Back to the Beach - Noosa

We're here almost a week, Adam comes to visit as well, and we might stay a bit more. It's beautiful, and relaxing. Vernon takes us to the boat club and we go sailing - we LOVE it. We don't realize until we are there that we are speed sailing, and the boat Vernon and I are on win the afternoon race. We recieve a bottle of wine, the Captain - Peter, wants us to have it. The next day Alison & I go sea kayaking, we are very adventourous. It's us, a guide and one other couple. We are prepared to kayak in the river, we're not so sure about the ocean. The ocean is very choppy at times, but we paddle, watch surfers, and try not to roll our kayak. The guide complements us on our paddling skills (or at least Alison's, I try not to freeze when waves come) Alison might kill me but we make it through, two hours later we are done, and soaked. We go home and prep to cook dinner.

Katoomba

From Sydney we head to Katoomba where we spend two days hiking around. It is unbelievable beautiful. Waterfalls, the Three sisters - rock formations, and Grand Canyon like vastness but with greenery, then tropical forest. We stay in a super hippie hostel with really nice people, then head back to Sydney and Brisbane. We are hosting a birthday bbq for uncles' Vernon, Ian and myself (Rachel) on the weekend. We have a great time and cook a huge southern feast - ribs, chicken, cornbread, greenbeans, and potato salad. On Sunday we head to Noosa with Aunt Karen, Uncle Vernon, and their six year old daughter Tennille.

Parade

The crowd gets whistles, and Jarrod gives Alison and I a sandwich since we've been there all day. We are back in the same hostel as when we first arrived in Sydney. They are doing construction on the building, we find out this means they've torn out the bathroom in our building. We are hoping we won't wake in the middle of the night to pee. We are exhausted after the parade and crash out pretty much immediately after. We spend the next day wandering around Sydney and take an evening ghost tour.

Mardi Gars

We go to reserve a spot on the street at three in the afternoon by sitting on the curb. The parade does not start until 7pm. There is a liquor store on the corner. We meet wonderful people whom we are standing next to and proceed to drink a fair bit throughout the afternoon/evening. They give us whistles, and we're a bit tipsy. The parade is great, and the whole city is celebrating. We meet Todd's Australian doppelganger, if not soul mate. We get info for Todd, and say only good things about him.

train with baby

Finally on the train to Sydney, Mardi Gras here we come! This train has a crying baby, but our return train has really obnoxious people on it, and three people with no shoes. I'm just sayin'. Alison is mad, and yells at obnoxious guy at three in the morning - they shut up. My hero.