On Friday morning East picked me up armed with her ginormous suitcase and matching baby suitcase, both on wheels and accompanying her blue mono-fin that was just begging to get in the water. It amazed me that we were able to fit my three bright pink bags in her mini white bug with her luggage and not have the car door open lights flashing at us all the way to Townsville due to physically not being able to shut the doors.
We stopped off at Cardwell to stretch our legs and enjoy the view of the beautifully blue day from the jetty. On the way back to the car East made me stop walking and keep my back to the water. After near blindness from staring in the direction of the sun, I was instructed to to walk sideways out on to the jetty and then after I was positioned to her liking I was asked to turn around. To my surprise and excitement "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANN-MARIE" was written in the sand. I felt like the luckiest midget in the world.
After a couple hours of "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" stuck in my head we got to Townsville and naturally our first stop was to the bottleo to source us some Bundaberg Rum! As we carted our bags to the Ferry terminal we both feared being told that we had too much luggage to take aboard the ferry. Anybody would think we were going to be staying in Magnetic Island at least two weeks with the amount of stuff we were armed with.
To my surprise we ended up at a perfectly chosen little guest house at Arcadia Beach. We were led to a huge tent housing two single beds, after passing a toilet, shower and kitchen. My kinda camping! The guest house was perfect for both of us with it's creature comforts (perfectly me) displayed with a homie old fashioned boat theme (perfectly East). We went walking along the beach as the sun went down while East got up close and personal with the sand.... with her face. LOL The first night was filled with much laughter, plenty of rum, pathetic attempts at playing pool and last but not least a smashed wine glass.
The next day we caught a bus to The Forts. We worked up a sweat exploring the historic WWII gun placements and infrastructure. I was fascinated at the thought there were brave men who were once on those same grounds prepared to fight for our country. We even had the pleasure of admiring a couple of Koalas in the trees overhead. To my disappointment, I was appalled to see the lack of respect adolescents of today's society had for our history demonstrating they had not given a second thought to defacing the ruins with graffiti. That night found us at The Stage Door Theatre Restaurant. Chicken dinner, Comedic Musical, Grease tunes, Gay performer... I was in heaven.
On Sunday we found ourselves in Horseshoe Bay for the markets. We had a lovely lunch in a elegant art food and wine restaurant. Alma Bay homed my sandman "Sandolf." When you're fresh out of snow, compromise is the only answer. I walked along the shore, climbed a few rocks, built my sand snowman, got my feet wet and after an hour i would've been quite happy to move on, but as I watched as East explored it was clear that she had sunk right into her element. I even got in the water with her and battled the waves as seaweed made her long blonde hair home.
After four fun-filled nights and five event-filled days, we headed back to Cairns on the day of my birthday with East never once letting me forget that the day was my day and constantly reminding me that life does not end at 28, even if my bones are frail! LOL. I could not have enjoyed anything more than the memories I will take away from an unforgettable adventure.
After a couple hours of "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" stuck in my head we got to Townsville and naturally our first stop was to the bottleo to source us some Bundaberg Rum! As we carted our bags to the Ferry terminal we both feared being told that we had too much luggage to take aboard the ferry. Anybody would think we were going to be staying in Magnetic Island at least two weeks with the amount of stuff we were armed with.
The next day we caught a bus to The Forts. We worked up a sweat exploring the historic WWII gun placements and infrastructure. I was fascinated at the thought there were brave men who were once on those same grounds prepared to fight for our country. We even had the pleasure of admiring a couple of Koalas in the trees overhead. To my disappointment, I was appalled to see the lack of respect adolescents of today's society had for our history demonstrating they had not given a second thought to defacing the ruins with graffiti. That night found us at The Stage Door Theatre Restaurant. Chicken dinner, Comedic Musical, Grease tunes, Gay performer... I was in heaven.
On Sunday we found ourselves in Horseshoe Bay for the markets. We had a lovely lunch in a elegant art food and wine restaurant. Alma Bay homed my sandman "Sandolf." When you're fresh out of snow, compromise is the only answer. I walked along the shore, climbed a few rocks, built my sand snowman, got my feet wet and after an hour i would've been quite happy to move on, but as I watched as East explored it was clear that she had sunk right into her element. I even got in the water with her and battled the waves as seaweed made her long blonde hair home.
After four fun-filled nights and five event-filled days, we headed back to Cairns on the day of my birthday with East never once letting me forget that the day was my day and constantly reminding me that life does not end at 28, even if my bones are frail! LOL. I could not have enjoyed anything more than the memories I will take away from an unforgettable adventure.
