Tuesday 22 December continued Pat decided to have some retail therapy and went off to the shopping centre on her own at 4.30 pm. I had some quiet time. It rained. Pat came back with a few purchases about 6.15 pm. We had booked a table for 7.30 pm at Macauleys just up the road. It was still raining. Pat had atlantic salmon and lemon tart citron, I had chicken satay stir fry (hot) and a deep fried ice cream covered in macadamia nut. Lovely and we were both stuffed. Back to the room in the rain. Wednesday 23 December Still raining. We woke and slowly stirred about 8.30 am. We had thought to go out for a drive today, but because of the rain we changed plans. Instead we would stay local and visit shopping ... read more

Friday 18 December A day at sea. The ship was only moving a little during the night, so a good night's sleep. We stirred about 9.00 am and after showering went to to the Windjammer for breakfast. On return to the cabin at 10.30 am, decided to purchase an internet package for the last two days of the cruise to catch up with the world. Unlimited access for two days and two devices was US$60. Was now able to post blog and pictures on FB, etc. A copy of our account to date was provided in the cabin. We have been charged for some mini bar items which we hadn't used. Pat was going passed reception, so sorted it out with no problem. Pat went to the Solarium area for a while later and we met ... read more

Tuesday 8 December continued We had a quiet afternoon and eventually took a walk at 7.30 pm. When we return from our cruise on the 20th, we needed accommodation for that night in Brisbane and then we havr a hire car pick up the next day. The hire car we had organised a while ago, but not the accom. Once we found out the location of the rental place, which is five minutes walk from our current hotel, we tried to book a night in here as it is really nice, but because they are big apartments and take a lot of cleaning they charge a high rate for one night stays, we knew we could find somewhere else cheaper, which is what we did. The evening walk took us to the actual car rental place ... read more

Saturday 5 December We awoke at 8.30 am after our late night and had a slow start. During the morning a massive convoy off motorcycles went by, with teddy bears and xmas decorations and of course Santa - on a motorcycle, looking it up later it appears to be The Salvation Army Toy Run. We took a walk across the road to the restaurant in the windmill and had some breakfast. Pat ordered poached eggs on toast and I had the big breakfast. With an English Breakfast pot of tea and an iced frappe came to AUS$38.50. My breakfast had eggs, bacon, sausage, sourdough, with red onion, mushroom and spinach relish. Lovely. Then down to the seafront after browsing through some shops on the way at which Pat bought an ankle bracelet. We had discussed visting ... read more

Wednesday 2 December We had a lovely cooked breakfast at the motel this morning. Because we woke early, we were packed and ready to move by 8 am. I had paid for the room and dinner, while we were at breakfast AUS$133. So, I dropped the key at reception and we were off. We had a few things we needed and almost as soon as we joined the A1 Bruce Highway spotted a big Woolworths on a retail park, so a quick lane change and we were at the car park. We found all of the things we wanted, including some in the attached chemist, so all was good. Then back off again at 8.40 am. Yesterday, when we looked at the map for our journey, Pat had spotted a slightly inland route. The Bruce highway ... read more