garyandpearl

Day 8 January 24, 2014

Today has been a travel day. Gary didn’t take any photos, so this will be a collection of thoughts and observations.

We checked out of our hotel, the Alexandra Park Motor Inn. John, the owner-manager, was a gracious host and offered excellent customer service. We wandered through the Alexandra park zoo while it lightly rained. It is a free mini zoo right beside a playground; a great place for families.

Our next stop was the Bundaberg Distillery where they are famous for making rum out of molasses that is a by product of producing sugar from sugar cane. The fields around here are full of sugar cane which will be ready for harvest in a few months. We were informed that Bundaberg Rum is available in Alberta! I was interested in the history of the first chemist who came to work at the company after World War 2. He shared a history very similar to Gary’s and my parents: fleeing to Germany and then choosing to emigrate to another country. He was sent to Australia, and our parents were sent to Canada. Had things been different, we might have grown up here instead of Canada!!

This is a photo of the terrain while Gary was driving. Did you know that not only is the steering wheel on the opposite side of the vehicle, but the wipers and signal lights are also reversed? Gary has turned on the wipers many times while trying to navigate through a round about!

We made our way back to Gladstone and enjoyed some KFC for lunch.

We found the Gladstone Museum and Art Gallery to explore while waiting to check in for our flight to Brisbane. Virgin Australia flight attendants have impressed me with their uniforms! The women wear either white or red tops with red skirts, their hair is smoothly pulled back, and they wear red lipstick. The men wear suit pants, dress shirt, and a vest. They appear very professional and give us great snacks. Today was tiramisu!!

Gary’s friend, Mark, met us in Brisbane and escorted us to our home for three nights: the Mediterranean Resort in Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast. Brisbane has over two million people and is a cross between Hawaii (beautiful beaches), Southern California (theme parks), and Medicine Hat (retirees). We settled into our room and prepared for our big day tomorrow.

Proverbs 8:29 speaks of God and the oceans:

“when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,” ESV

The ocean is truly beautiful and awe-inspiring.