Wrapping up Australia!

Good Afternoon Blog Followers!!!

First a thank you to my wife for her excellent blog post while I was away at sea!

Well here we are, at the end of our Australian leg of our vacation.  I arrived back in Cairns yesterday via a very small plane where I got to see the Great Barrier Reef from the air!  The diving on the reef was great, but unfortunately limited for both my dad and me.  After one dive, my dad came down with a bout of seasickness and did not complete another dive.  I, after my third dive, ended up with a clogged ear, and in case you don't know, you cant dive unless you have clear ears.  So while we did not dive as much as we hoped, we, in fact, did scuba dive on the Reef!

Last night was one of relaxation for us, with lunch out and dinner at the hotel watching some cheesy movies!  Today we ventured out for last minute shopping and fun.  We will finish our packing tonight, as tommorow is our big day of travel.  We will be in the air for 18 hours, on three flights, arriving in San Francisco Wednesday evening (we hope!)...a tight layover in Honolulu might mess up the plans!  So there will be no post here until Thursday Evening!  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we embark on one very long travel day...and for my sister as well who will be arriving in San Fran Wednesday morning! 

So to close the Australian leg, here are some more fun highlights and points of interest!

Love to All!
Stacy and Diana

1. We have tried Kangaroo (pretty much like steak, not gamey at all!) and Crocodile (Tastes like dense chicken...Diana said chicken would be more dense if they had more room to "workout"- like that Yo?!?)

2. We tried Vegemite...terrible from the word go... stay away from it!

3. There are no Burger Kings here...they go under the name Hungry Jack's... Diana had the Whopper, and it was exactly like the Whopper at home, just more mayo here!  And the fries were better!

4. Bathroom= Loo (like in England)..Porta Potty=Portaloo...LOL

5. The casino across the street does not have quarter slots...reason??  No 25 cent piece here!

6. We received a full out meal on a three hour flight on Qantas....suggestion...fly Qantas as much as possible!

7. Appetizers are called Entrees... Entrees are called the Main Course

8. My mother has found that Bottled Water here is eerily similar to bottled water at home (this was a huge concern for her before we left!)

9. FYI..Uggs sold in the US are made in China...we were told all are fake!!

10. The people living Down Under are some of the most wonderful we have met and are sad to say goodbye tomorrow....we highly suggest adding Australia to your list of vacation destinations!!