The Runaway Parents...sshhh dont tell the kids where we have gone!

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Tuesday 14th August 2007:
Couldnt fit in some wine...bugger! Some other stuff went under the house. Left Leopold like Jed Clampet heading to Beverley Hills...swimmin pools...movie stars...Bye Elle Pelle see you in the Sunshine. Hume to Wodonga and the 2nd best Bangers n Mash @ "The Settlers". The tidypak was all we needed. 0*c overnight.

Wed 15th.
Good roadhouse brekky and free coffee. Then 15klms down the Hme into NSW @ 9.01am text from Raa. We return call Hip Hip , guess whose 22 in Wigan! She sat up till Midinght to open the prezzie we sent-- Go CATTERS--, Explode you flag favourites. We sent a short sleeve CATS jumper and she absolutley loved it. Good high to start the day!
Arrive Springwood to Patrick (Gebs little Bro') Pizza shop @ 4.40pm and POW Welcome to kids a kimbo, and a free for all!...and the @#*%# noise. Great pizza tho and great welcome. Patrick was trying to explain to young Sam (4y/o) how i was connected to him. "I was his uncle on Grandma's side of the family", so he called me "Uncle Grandma" ! Fair enough.

Thurs 16th
Katoomba Day! Soobie happy to not have the full oad. Reained a bot - no worries - picnic lunch and a post card to Elle. Loved Patricks TomTom so much decided we needed one. Fed crew a Curry! The Kettles will make it with some good luck, a tatts win and 2 good nannies!

Friday 17th:
Willy Nelson.
460 kms to Nambucca Heads. Good drive, great spot, 4612 raffles later we still won zero, but for $12 had the 2nd best smorgy of all time - the fish/roast/salads.

Saturday 18th:
Beaut sleep. Bellingen Jazz and Blues Feistival. Super grouse market - VW heaven. Massage by Sea Lake Hippy. Saw John Howard (the actor) great spot - good side trip! V_Wall -unique to Nabucca heads - licence to graffiti rocks @ breakwater! Photo is attached.

Sunday 19th:
What is this wet stuff falling from the sky? Followed us all the way through Coffs Harbour, freezing in Ballina and on to Neil & Rows @ Pacific Pines - 10 klms north of Surfers. Got there just in time to see Neil b/4 he left on a work trip and the Cats win their 15th in a row ... September action for the Catters! Row & Drew & Tom arrived soon after for our Pie & Vegie Quiche.

Monday 20th:
OK so we braved the weather, skiffy showers and went to Dreamworld. Had too really! BB House was cool and good to see the whole set up. Caught up with Beav who was worried about the red wine spill, great apartment @ The Morroccan. The next day he was expecting "company" and suggested it could be "wet & wild" before she attempted his "tower of terror". Funny bastard Beav! We sent the girls postcards today from Dreamworld.

Tuesay 21st:
Willie Nelson.
In the rain and off to Hervey Bay,. The news told us there was a Low Depression becoming more complex and likely to extend from the Tweed to Sunshine Coast and beyond. Had a great coffee with Mick Schilling in BNE. TomTom still working well and got us through BNE to Hervey Bay. What a very very nice place ... the esplanade a great bike ride for the first time on our trip. Great Sunset. great meal "Great Barrier Reef" - eye fillet, king prawns wrapped in Tas Salmon witrh Blue Cheese sauce ... wow.

Wed 22nd:
Picked up by tour guide for Fraser Island - 7.25am!! Weather is looking iffy seems that low depression might follow us here. 4wd Bus very cool. very bumpy but fun trip across island. Beachfront Highway, pretty amazing - seeing all the buses and 4wd's loaded with blokes with their fishing poles and camping stuff. Eli Creek - fresh water creek excellent. Mohaw wreck. Then came th weather @ lunchtime. Rain and more rain. The surf was 4m swells and an amazing sight. Excellent rainforest walk and Lake McKenzie with the defoliating silicon sand was very cool. The low depression turned into "The 100 year Storm" in the Wdie Bay area or that was how Rob Ruff (yep from Family Fued) explained it on the news. It settled east off Fraser Island and was unrelenting - we packed the car between heavy downpours - sent girls postcards!

Thursday 23rd:
Hervey Bay to Yeppoon - 5 hours.
Apart from aqua planing around Childers ... quite scary really, the balance of the trip was w/out incident. Nice lunch @ Calliope and caught up with Linda's brother Keith when we got to Yeppoon. The WOW factor is pretty huge, stunning coast great to look at Great Keppell and the other Islands. Had to empty trailer to allow stuff to dry out as bloody typhoon got in somehow. Now we are looking forward to sunshine and warmth.

Friday 24th:
In the open air cinema and Yeppoon Capricornia Coast Caravan Park was "The Lakehouse". It was the 2nd viewing for Linda but I would take another 52 for it to make any bloody sense at all. Picked up Keith @ 6:00 for BBQ dinner at our park and he was 3 sheets to the wind - funny though whispering through the movie ... we could tell he was apprehensive about his pending surgery ... (which has been a great success)!

Saturday 25th:
Yeppoon to Seaforth ... we arrive in Mackay w/out incident and met 3 of the friendliest people. The crew from North Mackay Cricket Club washed our filthy Soobie and the helpful girl in the hardware store was beaming about those pies (which she was going to have at her wedding). Next time in Mackay area its off the to Pinnacle Pub for those pies. Mum & Dad were rapt to see us. We set up camp beside them @ Seaforth, pitched the tent and inflated the matress for the first time. How relaxing.

Sunday 26th:
Mum and Dad rode to Mass @ 6:55am and arrived 2 minutes early! A 5km walk to the other end of the beach and back was cool. Whitsunday Isl on the horizon and a realxing day. Watched the Cats lose on the last kick of the day to Port Adelaide in the Laundry.

Mon 27th:
Greg the Myth creator said good tomatoe pickers @ Bowen 2 hours north were getting $1000/day and crap pickers $400 day. We thought we could pick tomatoes and were keen. Dad and I took a recky - left Seaforth @ 9:30 and were back at 4:30. Took in Airlie and Shute Harbour on the return leg, spoke candidly to 2 pickers having a smoko and the facts are $60/daily for 7am - 3pm best possibly is $250/day if doing a final strip pick - we cancelled plans for a fortnight of picking and declared "Myth Busted". We learned a new card game ... golf, taught to Mum & Dad by Darren Mole. We played it every night and had a good time at it.

Tuesday 28th:
Linda came across a web job at a beachside kiosk at Etty Bay, about 10klms south of Innisvale, FNQ. Spoke to "Peter" and teed up a personal interview for Thursday 30th. Sounds very interesting ... change of plans req'd as we were going to stay till Saturday. Mum, Dad and I had planned Bowls @ North Mackay, so we went and had a good time. Very strange though under full roof on "Ocean Grove type carpet" but the sides allow for breeze flow.

A good final night with Mum & Dad @ Seaforth with Linda being the winner of Golf. I think the beer / whiskey / red (2004 Heathcote Shiraz, yummy) and port had a bit to do with Maurice's concentration skills ... ha funny stuff!

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Comments

[Raa]

yays 4 parentals using blogging
Hey both of you...well it sounds like u hav been getting up to a load of things, stuff i hadnt heard bout till i read your blog. Sounds like you are having a whale of a time!! :) and so u deserve too!! thanks 4 all the postcards and I will go and check out all the pics now!! lots of love xoxo