Vacation From Our Vacation

October 30, 2001

We’re in Cairns, about 800 km north of Brisbane. Cairns is a little town situated on a bay bordered by ocean, beaches & mountains. That’s typical of Queensland coastal topography. I don’t know if we’ll be able to email you regularly from here, but I’m not going to make myself crazy over it. If you have a break from all the reading, I hope you enjoy it. Our day started at 5:30AM. We had an early flight to catch out of Brisbane. On the van to the airport we met Mr. & Mrs. Ishimoto. He’s been retired for 16 years. They have a home in Tokyo & on the Gold Coast. They have permanent visitors visas so they have to leave Australia every three months. She tends to go back to Tokyo to visit her mother who has to be well into her 90’s. He heads for any golf course in an interesting locale. This time it’s Hawaii. Last time it was Thailand. He’s heard of Akron, Ohio & the golf tournament at Firestone.

When we arrived at the airport, David & the driver unloaded the luggage. I saw a woman holding 2 Maltese/ Shi Tsu puppies & headed her way. David couldn’t believe I’d abandoned him until the woman put a puppy into his arms & it started licking his nose. He melted. There was a huge line to check in, but it wasn’t because of security. There was a sign listing all the items no longer allowed in carry-on bags. We’d packed my manicure scissors in the suitcase, but David had a travel corkscrew in his shaving bag. We quickly stowed that in our suitcase along with an eyeglass repair kit (it had a mini screw driver). When we got to the counter they didn’t ask for ID or the usual questions about having your bags in your possession all the time, etc. I was surprised. When we went through the metal detectors & the carry-ons went through the x-ray, they wanted to x-ray our hats. They said that now they check for wire in the big brims.

We were early for our flight & hadn’t eaten breakfast at home so we grabbed some food. David’s egg sandwich was tasteless so he added salt. He took a bite & said that even Australian salt doesn’t have flavor. On our 2-hour flight we were served morning tea. It consisted of dried fruit & nuts in a bag, OJ, biscuits (cookies), & tea. The scenery from the plane was typical Australian glorious. From the sky to the sea, it was a palette of blues & greens. We flew along the coast as tiny islands appeared giving way to endless stretches of beaches & mountains topped with the glimmering green of rainforests. The cloudless sky was soon covered with big fluffy white puffs hangng over those forests. As we landed, we could see the many farms & orchards that dot this tropical area.

Our motel, the Rainbow Inn, is serviceable & cheap. We miscalculated when we booked & thought it was $US 80/night, but it was $A 80/night. That’s $US 40. It’s clean but very old & a 20-minute walk to town. We walked in for lunch & will walk back again for dinner. It wasn’t bad. When we checked in we had to chuckle. There’s a fridge in the room with all the mini bar selections, but at the desk they handed us a half pint of milk for our tea. Every time we think we’re used to being here & that it’s so like America something like that happens. It’s all those unexpected quaint touches that make it such fun.

Thanks to friends from Akron who’d been here, we knew what tours to book & have them all lined up. We’re going out to the Great Barrier Reef on the Quick Silver tomorrow. It’s a huge catamaran that has glass bottom features, a mini-sub, diving platform, & serves morning & afternoon tea, & a buffet brunch. We go to the boat by boat from Cairns to Port Douglas & return by bus. The next day we’re going to Daintree to the rain forest, & on Friday we’ll ride the Karunda Railroad, Sky Rail, & see Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Center. We’re here a day longer than we realized & are looking forward to down time on Saturday.

Happy Halloween.

Toby