hostaaddict
New member
9 days without word from Loren. I'm hoping he isn't lost in the Outback?? Probably can't get online anywhere.
Trip wins
- Thread starter greensthings
- Start date
loren_brothers
New member
LOL
Nope ya ain't got rid of me yet.
Just barely walked in the door at home! exhausted!!!! :sleepy:
I will be back on later and give ya'll the juicy details! :headbang:
but I will give ya hint: what's brown as a coconut, tastes like salt water, has fins and gills, and now uses funny slang???
:scratch:
Loren :crazytongue:
Nope ya ain't got rid of me yet.
Just barely walked in the door at home! exhausted!!!! :sleepy:
I will be back on later and give ya'll the juicy details! :headbang:
but I will give ya hint: what's brown as a coconut, tastes like salt water, has fins and gills, and now uses funny slang???
:scratch:
Loren :crazytongue:
hostaaddict
New member
welcome home! We'll be waiting to hear how the trip went.
Except for the fins and gills my guess would have been you, unless there is something you haven't told us! Anxious to hear all the juicy details of your trip. Welcome home!
johnnyz
New member
Welcome back.
msgwenn
Active member
Hi all!!
Got home last night from my trip to New York City!! Wow what a weekend this has been. I took my daughter with me. We had to be at the airport at 5am Friday and took a jet to Atlanta where we missed out flight to NY due to Delta announcing that our plane was going to be late. My daughter had to use the bathroom and just as she left they announced that they were boarding!! I went to the counter and told them that she would be right back and they said that she had 2 minutes. Well she didn't make it and they gave away our seats!!! They were boarding when my daughter came running up and they said Sorry but you are too late! We had to wait on standby for another 3 hours!! We finally get on a flight to NY and as we were waiting to land they closed JFK!!!! We were running out of fuel and had to land in Allentown PA and stayed there another hour and a half waiting for the weather to clear. By the time we landed in NY and got to the hotel it was 8pm and we had missed our "Meet and Greet" with the other winners and our host. So Shay and I took off to explore the city on our own till 3am!!!! We got to see a lot of Time Square at night. It was fantastic!
Saturday morning we got up and took off for a walk thru Central Park and then went to the WTC site. I let Shay take a helicopter ride to see all the major sites since we knew we were not going to have enough time to see them on foot.
We then finally got to meet our group at the hotel to go to dinner which was out of this world! From there we walked to Broadway and saw the play The Color Purple. Our seats where right up front!!!!! The play was fantastic!!!!! We then got a back stage tour and met some of the cast, and were allowed to take pictures of the theater which the normally don't allow. We got to stand on the stage and have photos taken! One of the other winners lived only 60 miles from where I use to live in Wisconsin and we hit it off! The three of use spent the rest of the night wandering NY till 4am!
On Sunday morning Shay and I went to breakfast at this really busy diner. The staff were extremely rude and when I got my omelet I had eaten about 1/2 of it when I noticed underneath the rest was a mouse dropping!!!!!!!!!!! I about got sick right there!!!!! Since the staff had me half scared anyway I just paid the bill and left.
I am looking forward to going back to NY when I can afford it. We didn't want to come home!!!! The hotel was fantastic as was the staff!!
I will try and put some pics on the internet when I figure out how and will come back here and post it. Right now I just want to put up my blistered feet and sleep for about a week!!! Thanks SA!!!!!
Got home last night from my trip to New York City!! Wow what a weekend this has been. I took my daughter with me. We had to be at the airport at 5am Friday and took a jet to Atlanta where we missed out flight to NY due to Delta announcing that our plane was going to be late. My daughter had to use the bathroom and just as she left they announced that they were boarding!! I went to the counter and told them that she would be right back and they said that she had 2 minutes. Well she didn't make it and they gave away our seats!!! They were boarding when my daughter came running up and they said Sorry but you are too late! We had to wait on standby for another 3 hours!! We finally get on a flight to NY and as we were waiting to land they closed JFK!!!! We were running out of fuel and had to land in Allentown PA and stayed there another hour and a half waiting for the weather to clear. By the time we landed in NY and got to the hotel it was 8pm and we had missed our "Meet and Greet" with the other winners and our host. So Shay and I took off to explore the city on our own till 3am!!!! We got to see a lot of Time Square at night. It was fantastic!
Saturday morning we got up and took off for a walk thru Central Park and then went to the WTC site. I let Shay take a helicopter ride to see all the major sites since we knew we were not going to have enough time to see them on foot.
We then finally got to meet our group at the hotel to go to dinner which was out of this world! From there we walked to Broadway and saw the play The Color Purple. Our seats where right up front!!!!! The play was fantastic!!!!! We then got a back stage tour and met some of the cast, and were allowed to take pictures of the theater which the normally don't allow. We got to stand on the stage and have photos taken! One of the other winners lived only 60 miles from where I use to live in Wisconsin and we hit it off! The three of use spent the rest of the night wandering NY till 4am!
On Sunday morning Shay and I went to breakfast at this really busy diner. The staff were extremely rude and when I got my omelet I had eaten about 1/2 of it when I noticed underneath the rest was a mouse dropping!!!!!!!!!!! I about got sick right there!!!!! Since the staff had me half scared anyway I just paid the bill and left.
I am looking forward to going back to NY when I can afford it. We didn't want to come home!!!! The hotel was fantastic as was the staff!!
I will try and put some pics on the internet when I figure out how and will come back here and post it. Right now I just want to put up my blistered feet and sleep for about a week!!! Thanks SA!!!!!
loren_brothers
New member
Hi ya'll!
Sorry about the long wait! But I have a great list of great excuses!
First and foremost I was totally exhausted for the first week. Next and just as valid: I got sucked into being stage manager for another production at the Community Theatre (ie: 8-14 hour days, 7 days a week, for the last 4 weeks) which just got finished. Then I had to edit, sort and label the "best" pictures out of over 500 pics that I managed to take. Snorted them down to just 100!
So, here they are... (Line up calmly now! No shoving in the queue, please! Women and children first!)
It is best if you just view this as a slide show. Or click on individual thumbnails for full-sized pics.
Tomorrow I will give you a breakdown of each day, after which the pics will make a little more sense. (they are arranged by time-frame)
Loren : )=
Sorry about the long wait! But I have a great list of great excuses!
First and foremost I was totally exhausted for the first week. Next and just as valid: I got sucked into being stage manager for another production at the Community Theatre (ie: 8-14 hour days, 7 days a week, for the last 4 weeks) which just got finished. Then I had to edit, sort and label the "best" pictures out of over 500 pics that I managed to take. Snorted them down to just 100!
So, here they are... (Line up calmly now! No shoving in the queue, please! Women and children first!)
:thewave:
:thewave:
It is best if you just view this as a slide show. Or click on individual thumbnails for full-sized pics.
Tomorrow I will give you a breakdown of each day, after which the pics will make a little more sense. (they are arranged by time-frame)
Loren : )=
Attachments
starsoverdallas
New member
ENTER TO WIN AND TAKE YOUR LOVED ONE ON THE ULTIMATE ROMANTIC TROPICAL GETAWAY
:thewave:
Marriott and Renaissance Caribbean & Mexico Resorts:
Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino
Paradise. Possibility. And enough energy to quicken anyones pulse. This is the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino, a destination where days and nights offer a fresh new vision of escape.
ENTER TO WIN an Adult Indulgence Package vacation at the beautiful Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino. Couples will enjoy great perks like complimentary breakfast and a bottle of champagne.
One lucky couple will receive:
· An 8-day, 7-night vacation for two (2) adults at the adult-exclusive Marina Hotel
· Two (2) tickets to .Sunset in Style. event, an experience that combines music, mixology and gourmet food. The event includes a complimentary martini bar, an elegant and inviting tapas bar and music to bring this evening to life
· Daily breakfast for two (2) adults
· Bottle of champagne
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/auabr-renaissance-aruba-resort-and-casino/
I'm freaking out right now.
:thewave: :thewave:
:thewave:
Marriott and Renaissance Caribbean & Mexico Resorts:
Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino
Paradise. Possibility. And enough energy to quicken anyones pulse. This is the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino, a destination where days and nights offer a fresh new vision of escape.
ENTER TO WIN an Adult Indulgence Package vacation at the beautiful Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino. Couples will enjoy great perks like complimentary breakfast and a bottle of champagne.
One lucky couple will receive:
· An 8-day, 7-night vacation for two (2) adults at the adult-exclusive Marina Hotel
· Two (2) tickets to .Sunset in Style. event, an experience that combines music, mixology and gourmet food. The event includes a complimentary martini bar, an elegant and inviting tapas bar and music to bring this evening to life
· Daily breakfast for two (2) adults
· Bottle of champagne
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/auabr-renaissance-aruba-resort-and-casino/
I'm freaking out right now.
:thewave: :thewave:
kewpiedoll04
New member
i won a trip to the cayman islands from nick jr. i am so excited i have never been out of the country before and we get to stay at this fantastic resort and spa for 6 nights. :sunny:
jupdegraff
New member
I won a trip from The Style Network. It was their Shopping Spree Sweepstakes.
R/T airfare for 2 to Las Vegas
3 nights @ The Palms Hotel
2 tickets to see Celine Dion
and a $3000 Visa Check Card for the "Shopping Spree".
They were very accomodating about this prize. The Las Vegas Vistors & Convention Authority basically put it together for me. We found plane tickets in & out of our smallish airport, she gave me a budget for the hotel, and I picked The Palms. She gave me a budget for the 2 show tickets, and she was able to scam me tickets to Celine Dion. The Shopping Spree Card was the best though, because she went to the Forum Shops and got the Giftcard, but it's a Visa Giftcard, which I could use anywhere for anything. SWEET. She added that she "hoped I'd spend it in Las Vegas", but that I didn't have to. I spent a good chunk of it there. With the rest of it, I took my 2 kids to Target & let them each have a bit of a Spending Spree. I still have a bit left, and I'm going to use that for Christmas Shopping.
Becky
R/T airfare for 2 to Las Vegas
3 nights @ The Palms Hotel
2 tickets to see Celine Dion
and a $3000 Visa Check Card for the "Shopping Spree".
They were very accomodating about this prize. The Las Vegas Vistors & Convention Authority basically put it together for me. We found plane tickets in & out of our smallish airport, she gave me a budget for the hotel, and I picked The Palms. She gave me a budget for the 2 show tickets, and she was able to scam me tickets to Celine Dion. The Shopping Spree Card was the best though, because she went to the Forum Shops and got the Giftcard, but it's a Visa Giftcard, which I could use anywhere for anything. SWEET. She added that she "hoped I'd spend it in Las Vegas", but that I didn't have to. I spent a good chunk of it there. With the rest of it, I took my 2 kids to Target & let them each have a bit of a Spending Spree. I still have a bit left, and I'm going to use that for Christmas Shopping.
Becky
dinger
New member
congratulations. That sounds so fun :cheers:
loren_brothers
New member
Sorry I didn't get this here as early a promised but Judy got sick again and I've spent the last 6 days over on the Mainland with her at the hospital. Bummer
Congrats to all the latest trip winners!
SO....
[move][glow=red,2,300][size=18pt]Here we go with a day-by-day account of the trip to "Oz".[/size][/glow][/move]
(Some of this I have touched on previously)
Day One: (Thursday, 9/6) Left the island on the afternoon ferry (2 hrs). Of course it was filled to the gills with "friendly" tourists all heading back to their nice comfy homes. Of course, all tourists look friendlier as you are looking at their north ends heading south. Our first stop was at Lopez Island where the ferry dumped off the normal crowd of "Island Hoppers", we call it 'Slo-pez' since there are more sheep than people there usually. We then unloaded in the metropolis of Anacortes to begin our drive south toward Seattle. This usually takes about 2 hours if one times it right to miss 'rush-hour' north of Seattle. Arrived in Seattle with time to spare and spent the night at Judy's kid's house north of downtown. Yes, there was cold beer waiting! :cheers:
General Friday Harbor info.
Live Cams of FH, more cam links on bottom of page.
Just general C of C info on Lopez Island.
Ferries. Check out the "About WSF" links, bottom left, for pics.
Day 2: (Friday, 9/7) Woke up with a hang-over. :tongue2: Opps. But what's a vacation except a series of hang-overs :tongue2: arranged in a semi-organized daily fashion???? I stuck my head out the door to greet the morning by viewing the scenic vista of Mt. Rainier off in the distance. (Got up early enough to miss the smog!) I then realized that I had forgot my suit hanging on the laundry room door back home! How can I get bumped to business class without my suit???? So, off to Target to by a pair of slacks, at least. Soon, I'm back with proper attire and 2 yummy cinnamon rolls to start the day. I also grabbed 3 bags of individual-sized candy for the trip. (more on that later). Since the flight to San Francisco leaves at 3:30pm we get rolling off to the airport at about 12:30. Judy's son-in-law was nice enough to give us a ride there ... but he decides to take the "scenic" route through the "industrial area" instead of the freeway. What's up with that???
Arrive at the airport, check the luggage, start to head through Security ... I go through just fine ... yep, you guessed it! Judy lights up metal detector, the x-ray guys grab her luggage and run with it into the "bullet-proof" glass cubicle, and she gets hauled off!! No kidding!! She gets patted down, her carry-on gets emptied. Guess who decided to bring a 16 oz bottle of nail polish remover with her?? Remover = acetone = highly flammable liquid = boom. I was just rolling on the floor laughing at the whole thing/her. (I had asked her before we left if she wanted me to check her bag ... but no!) :error: Guess who's now on the "Watch List" ??!! What a hoot! and she's grumpy now! Go figure? :scratch: Despite the security delay we still had time to hit the airport bar and purchase a couple of over-priced drinks before loading. :cheers:
Plane leaves almost on time, flies 2 hrs, lands on time at San Fransisco. The first bag a chocolates are opened and passed around to the crew. I score 3 glasses of champagne out of the deal! :cheers: Judy got the middle seat and had to sit next to a big fat guy in the window seat who decided he was gonna sleep the whole time while drooling on her shoulder. I laugh more, she's now even more grumpy! Go figure? :scratch:
It is now 6:30 pm in SF and we can't check-in until 7:40 for the 10:40 flight to Sydney. Yet, I really want to be upgraded on this flight, so I go to the counter anyways. The Qantas lady in L.A. had told me to go straight to the Business Class counter, so that where I went. I got lucky, the counter opened early, had the ticket gal convinced to upgrade us, and then her rotten supervisor told her no! Shoot~! Where does he get off? Da Bum! Now I just have to wait at the gate to find out if we get upgraded. We have to clear security again. Since Judy is now a known terrorist, she gets frisked again! More grumpy. Time for a couple more over-priced airport drinks! :cheers: Well, it turned out that we got the "good seats"! Yippie, skippy! The 747 winds up it's engines and rolls down the runway! We're on our way to "OZ"
Seattle Tourist guide.
Official Seattle city website.
Mt. Rainier site, some good pics.
Day ?: (Saturday, the amazing disappearing day) On the plane, whizzing over the Pacific Ocean at 550 mph. Up seated with the rich folk! Dang! Life is good! Champagne and single-malt scotch are flowing like water! :cheers: And REAL food! Hmmm...time to relax... The heated moist towels take away the travel grime...good! The self-service bar is stocked...good! :cheers: The clam-shell "SkyBed" seems to glide back/forth up/down like butter...good! The Attendants are cute...good! The second bag of chocolates are opened and liberally dispensed to the Flight Attendants, insuring prompt superior service and liberal amounts of Scotch in return. :cheers: :headbang:
It must be time to watch a movie or two, so I reach to the remote control and pull it out.
opcorn: Hey no cord ... must be wireless. Punch, poke, punch ... nada, nothing, squat! It's BROKEN! Somebody on the previous flight had pulled it's little cord right out of it's guts! 15 HOURS! NO MOVIES. NO GAMES! NO READING LAMP EVEN! Eeeeeeek! :cussing: What is it?? Bad Karma? Bad Juju? Oh well, it is a full flight so I am stuck there for the next 14 hours staring at the seat in front of me. Another double Scotch please....make that two... :cheers: (Actually the Attendants were very apologetic and did give me $100.00 credit to use with the in-flight duty-free.)
Qantas, Look for yourself!
Day 3: (Sunday, 9/9) Woke up with a hang-over. :tongue2: It is now 6:20am and we are descending into Sydney. Looking out of the window I can see the Sydney Opera House by the bridge. Gosh, it looks smaller in person! That is about all I get to see of Sydney though, besides the inside of the airport. Sydney is the capital of New South Wales (NSW) and Cairns is 1000 miles north in Queensland (QLD). Got to clear Security again...you guessed it...enough said! Time to head to the transfer desk and beg for the good seats, but I know that all seats in Business Class are already sold, so Judy says "phooey" on it (being grumpy). But I make the excuse that I'm going to the john and sneak back to the desk and return bearing 2 upgraded tickets!
The next hop leaves at 8:00 am to take us to Cairns. My TV works this time! Good thing...it's a 3 hour flight. Time for "breaky" and a Bloody Mary. :cheers: The plane comes sliding to a stop in Cairns 15 minutes early. Cleared Security and Customs, so now I am officially in Oz. There is supposed to be somebody waiting with transportation. Of course, the first official business I have to do, after seeing that nobody is waiting for us, is to dash outside for a nice refreshing cigarette! The bags can wait. One more cigarette...
There is a big ol' limo sitting outside. Maybe that's for me. After all, I'm the big contest winner! Nope ... Just a minivan to the Hotel. Bummer. The Hotel is clean, but a little flaky. Next time I'm staying at the Hilton! :laughing: So on to unpacking a little bit of stuff until tomorrow when we leave on the boat. After unpacking we head out to check out Cairns. Yep, a normal tourist trap. Rows and rows of cheesy shops filled with cheesy Chinese merchandise. Already have figured out that there really isn't anything in Cairns worth seeing, so Judy goes back to the hotel and I procede down to the Tusa Dive shop to let them know that we are in town. As I talk to one of the girls working there, the basic impression I get is "So what?" Wait! I'm the big contest winner! But I just get that blank "deer in the headlights" look and the "So what?" again. I am confused by this time ... must be time for a Fosters. :cheers:
Back at the hotel, Judy has proceeded to flatten herself out on one of the beds at about 4:00 in the afternoon. That doesn't look good ... once horizontal she doesn't tend to move again! Soooo, off to find that cold can of Fosters all by myself! :cheers: Staying away from the tourist bars, I walk for about an hour before I find a local hangout. It is sort of like an American sports bar. The 'Rugger' is on the telly, I can't understand a word the barmaid is saying, and all the customers are locals! Eureka!! I found it! They have Fosters in the bottle so I manage to slug down a couple just to say, "been there, done that." :cheers: About 6:30 I start to feel guilty and head back to the hotel. Yep, Judy's still on the bed sawing logs. :sleepy: So much for feeling guilty... What to do now?
Just a short aside: If you have vices: DON'T go to Australia! Beer is $4.00 a pop ($21.00 a six-pack), rum & Coke Sweepstakes is $6.50 a glass ($32.00 a bottle for the cheap aussie stuff), and cigarettes are $11.00 a pack! EEEEEK! .....
.... but, back at the hotel with Judy snoring. :sleepy: What do I do now? Of course! I trot down to the liqueur store and buy some rum. :cheers: There is always 'rugger' on the telly....opcorn:
Sydney Opera House
Queensland
Cairns
another Cairns site
Day 4: (Monday, 9/10) 6:00 AM: Woke up with a hang-over. :tongue2: Judy is still snoring. :sleepy:
Stand by ... The epic journey will continue tomorrow!
Congrats to all the latest trip winners!
SO....
[move][glow=red,2,300][size=18pt]Here we go with a day-by-day account of the trip to "Oz".[/size][/glow][/move]
(Some of this I have touched on previously)
Day One: (Thursday, 9/6) Left the island on the afternoon ferry (2 hrs). Of course it was filled to the gills with "friendly" tourists all heading back to their nice comfy homes. Of course, all tourists look friendlier as you are looking at their north ends heading south. Our first stop was at Lopez Island where the ferry dumped off the normal crowd of "Island Hoppers", we call it 'Slo-pez' since there are more sheep than people there usually. We then unloaded in the metropolis of Anacortes to begin our drive south toward Seattle. This usually takes about 2 hours if one times it right to miss 'rush-hour' north of Seattle. Arrived in Seattle with time to spare and spent the night at Judy's kid's house north of downtown. Yes, there was cold beer waiting! :cheers:
General Friday Harbor info.
Live Cams of FH, more cam links on bottom of page.
Just general C of C info on Lopez Island.
Ferries. Check out the "About WSF" links, bottom left, for pics.
Day 2: (Friday, 9/7) Woke up with a hang-over. :tongue2: Opps. But what's a vacation except a series of hang-overs :tongue2: arranged in a semi-organized daily fashion???? I stuck my head out the door to greet the morning by viewing the scenic vista of Mt. Rainier off in the distance. (Got up early enough to miss the smog!) I then realized that I had forgot my suit hanging on the laundry room door back home! How can I get bumped to business class without my suit???? So, off to Target to by a pair of slacks, at least. Soon, I'm back with proper attire and 2 yummy cinnamon rolls to start the day. I also grabbed 3 bags of individual-sized candy for the trip. (more on that later). Since the flight to San Francisco leaves at 3:30pm we get rolling off to the airport at about 12:30. Judy's son-in-law was nice enough to give us a ride there ... but he decides to take the "scenic" route through the "industrial area" instead of the freeway. What's up with that???
Arrive at the airport, check the luggage, start to head through Security ... I go through just fine ... yep, you guessed it! Judy lights up metal detector, the x-ray guys grab her luggage and run with it into the "bullet-proof" glass cubicle, and she gets hauled off!! No kidding!! She gets patted down, her carry-on gets emptied. Guess who decided to bring a 16 oz bottle of nail polish remover with her?? Remover = acetone = highly flammable liquid = boom. I was just rolling on the floor laughing at the whole thing/her. (I had asked her before we left if she wanted me to check her bag ... but no!) :error: Guess who's now on the "Watch List" ??!! What a hoot! and she's grumpy now! Go figure? :scratch: Despite the security delay we still had time to hit the airport bar and purchase a couple of over-priced drinks before loading. :cheers:
Plane leaves almost on time, flies 2 hrs, lands on time at San Fransisco. The first bag a chocolates are opened and passed around to the crew. I score 3 glasses of champagne out of the deal! :cheers: Judy got the middle seat and had to sit next to a big fat guy in the window seat who decided he was gonna sleep the whole time while drooling on her shoulder. I laugh more, she's now even more grumpy! Go figure? :scratch:
It is now 6:30 pm in SF and we can't check-in until 7:40 for the 10:40 flight to Sydney. Yet, I really want to be upgraded on this flight, so I go to the counter anyways. The Qantas lady in L.A. had told me to go straight to the Business Class counter, so that where I went. I got lucky, the counter opened early, had the ticket gal convinced to upgrade us, and then her rotten supervisor told her no! Shoot~! Where does he get off? Da Bum! Now I just have to wait at the gate to find out if we get upgraded. We have to clear security again. Since Judy is now a known terrorist, she gets frisked again! More grumpy. Time for a couple more over-priced airport drinks! :cheers: Well, it turned out that we got the "good seats"! Yippie, skippy! The 747 winds up it's engines and rolls down the runway! We're on our way to "OZ"
Seattle Tourist guide.
Official Seattle city website.
Mt. Rainier site, some good pics.
Day ?: (Saturday, the amazing disappearing day) On the plane, whizzing over the Pacific Ocean at 550 mph. Up seated with the rich folk! Dang! Life is good! Champagne and single-malt scotch are flowing like water! :cheers: And REAL food! Hmmm...time to relax... The heated moist towels take away the travel grime...good! The self-service bar is stocked...good! :cheers: The clam-shell "SkyBed" seems to glide back/forth up/down like butter...good! The Attendants are cute...good! The second bag of chocolates are opened and liberally dispensed to the Flight Attendants, insuring prompt superior service and liberal amounts of Scotch in return. :cheers: :headbang:
It must be time to watch a movie or two, so I reach to the remote control and pull it out.
opcorn: Hey no cord ... must be wireless. Punch, poke, punch ... nada, nothing, squat! It's BROKEN! Somebody on the previous flight had pulled it's little cord right out of it's guts! 15 HOURS! NO MOVIES. NO GAMES! NO READING LAMP EVEN! Eeeeeeek! :cussing: What is it?? Bad Karma? Bad Juju? Oh well, it is a full flight so I am stuck there for the next 14 hours staring at the seat in front of me. Another double Scotch please....make that two... :cheers: (Actually the Attendants were very apologetic and did give me $100.00 credit to use with the in-flight duty-free.)Qantas, Look for yourself!
Day 3: (Sunday, 9/9) Woke up with a hang-over. :tongue2: It is now 6:20am and we are descending into Sydney. Looking out of the window I can see the Sydney Opera House by the bridge. Gosh, it looks smaller in person! That is about all I get to see of Sydney though, besides the inside of the airport. Sydney is the capital of New South Wales (NSW) and Cairns is 1000 miles north in Queensland (QLD). Got to clear Security again...you guessed it...enough said! Time to head to the transfer desk and beg for the good seats, but I know that all seats in Business Class are already sold, so Judy says "phooey" on it (being grumpy). But I make the excuse that I'm going to the john and sneak back to the desk and return bearing 2 upgraded tickets!
The next hop leaves at 8:00 am to take us to Cairns. My TV works this time! Good thing...it's a 3 hour flight. Time for "breaky" and a Bloody Mary. :cheers: The plane comes sliding to a stop in Cairns 15 minutes early. Cleared Security and Customs, so now I am officially in Oz. There is supposed to be somebody waiting with transportation. Of course, the first official business I have to do, after seeing that nobody is waiting for us, is to dash outside for a nice refreshing cigarette! The bags can wait. One more cigarette...
There is a big ol' limo sitting outside. Maybe that's for me. After all, I'm the big contest winner! Nope ... Just a minivan to the Hotel. Bummer. The Hotel is clean, but a little flaky. Next time I'm staying at the Hilton! :laughing: So on to unpacking a little bit of stuff until tomorrow when we leave on the boat. After unpacking we head out to check out Cairns. Yep, a normal tourist trap. Rows and rows of cheesy shops filled with cheesy Chinese merchandise. Already have figured out that there really isn't anything in Cairns worth seeing, so Judy goes back to the hotel and I procede down to the Tusa Dive shop to let them know that we are in town. As I talk to one of the girls working there, the basic impression I get is "So what?" Wait! I'm the big contest winner! But I just get that blank "deer in the headlights" look and the "So what?" again. I am confused by this time ... must be time for a Fosters. :cheers:
Back at the hotel, Judy has proceeded to flatten herself out on one of the beds at about 4:00 in the afternoon. That doesn't look good ... once horizontal she doesn't tend to move again! Soooo, off to find that cold can of Fosters all by myself! :cheers: Staying away from the tourist bars, I walk for about an hour before I find a local hangout. It is sort of like an American sports bar. The 'Rugger' is on the telly, I can't understand a word the barmaid is saying, and all the customers are locals! Eureka!! I found it! They have Fosters in the bottle so I manage to slug down a couple just to say, "been there, done that." :cheers: About 6:30 I start to feel guilty and head back to the hotel. Yep, Judy's still on the bed sawing logs. :sleepy: So much for feeling guilty... What to do now?
Just a short aside: If you have vices: DON'T go to Australia! Beer is $4.00 a pop ($21.00 a six-pack), rum & Coke Sweepstakes is $6.50 a glass ($32.00 a bottle for the cheap aussie stuff), and cigarettes are $11.00 a pack! EEEEEK! .....
.... but, back at the hotel with Judy snoring. :sleepy: What do I do now? Of course! I trot down to the liqueur store and buy some rum. :cheers: There is always 'rugger' on the telly....
opcorn:Sydney Opera House
Queensland
Cairns
another Cairns site
Day 4: (Monday, 9/10) 6:00 AM: Woke up with a hang-over. :tongue2: Judy is still snoring. :sleepy:
Stand by ... The epic journey will continue tomorrow!