We had a fabulous last full day in Australia!!! The best part was that Chris had the day totally free from CSR stuff so we could do whatever we wanted to do!!! We started out the day by walking down to Flinders Street and finding a coffee shop that I had scoped out earlier in the week—had great strong coffee and muffins and enjoyed the open air and watched customers which is always fun. It was kind of a scroungy place but i am going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they were renovating…

We walked down to a couple of shops and picked up some things to take back for little gifts including a small digeradoo for Aaron—his request—and it is tucked into my duffle bag. I KNEW we got those long duffle bags for a reason and now I know why! It fit perfectly! Now if they only do not lose my luggage on the return trip!!! We loaded down with stuff and Chris got a great hat which he is wishing he has had all his life!!! And he looks very nice it it to boot!!! So our shopping was complete!

Then we headed to the Reef Museum which was as cool today as it was yesterday. I think Chris enjoyed it as much as I did—there is just so much in the sea that is amazing!!! And the colors are marvelous. I took pictures but they do not do it justice, that is for sure and I know it is not exactly like the Great Barrier Reef but at least it is kind of a simulation.

We headed back to the hotel and rearranged out plans since it looked like it was going to pour down rain all day. Ended up chilling by the pool, having lunch poolside and hit the spa for a bit before we came back upstairs to nap!!! Chris is pretty exhausted—it has not been the relaxing week that I have had since he has had to be “on ” and “nice” so much! LOL Not easy for him to behave himself that is for sure!

After naps we walked down to The Strand again—the big beach area. Lots of families picnicking and partying and a few folks swimming in the netted areas but not many. The box jellyfish are really bad from November to May so you can not swim in areas other than where they have stinger nets set up. They have little canisters all over the beach with vinegar in them which is what you put on your stinger bites if you should get them. I think the best advice is to just stay out of the water!!!

We ate at the same place that we ate at on Sunday and had some yummy prawn eggrolls and Queensland smoked tuna with ginger along with these huge salads. If we had known they were going to be that big we would have shared one! And they were not the main so we thought we would be just fine since we weren’t that hungry but we left a lot of food on our plates.

We enjoyed a leisurely walk back and Chris is watching a movie while I am doing this. I am basically all packed up but why do dirty clothes not fit in like clean clothes??? I guess you spend more time folding clean clothes and putting them in just so! I am a firm believer now in the little bags that you can pack in and squish down. They worked great on this trip and kept things really wrinkle free and nice. Okay, my commercial is done!!!

So are we sad to leave tomorrow??? Yes. And who will know what this trip will end with–maybe a job offer and maybe not but in any case we had a fabulous week and were able to see some of this beautiful country on someone else’s dime!! Can’t say life gets much better than that!! We are blessed that is for sure!

Our flight leaves at 8:50 am or so tomorrow (Sunday) morning and we should get back to Minneapolis if all goes as planned by 9:30 pm Sunday night and then have the 2 hour drive back to Mason City. Chris will have to go to work the next day so he will have to be in good shape. We did really well with the jet lag coming over—didn’t feel fuzzy or bad at all after we got here Saturday night so I hope if we do the same thing on the way home we will do as well. I miss my kitties and they will probably be crazed by the time we get home!!!

Will add a few pictures from today—I think they end up at the top of the blog so you will have already seen them!!! That is it from Down Under!!!