Category: Travel

Don’t think I’ll ever get sick of the sunrise – so glad I’m an early bird. Up at 4.30am today!

A bit of a change today as we headed to the local outlet malls.

The Crocs store was a big success – we bought 7 pairs of shoes between us!! All up we bought 10 pairs of shoes at the mall, plus the pair Christy got yesterday. Crazy!!

Some new king size sheets for our bed, to replace the really bad quality ones that Kevin bought “for a bargain”.

 

The converse store. Oops, I stand corrected, the total tally of shoes bought today was 11 pairs. Guess no-one will need shoes any time soon.

All that shopping made us hungry.

Christy and I both had leek and potato soup, while Kevin & Athena had steak sandwiches.

Feeling refreshed it was time for more shopping.

 

And Kevin made Christy pose at the donut stop, just like she did 5 years ago.

 

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It was good to visit the candy store just after lunch, though we still managed to buy quite a bit.

The last store of the day was my beloved Fossil store. I ummed and ahhed about a bag and decided I’d regret not buying it. I do love it and it will go so well with my summer wardrobe.

We all had rather sore feet by the time we left. So it was back home for a little rest. I started doing some packing, then Christy, Kevin & I went down & had a spa, which was nice and relaxing.

Then at 5pm it was time for more shopping… this time at the nighttime markets in Surfers.

But first a quick trip the beach, which was so pretty on dusk.

We’ve always loved the markets here and always find some nice things to buy.

We got some Turkish towels, which I’d seen recommended on instagram last Summer.

Admired this cute puppy.

 

Sampled and bought some delicious cookies.

Smelt and bought some bath salts…

And Athena’s dream finally came true when she purchased her very own lizard.

Christy got one too and they fun picking out which one they wanted and getting lessons in how to walk them :-).

The girls also bought some of these amazing cut coins.

Then it was time to head home. My feet were killing me by now and I knew why when my fitness app informed me I’d reached 10,000 steps for the day.

With no inclination to make dinner, we opted to get Crust pizza again.

Christy & I headed to the room as Got to Dance was on, and we didn’t want to miss any more than we already had. Athena & Kevin arrived with the pizza shortly after. So yummy.

After dinner I did some more packing and tidying before heading to bed.

Another gorgeous start to the day.

As you can see I had to keep getting up to take photos. The sky was amazing.

Today I decided to try a Chai Frappacino. Nice, but I think I prefer the Green Tea one.

 

A bit later Kevin and I enjoyed scrambled eggs on toast out on the balcony.

Kevin took the Athena & Christy to the Wax Museum and Infinity and I headed down to the pool for  a bit of a relax and lie in the sun.

I read a magazine and enjoyed the view.

I debated having a spa but it was rather crowded with kids so I decided to give it a miss. But I take some more photos of the resort.

I went back to our apartment and was ready just when they returned. We did a mad dash around Cavil Avenue trying to find some joggers for Christy, that she needed for her Skypoint climb. Since she’s been wearing her boot on the way up, she had forgotten to pack her other jogger. Success. Then time for Athena’s surprise – lunch at the Bavarian Haus.

We used to go here every holiday when I was a child but I’m thinking it’s not quite what it used to be.

For some bizarre reason I missed getting a photo of our food (check out the vlog if you want to see it). It was pretty good but not amazing.

Seeing this guy carrying clocks took me back to our visit to the Clock Museum in Germany last year.

After lunch we walked the few blocks up to the Q1 building.

Christy and Kevin got checked in for their climb and we caught to lift to the top. 77 floors in just 40 seconds.

A cloudy day but the view was still stunning.

After a wander around, Kevin & Christy went off to their climb.  It actually wasn’t that much higher than we were but it was outside the building. Christy loved it and Kevin thought it was okay, but didn’t compare to climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Here’s the view they enjoyed from outside.

And while they climbed, Athena & I enjoyed some afternoon tea.

We did leave some for the climbers though…

Then it was back down the lift.

 

We were going to catch the tram back to the hotel, but when we realized it was going to cost us $20 we decided to walk :-).

Tonights dinner was soft tacos.

Can’t believe tomorrow is our last day…. then we head to Noosa.

Todays vlog :

The morning started like every one, with me watching the sun come up as I edit yesterdays vlog, followed by breakfast and a fancy drink (another Green Tea Frappachino today) and getting ready. We were a bit slow getting out the door today and didn’t arrive at Dreamworld until 10.30am (the golden rule of theme parks had been broken).

Luckily enough as it’s not yet school holidays, the park was pretty quiet and most lines not too long.

First up was some wet rides.  Though I opted not to wait for this one (only get so much good foot time) and Christy didn’t feel like getting wet.

We then all went on the log ride.

And saw a cute lizard.

We had tried to buy the Q4U thing (like fastpass) that we’d used on previous trips but even though we paid for an app it didn’t seem to working (and the office was closed). Kevin will put in a dispute with paypal.

We then went on one of my favs – just like riding a motorbike.

Time for our family selfie.

Then on to Wiggles World….

for a traditional ride on the Big Red Car.

But we were shocked to find it had been overtaken by the “new” Wiggles.

And even “wake up Jeff” was now “wake up Lockie”. We were gutted. Our Wiggles are gone. But I’m guessing all the other kids and parents in the lines wouldn’t even know “our Wiggles”, except for the Anthony (who is still going strong, even with his grey hair) :-).

 

Time for Tiger Island, where they were enjoying a frozen treat. These two were born here 16 years. I remember how excited everyone was when they were born! I’ve probably even got some photos of them as cubs somewhere.

Don’t even think about it Kevin!!

More selfies. Athena has been a bad influence.

More rides in what used to the Nickolodeon area, but is now Dreamworks, much to Athena’s horror.

Now it was time for my horror to find the place we had always eaten a (healthy) lunch had been overrun with burgers and hotdogs :-(. We sort out somewhere else but were too late for all the wraps, so I had to go with pizza.

Time for some more thrills for the family while I watched. I’ve done nearly all the rides at least once but I’m more of a roller coaster kind of gal :-).

The claw…

Wipeout…

A new ride..which I actually did go on (but Kevin didn’t photograph).. which was rather fun…

Kevin and Christy played laser tag.

I saw Belinda and Kenny Koala. And I remembered when Athena had a mad crush on Belinda :-).

More rides for Christy.

And Kevin…

And more selfies for Athena…

Finally at 5pm, after a bit of shopping, we closed down the park, and got to enjoy the sunset while Kevin & Athena worked on ordering a new i-phone in the carpark. Success!!

Meanwhile I enjoyed some tea and a donut.

 

This is the golliwogg I bought today. I had one as a child and thought this one was so cute. I just had to buy her. The card tells the story and tradition of the golliwogg – which I didn’t know and found very interesting. Upon doing some more reasearch I see that some people may be offended (due to the fact that the name/word became offensive)  but I loved the golliwogg I had as a child, and think this one is beautiful. So sad when something like an innocent doll can become a racial slur.

Back home the “twins” went out to buy some supplies and pick up some pizza for dinner.

Of course, Kevin had to take a selfie with his coffee. As you do!

I think is was my first time trying Crust pizza and it was DELICIOUS!!

Todays vlog:

 

As you can see I was up before the sun today and in time to see the sunrise.

Christy started her 13th birthday celebrations opening presents.

Everyone organised their own breakfast. I had a wrap.

And a green tea frappacino that Kevin got for me from Starbucks.

At 9.30am we set off for Movie World, arriving shortly after opening.

First ride of the day (and a new one for us). Pretty good but very quick.

Kevin bought himself this onesie when I left him unattended in the gift shop!!

 

Next was Justice League 3D ride – just like Disney’s buzz lightyear.

Then Kevin, Athena & Christy rode Batwing.

 

Then it was Superman …

Followed by Arkham Asylum for the girls…

Then the girls favourite ride at the park, the Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster..

They rode this a couple of times before we got some nachos for lunch. So yummy. We had the same thing last time we were here.

After lunch we went to…

Kevin asked if he was good enough to get this – giving the girl in the store a good chuckle.

We briefly checked out the kids area but the Looney Tunes ride we wanted to go on is long gone. Athena did get a selfie with Foghorn.

There were a few more rides on Scooby.

And it turned out we were in a great place to catch the end of the parade.

Christy took off to do some rides, while the rest of saw the 4D movie – Journey 2.

Time for a treat – a mint iced choc – yum!!

I snapped a few last photos while the girls rode the Green Lantern again.

Then it was time to leave for home. Then back out again for Christy’s birthday dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.

 

We were seated in an outdoor area, which was thankfully a lot quieter than we’d experienced before.

Fancy drinks were ordered…

I had my usual Chicken salad… without the chicken. So delicious.

We had a really enjoyable evening and dinner. On the way out I spotted one of Clarence Clemons’ saxaphones.

Back home we settled in for the remainder of the evening, and Kevin was quick to try out his new onesie. Yep, I’m married to a 5 year old!!

Todays vlog :