Noosaville (1) - Day 14

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Martin and I are fly to the Sunshine Coast on our own leaving Melissa in Sydney for the next week. We have arranged to meet an old school friend - Karen and her husband Mitch. Now I have know Karen since we were just 12 when our fathers were in the RAF. We went to the same school when the squadrons that my Dad, Karen's Dad, Lofty's Dad, Teresa's Dad and probably others that I can not remember was shutting down and they were being relocated. All of our Dad's got posted to the same new RAF base which meant that although we moved schools, we moved with friends. This was very important at that age and I can still remember the sense of inclusion I felt when I was able to walk to my new school with an old friend and others who had arrived just weeks earlier were there to greet me.

I haven't actually kept in touch with Karen since leaving school but a few months previously, she had returned to the UK for a visit and she had arranged for some old school friends to get together through FB. The main link up was arranged for Saturday but Karen, Karen (W), Sue and I had met up on the Friday night and it was like stepping back in time. Apart from the inevitable extra inches none of us had changed and we immediately fell back into our childhood group and gossiped the night away. No airs, no graces, no pretences just kids reconnecting and reminiscing - a great night and a promise not to leave it so long until we next meet.

As it happens, I had booked a 2 bed apartment in Noosa anticipating that Melissa might have joined us but she had been here just a few months previously so had made plans to join us later and we had a spare room going. Karen living in Brisbane with her husband Mitch just an hour away was too good an opportunity to miss and they were joining us for a couple of days. Karen kindly offered to pick us up from the airport and we checked into the apartment mid afternoon. They arrived with a cool box, 8 bottles of wine - 4 white, 4 red, a bottle of champagne and beers for the men! Ummm, is this an indication of how much she drinks or how much she thinks I drink?! She also brings out a platter of cheese and biscuits and we waste no time in getting stuck in and getting to know Mitch who we have never met before.We exchange stories of our families, homes, travels, and job then we make our way out to explore our surroundings. It is early Sunday evening and Noosaville is really busy. We are right on the riverfront and there are boats sailing up and down the river, families cooking bbqs using the community facilities and tables under shaded roofs, kiddies on scooters or just running in and out of the water and you immediately get a real family feel of this place. It's so different to the city of Sydney, although it is busy it is much more spaced out and instantly, I like the feel of it.

We choose a restaurant for dinner only to find that they are fully booked but we are early and they agree to squeeze us in if we agree to give up the table in an hour or so. We oblige and settle down to eat and drink again.It has gone 9pm by the time we get back but it was still really hot so we all got changed and jumped in the pool to cool down. This is the life and by all accounts is one of the reasons Karen and Mitch moved out here.

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