A Little Taste of Home

We were up around 7am, packed up the car and hooked up the camper ready for our next move, today we are meeting up with Robby, Kathy and Emily. We took off after making a final check and then realised we had forgotten Thelma (the WAECO). Not a drama as Robby and Kit had a unit with a fridge so we could manage without it for the 4 nights we are away. We left quite a bit of stuff at Russell and Charlotte's house as we have to go back there to get the car brakes done (it has been booked in for the afternoon 1.30pm). Due to the necessity of traveling on the motorways, we needed to get an E-tag, this took some doing as when we first contacted them, they said we could pick one up when on the motorway but we missed the manned booth (there was no signage as to where to turn off the motorway), as a result of this it took some time on the phone as we travelled the motorway (Logan Highway) to get this in place to avoid all the fines that could result if payments are missed. We saw on TV last night the story of the young lady with $38,000 in fines to pay off and she had accumulated a further $10,000 since she received the bill from the courts. We did not want to end up with any of this sort of problem in the future. We arrived at the Treasure Island Caravan Park around 11.30am and set up camp after finding out that Robby, Kit and Emily were already ensconced and having a sleep in the unit. I could not wait to get my arms around Emily; she is really growing up quickly and is very mobile. She has progressed so much since I last saw her 4 months or so ago, very curious about her surroundings and trying really hard to articulate. We all got together at the unit for the afternoon and caught up on all that has transpired in the last few months. We went out for dinner at the Hard Rock Café in. This is a big city with a lot of high rising buildings, very green due to the high water fall each year. We saw lots of playgrounds for the young ones, lots of places to go and eat and lots of amusements around the place as well. After dinner of Chicken and Salad, we went to our respective accommodations (this was to allow Robby, Kit and Emily to catch up on some sleep after flying all the way from WA this morning) and Peter and I read our kindles and retired around 9pm.

Day 118 S 10/9 Treasure Island Caravan Park at

We were up around 6am this morning with the sun and the birds. Peter and I had breakfast and then took off for a quick look at the local shops. We caught up with Robby, Kit and Emily around 9.30am and headed off to Seaworld. We visited the Polar Bear enclosure, the Penguins on show and watched the Dolphins and Seal Shows. We also managed to watch the Jet Ski's in action. All the shows were really good, little Emily laughed and was enthralled by Dolphins and the Seals when they jumped out of the water. I managed to get quite a few photos of all the events. We had Domino pizza's for lunch and did some shopping and browsing at some of the speciality stores. We then squeezed in some fun rides, Robby, Kit and Peter went on the Roller Coaster, Ski Rescue (like a type of Jet Ski ride to rescue sea lions) and The Water Flume. Emily and I went on the aeroplane ride and Emily liked it so much she cried when it stopped as she wanted it to go on for a longer time. We went home around 4.30pm picking up some meat from the Butchers so we could have a BBQ dinner with the left over salad from last night. All in all it was a very full day outing so we were all off to bed quite early.

Day 119 F 11/9 Treasure Island Caravan Park at

Up around 6am this morning, had a shower and then went to have a buffet breakfast here at the park restaurant which was really nice (not bad value $20 including a proper coffee such as mocha), with a nice choice of breakfast delights. We could choose from Bacon and Eggs to croissants and fresh fruit. We then got together after Emily had a morning nap to visit Harbour Town. It was a massive shopping centre with lots and lots of retail outlets and a cinema not to mention all the food outlets there. I picked up new thongs for Peter and Christopher, Kathy picked up quite a few bargains for Emily and Robby as well as some things for herself. We were back around 1.30pm to the unit to have lunch. Emily had a nap and then we all went for a swim around 3pm, the pool was nice and heated (of course), there were lots of other tourists swimming as well as us so a busy little place to be. We headed back to the unit to have a bath and change, also to giv e Emily another nap before dinner (she is cutting new teeth and is a little grizzly at times as she is in pain. Poor mite!). Whilst Emily was having a nap, Peter, Robby and Kathy went to the shops to get some drinks and magazines and I looked after Emily. When they returned, I of course made spaghetti bolognaise with salad for dinner. We sat and talked and played with Emily until she went to sleep, Peter and I then returned to our camp to retire as we were hoping for an early start tomorrow as we are all off to the Dreamworld Park.

Day 120 Su 11/9 Treasure Island Caravan Park at

We were up at 6am, had breakfast and caught up on the diary. Peter wrote up all the places that we have been to since we left home for Christopher as he has lost the plot so to speak of where we are and has been in this predicament since July. We will get the co-ordinates for him so assist him to find it on the map as he has been keeping a tally of where we have been. Meanwhile I caught up on the housework and the necessary packing of the day pack required for an outing today to Dreamworld Park. We have planned to leave around 8.30am as the Dreamworld Park opens at 10am and we do not want to miss any of the shows. We ended up leaving closer to 9am as it is only a half hour trip to the park and we called into the newsagents to see if we had won any money on the big $21,000,000 draw from Saturday night. We had some luck winning division 5 reaping a wonderful $21.40, a good start to the day. We arrived a little early at the Dreamworld Park but they were already letting people into the park. We headed off first to the Superman Rollercoaster ride, on our way there, we ran into Bugs Bunny and Emily had a photo with him and then one with Bugs Bunny and her parents. Peter, Robby and Kathy then all went and lined up for the Superman ride whilst Emily and I waited outside where we had morning tea and watched as the ride went round and round the rollercoaster. Emily was enthralled with the noise and the sounds the rollercoaster made. Next was the Batman elevator ride followed by the Stunt Car Riders Show which we all enjoyed, even little Emily was not put off by all the load noises of the cars doing stunts and the fire crackers etc that were going off. We all then headed off to the Scooby Doo Rollercoaster, Emily and I waited outside where we met Elsie who was visiting the park with her grandson. We enjoyed a lovely conversation and had something to eat and drink whilst we waited for the other's to return from the ride. We were then going to head off to the kiddies park but Emily decided it was time for a little nap. This meant we stopped for some lunch so Emily would not get disturbed. We then headed off to the Wild West Ride but it was closed for renovations, we did manage to get some photos and Peter, Emily and I are now on a wanted poster. We then headed off for the kiddies park and Emily and I had a ride with Tweety Bird in a Bird cage that went up and down whilst going round and round. She did not enjoy this as much as her ride at Seaworld, Emily then went for a train ride with her mum. We then did a little shopping picking up a few items for Emily and the photos from earlier in the day when the adults were having rides. Emily again decided on a short nap so we adults took the time to see a 4D movie lasting 20 minutes about a Journey to the centre of the Earth. Emily woke up during the show so I moved to the back seats but she did not like the water being sprayed on her so we left via the exit and were joined by the others once the show finished. It was then time for the General Parade where we saw all the characters from the park on parade and following this Peter, Robby and Kathy decided that they wanted to have one last ride on the Superman rollercoaster. Emily and I waited patiently outside again watching the rollercoaster go round and round. We met quite a few other children who were not tall enough to go on the ride with the mum or dad who were also waiting on a member from their groups. We left the park and headed back to the caravan park as we had decided that we would eat out at the Bistro at the caravan park itself rather than going out for dinner. Kathy and I had steak with mushroom sauce, chips and salad whilst the boys both had garlic prawns followed by a rib fillet on a bed of mashed potatoes with salad. We retired to the unit so that Emily could go to bed, watched a little Television and then Peter and I retired to our camp for the night around 8.30pm. Tomorrow, Robby, Kathy and Emily will return to WA whilst Peter and I return to our adventure around Australia (after we get the brakes fixed of course).