After picking up our bags and getting the quickest taxi ride to the airport, free debate on politics and President Obama / Tony Blair included, we check in on Wednesday 27th February for a 14 hour flight to Brisbane. All goes well, Becky and I have a spare seat between us so can spread out a bit (the nice lady who checked us in must've thought we needed a bit of space!) so we're boarded and off before we know it! A quick dinner and then the lights go down and we try to sleep which we both manage, me with the help of some sleeping tablets but needs must!
Becky has always had trouble with her ears, she used to get earache a lot when she was little and as a mother, you always feel guilty if your child suffers at all so when she had to have grommets in her ears as a little girl, I was there wishing that I could take away the pain and go through it myself, not her. She's grown up used to it all but really suffers when flying so taking paracetamol and ibuprofen before take-off and landing is standard procedure, as is screwing in special earplugs which help balance the air pressure, and of course sucking sweets! She did all this on the way up, slept through and when we were getting ready for breakfast, she couldn't find the earplugs! They were in the special container before she slept but gone by the time she woke up. Well, she turned herself and her seat pretty much inside out and upside down trying to find them and couldn't, had breakfast and then tried again to find them. I had a look behind our seats where there was a space for the crew members and the very nice steward asked what we were doing as Becky was upside down on her seat. He then launched into the small gap between seats and turned it all inside out but still with no luck so poor Becky had to suffer the landing with cheap, nay free, earplugs which seemingly worked as well, if not better than the £8 ones she had lost! I don't normally suffer, a sweet to suck on is all I need, but this time my ears really started to hurt and not just hurt, I thought they were probably bleeding by this stage but we were landing and it was too late to take anything for it and I hoped it would stop as soon as we landed, which it did but that's not fair - Becky was fine after all that fuss looking for those earplugs and I suffered doubly for it - that bit where I said I would rather suffer than see her suffer - scrub that - she can take it! That's life eh!
Eventually we land early and it's Friday 1st March - where did Thursday 28th February go? Time travelling into the future is here and now! Confused, yes I am, crossing the International Date Line really messes with my head, so am I on day 8, 9 or 10? Who knows?
Well, we're here anyway and after queuing for an hour Disney style, backwards and forwards, to get through passport control we finally come out into the airport and at last a friendly face, or at least a familiar one as Becky's friend Oliver met us. Getting out of the airport, we're impressed as its very warm and we're on the Sunshine Coast so at last a chance to get some sun and have a good few days relaxing and catching up with friends. It turns out its all a lie - its not the Sunshine Coast at all. It soon started raining and when it starts, that's it - still warm and humid but very wet rain. Oliver drove us back to Caloundra, an hour north of Brisbane, where we would be staying with him for a few days in his unit - Do you live in an Industrial Unit and haven't told us asked Becky?
When we get to the Unit, and a very comfortable unit it is too, we settle in and then Oliver's mum, who has moved from our home town, comes round to say hello and we all go for a walk to get some lunch from a beachside cafe - yes, this is definitely a bit more like it - sand, sea and a beach cafe. At last, a bit of relaxing. We go back to Oli's mum's flat after lunch and then by the time we make our way back to Oli's, we're starting to wane. It's time for a bit of tea just to keep us going so a quick look in the food cupboard to see what we could have reveals a tin of spaghetti and sausages that Oli got on special offer, buy one get one free, ate one tin and didn't like it so its been there a while, and a tub of peanut butter - hmmmmm, not much choice then. There was a packet of pasta but nothing to go with it! Ok, Becky and I have spaghetti and sausages on toast and very good it was too! Hard luck Oli!
Time differences worked out, we try for a quick catch up with the family back home, my son and my other daughter on Face Time (technology is bloody amazing), and I show them around the flat, just a quick look but I show them the food cupboard so they can see how Oli has prepared for our stay, sorry Oli - really wasn't trying to embarrass you, I found it very funny though, as did the family, who all know him well and both gave him appropriate comments on his catering skills! It's nice to all catch up but we're ready for our bed by 9 and our host informs us this is the normal bedtime for most of Queensland anyway, so we don't feel so bad! Time for bed Zebedee, boiiinnnggg!
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