But of course you haven’t really arrived till you stop for a snack...

Figured we should take advantage of the fresh fish. 

Catch up entry

So we drove from Ithaca to New York city for 4 1/2 hours and then took a flight from NYC to LA for 5 1/2 hours. Then we got on the flight to Australia which was 16 hours. Luckily my brother warned us about a medical condition called cheek fatigue .  We experienced it. The flight over wasn’t bad although obviously long. I got some sleeping pills and I slept. Even better so did David which is unusual. David slept so much he missed dinner. It takes more than a sleeping pill for me to miss dinner so I ate. I also know how planes dry out the skin so I took a little facial mask with me. David will upload those pictures. I look exceptionally well.  

From take off.....

 Crossing the date line........

 Thanks 

David and I are both having trouble with the concept that we are in tomorrow while the folks back home are in yesterday. Bill Bryson had a great comment saying stop trying to get your head around it and accept that you lost 24 hours of your existence

New prod new product for us

Saturday

Saturday

After a 12 hour sleep we got up at 8 for a 9:00 am pick up to the airport. Just our luck a passing pedestrian turned us onto the local Saturday "farmers market" and when she suggested they had egg and bacon sandwiches Melanie was off like a shot.

What a neat place with all sorts of foods and produce and nicknacks set up in a local square.  Next to Melanie's sandwich booth was a stall with Turkish grilled breakfast sandwiches surrounded by more than enough treats to keep us there all day. Also lots of veggie and vegan choices. 

Back to the room, quick pack and off to the airport. Our flight was on Jetstar. This is Qantas's cheap airline and that it was. Leg Room was a little bit less than normal and tea was four dollars a cup yes they charge for tea. If you wanted warm tapwater that was free but that's it.     

More Friday

So the blogger app appears to be no more so forgive the unclever distribution of pictures