Travels with SG:Surfers Paradise

Hi Cathy, Et Al!!!

Thanks Cathy!
Michael and I were praising you yesterday in the car!!! Yes, we do have a tape player in daisy, and were using it the last couple days!!! Thank you so much - again - for making us those tapes!!! On one of the tapes is a song about 'fluffy-clouds'...boy did we see them on our journey up north...
Glad to hear that you had a nice, safe and relaxing, not to mention YUMMY NYE!!! Sounds like you'll have some fun playing around w/the new scanner and upgraded computer - Thank God for Kevin - don't know what we all would do without him, and his computer savvy!
Too bad there's no snow yet...hope you get some soon so dad and Joe can go skiing!
We are on the road again...
We took off from Manly on Sunday around 8am...So awesome to get on the road!!! 2 hours out of Sydney there was a Lions Club stop where drivers can get free coffee and Maggi Soup (like top ramen), a breakfast bar and Kit-Kat!!! they have a huge driving campaign here "Stop, Revive, Survive-every 2 hours"...makes it easier w/free coffee and snack along the way...they really want to keep accidents down...very nice country!!!
We camped the night in Coffs Harbour ..very nice, but not like we would call camping...seems that if you don't camp in a national park in the woods (most fun, and hardly any people, pit toilet, and perhaps no running water) you camp on a green field that looks like a cricket pitch w/no trees-with tents upon tents...but fun none the less, just different than what we are used to at home...we met a Aussie man that showed us how to use our "Camp Stove Toaster"...a contraption that allows you to toast bread over the fire...we were doing it all wrong, he told us that we must not be Australian...very funny, he got a real kick out of us!
On Monday morning, we caught up with our friend Kim (who we met in the Panama Islands and then again in Columbia-she's an Aussie) and had breakie w/her and caught up on her's and our travels!!! Great fun!!! She's a crazy Aussie party girl-and about 34 or 35yrs!!!
Drove up the coast more, stopped in Lenox Head-gorgeous coast line but no swimming in the water as the bottlenose jellyfish are out en-mass (not as bad as the box jelly's)...drove through this very cute, small town and went swimming in the tea tree lake called Lake Answorth (still in Lennox) very cool and refreshing, and looks like coca cola when you dive in...lots of people there!!! I've been looking forward to this for years!!!
Got on the road again and got to Surfers Paradise (very southern town in the state of Queensland) checked into a hotel for about $69 US, aircon, fridge and across the street from the beach...ahh, luxury...probably the last in a while, but I'm not complaining!!!
today we will hopefully start the process for getting the car registered, pick up M's diving card at the American Express office, and hopefully get all m's Vantive stuff taken care of ( they don’t want to accept his resignation...) will be at the hotel for 3 nights (Vantive's bill) before heading back south...are starting south and Tasmania and then heading west as there are hurricanes in the north and flooding... :)
all for now!!!
luv,
SG :)