Hello hello once again. It’s been over a week since my last entry and lots to catch up on. Even though it’s only been two weeks since I left Canada it feels like a lot longer because of all the people I’ve seen. Once I leave Brisbane next week I’m sure it will go by a lot quicker because it will be a different city every few days. I’m not looking forward to the end. It feels so normal to be seeing everyone that I know my goodbyes will suck !!!!

The day after I got back from the Gold Coast the girls took me out for some retail therapy. After not much luck at the op shops Michelle took me to her brother’s warehouse (Bam Bam clothes) and we went on a mission for their packed away girl’s stock. To be honest it was more Shell that went on a mission as she proved to be part monkey climbing shelves to rummage through boxes. After finding my Parklife outfit we made our way back to the city. It was on this drive that I had my 1st (and not so pleasant) experience with Australian wildlife. Being a typical tourist since I arrived I’ve waned to see one thing … a kangaroo. Sadly it was not what I was expecting !!! As I looked onto the side of the highway there it was, ROADKILL kangaroo. As soon as Shell saw my face being the sweet soul she is says “No Mama (one of my nicknames) it’s not real, it’s only a stuffed animal!!!” Laughing at her response I declared that I still want to see a kangaroo, preferably alive and it better have a joey to make up for it. Later that night my friend Nicole picked me up with her girlfriend Alisha and we went for dinner in this pretty little ocean town called Redcliffe. On the drive home I almost forgot where I was and that they drive on the opposite side of the road and thought we were driving into oncoming traffic and tried slamming on my imaginary brakes, not my smartest move but it could have had something to do with the wine I consumed!

The next day I decided to have a quiet day in the house and it’s probably best I did. That day I got to experience a pretty strange weather event for Australia. I think the last time it happened was 70 years ago. It was a horrendous dust storm. If you’re thinking how awful could it be you have no idea. As I sat in Alana’s TV room that morning I saw a slight haze in the distance that I thought was smoke. By noon I couldn’t even see the house across the street. It was enough to make you want to stay inside but I had plans to meet Michelle in the city to catch the train back to the Goldie. Once we were hidden back inside at Shell’s place we did something that I hadn’t done in awhile and we baked. Something you may not know about me is that I love to bake and up at Big White I would bake once a week and deliver it to lucky recipients on the hill. Since it had been awhile since Shell has had my baking so she asked if we could make my cupcakes. After a slight mishap with the oven temp we managed to save them and they turned out pretty tasty.

The next morning Herbs picked me up and we went on a shopping for a bit and then grabbed lunch at the Surf Club on Main Beach looking at the ocean. Later that night we went to Surfer’s Paradise and played some pool and grabbed dinner. After we got one of my new favorite treats, Cold Rocks. It’s this delicious ice cream place that allows you to mix in your choice of toppings and add-ins and it’s amazing!

I went back to Brisbane the next morning and since Amy and her boyfriend Kable were heading there I got a ride with them. It gave me a bit of a chance to finally explore the city part of Brisbane. We walked up along the river and then checked out some of the boutiques. Loving the fashion and clothes here but being on a bit of a budget I’m trying to save more shopping money for the end of the trip. It’s been hard but I’m still allowing myself to buy things here and there. After we grabbed a nice lunch in the valley at this cute little café/restaurant that had awesome collectable dolls of 90210, Mork and Mindy, John Travolta, Mr. T, you get the idea. I then made my way back to the Northside to meet up with Alana at her work. Later that night I got to go to my first Aussie sport and watch Lan’s touch football game. Like Canadian/American football I wasn’t really sure of what was going and clapped when her team clapped. Then it was a quiet night because we needed our rest for the next day, PARKLIFE!

So Aussies take their festivals pretty seriously and they have an unbelievable choice annually to choose from. Parklife is one of the biggest hitting five major cities and their parklands through their spring. It’s an assortment of some pretty awesome bands, artists and DJ’s. This year was no exception with Autokratz, The Cool Kids, Mstrkrft, A-Track, Shazam, Little Boots, Crystal Castles, Art vs Science, Lady Sovereign, Junior Boys, The Rapture, Yacht Club DJ’s, La Roux, Kaskade, Empire of the Sun and Metric (my must see) playing on the six stages. We started our day early with pre drinks and getting ready at one of Lan’s friend’s house. The first drinks were cracked by 10:30. We ended up having to call Lan’s dad to drive us into the city because when we wanted to make our way in the cabs were all backed because there was another big festival going on the same day. We got to the Botanical Gardens downtown at about 1:30 but since about 20,000 people were trying to get in through one exit we ended up only catching the end of Art vs Science which was too bad because they sounded good. We then realized how hot it was (34 degrees) and went to seek out some refreshments and shade. That’s when I realized I wouldn’t be drinking anymore because for one glass of Smirnoff Ice it was $10 and mostly tasted of water. After cooling down we wandered around from stage to stage and then thought we’d go to the River Stage while we had our chance to get a good spot for La Roux. One mistake Parklife made was overselling their tickets so with the River Stage being the one with a majority of the bigger names they had to keep shutting it down during the day as it hit capacity. Shell and Tobes found us there and after seeing most of La Roux I made my way with them to the Fire Stage to see the great Metric !!!!! We were early but I’m glad for it because we got to see The Yacht Club DJ’s and they are one of my new faves. After a sweet Metric show I began to feel how sick I was with severe heat stroke so was happy that things would be winding down soon. Have to thank Alana and Jess for taking care of me on our way home.

The next day was very quiet as I was still feeling a bit rough from the night before so we chilled with movies but I did get my first experience of Nando’s. Not that popular of a chain yet in Canada but they are everywhere here. If you live in the Vancouver area and like a little spice go to one and get the chicken sandwich with their peri peri seasoned fries …. delicious !!!!!

We woke up Monday morning to beautiful blue skies so me, Lan’s, Jess and her brother and friend drove to the Goldcoast and hit the beach at Surfer’s Paradise. Loving the beaches here. When I say I’m at the beach in Kelowna most of my Australian friends laugh and say it’s not a beach. I’m still holding the ground that I do everything at my beach that they do at theirs but I will give them their sand is a lot nicer to lay on than ours and waves do make swimming a little more entertaining. Once we were back in Brisbane I ventured into the city to catch up with Hugh, Scott and Jeremy and a couple of their friends for a nice steak dinner, thanks for the suggestion on ordering steak Chief. After I went back to the train station hoping that my ride back to the Northside wouldn’t be as interesting as the ride in. After a young kid asking me twenty questions about Canada and myself and then on a date another guy started to chat with us. He asked me where I was from in Canada and told me he was from Texas. I then found out as did the whole train car that he is gay and he started telling people that Canadians are self involved and don’t care about anyone else but ourselves (he was joking) and that we were all homophobic. I replied by asking how it was being a gay man in Texas because I bet there was a lot of understanding there and if Canada was so homophobic then why are we one of the few countries that allow gay marriages. Once I gave him a bit of sass we became quick best friends and he tried hugging me and then started to sing the Canadian anthem and trying to get me to sing the American one, it should also be mentioned that he was completely sober. Like I said pretty interesting ride in but learned quickly that headphones are your best friends on the train.

On Tuesday my boy Scoot Loose who finally had gotten home (he was meant to be home the day before I arrived but with some minor issues with his passport he got home a week and a half late) came and got me so I could spend some time with him and his family. They live in a real pretty place of the city out to the east right on the shore. Now everyone told me that I was going to fall in love with an Aussie boy when I left and it happened when I got to Scoot’s. It was love at first sight, his name is Cody and he’s 18 months old and Scoot’s nephew. We went for an amazing Indian dinner with his family later that night and then it was early to bed because we had to be up early to catch high tide to take the boat out !!!!!

So high tide is at 7 am so me not being the best at early morning wake ups Scoot had Cody come wake me up. I’m telling you if this boy could be my alarm clock everyday I don’t think I’d ever have a bad start to my days. So the three of us (Scoot being the 3rd wheel) ventured over to a little island and along the way the dolphins swam beside us. Once we hit the shore of this little bay we met up with some of their family friends and had a bit of a play on the beach. The view here is stunning and probably not one I’ll soon forget. We then headed over to one of the sandbars and had a bit of a scare along the way. As we were driving the lid to the cooler blew off and we turned round to get it. With the boat still running Scoot leaned over the side to grab it and slipped in. He’s telling me to put it in neutral and me not really knowing what I’m doing plus trying to hold Cody too was a bit difficult. We finally got him back on board with no shark bites or propeller chops. Once we were on the sandbar we explored trying to find starfish and the little crabs that rule the sand and make the eeriest clicking noise, it’s all you could hear. Later we drove down to the Goldcoast to go for dinner at a steak and seafood place. The portions at this place are huge. Your dinner comes to you on a platter and could honestly feed three people. I thought I would be smart and order off the small selections, in brackets beside the filet I was choosing it said (very small portion). Perfect I thought till my plate came and it still had two 4 oz filets on there. Not so small but good anyways.

That’s it for now but I’ll have another entry in before I leave on Thursday with Loz and Scoot to Byron Bay. Thanks for following along,

SJ