Australian Outback Spectacular

Sunrise

The day began when I awoke around 6am. I’d had a terrible night with seemed like pain from head to toe. So am hoping for a much less painful day today. Spent time on the computer as there was nothing to do until 10am. The girls went out to get Kevin a coffee and some rolls from Bakers Delight. They also collected Christy’s egg from the car so they could get them started hatching.

Eggs to hatch

Just before 10 we headed downstairs to Infinity. I did it last time but was claustrophobic so not again.

Infinity

Kevin wasn’t worried about doing it again but took the girls. I went for a wonder around the shops and then sat reading some tourist brochures.

The Chevron Rennaisance

When they got out we went to buy Amy a swimsuit as she had forgotten hers (despite being warned she would forget if left hanging on her door as it was wet). Finally we managed to get something she was happy with.

Then it was time to head out to the Australian Outback Spectacular.

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Loved this tree by the front entrance.

Balboa Tree

Inside we were given a hat (to keep) and had a photo taken.

Family

Then there was time to meet some of the shows performers.

Visiting one of the shows horses

Don’t you just love Maverick’s ears? Too cute.

Photo with Maverick

Amy was very excited when we said she could have one of the non-alcholic cocktails that came in a light up glass.

Amy and her "cocktail"

Christy got a light up chicken … as you do.

Christy and her light up chicken

Wearing our show hats

There was some singing and comedy entertainment in the waiting area and eventually we were let in to the main arena. I didn’t get many photos as there was no photography during the show.

Ready for the show

Our entree’s were already in place when we arrived.

Lunch is served

Lunch (steak for Kevin and a vegetarian meal for the girls and I) and pavlova was served during the show. We really enjoyed it. Definitely something to see at least once and we’re really glad we went. The following photo is from the photo display.

the show

I found a video on youtube that shows you a bit of the show.

Horseman

I’m not sure why but Kevin wanted to buy a whip!!!

Kevin and his new whip

Back at the apartment I took the girls down to the pool for a swim. We went to the indoor pool first but it was rather crowded and SOOO noisy.

Pool at the Chevron

Poolside

Time for a swim

While they played I relaxed on the grass area playing with the camera and then reading a magazine.

Minature people

3 towers of the Chevron Rennaisance

When the girls had had enough we went back up upstairs and I enjoyed a cup of tea on our verandah.

Tea time with a view

Later Christy joined me as she ate her dinner.

Christy having dinner

Kevin & Amy went out to hunt and gather our dinner. Tonight was pie face. Much as I’ve enjoyed our meals it will be nice to not have takeaway once Kevin goes back home tomorrow :-).

Pieface for dinner

Vegetable pie

After dinner we watched Dairy of a Whimpy Kid – funny and cute.

View at night time

Tomorrow – Wet ‘n’ wild

A day at the Movies

Movie world to be exact.

Movie World

After waking around 6am and playing on the computer for a bit we went downstairs to get our groceries, came back to the room to have breakfast and then headed off to Movie World around 10am. First up was Scooby’s Spooky Coaster. With Kevin and I both suffering from bad backs and Christy old enough to ride without a parent we waited nearby. I felt a bit sad but the girls felt very grown up to be riding without parents.

Scooby's spooky coaster

While waiting, the Scooby gang pulled up and I thought I’d better get a photo with them in case the girls missed out.

With the Scooby Gang

Christy is a HUGE Scooby fan so I pleased she made it back before they left.

With the Scooby Gang

From here we headed over to the Wild West ride. I was going to ride but remembered their were  a few jerky parts and someone needed to keep everything dry. Unfortunately I was messing around with the camera – taking photos with the wide angle lens – and missed them coming down. Luckily Kevin took the new video camera on (it’s water proof). I think this was them at the top.

Wild West ride

It was a warm day so we didn’t need it but I thought this giant people dryer was a fabulous idea.

The people dryer

We were heading back up main street when the next session of Journey to the Center of the Earth in 4D was going in so we decided to do that. Kevin and I took the non-moving seats (boy we are getting old!!!). This was quite fun. I love Brendan Fraser and the girls seemed to enjoy it.

4D movie

Next up was the Batwing Slingshot. I don’t do rides like this (only once). But it was Christy’s first time and she was so excited.

Batwing

Excited girls

First time for Christy

She loved it and got back in line for another ride while we some lunch (I bought rolls with us). We then went on the Batman ride – opting for the non-moving version – much to the girls disgust. Kevin & I haven’t been on this in years because we thought it rough and jarring even before we had bad backs :-).

We visited the Harry Potter shop. Christy got a cute owl (Hedwig) and Amy got a few pieces of jewellery. We had problems with one the girls gift cards which took a bit of sorting out.

Harry Potter Shop

After getting photos for our VIP passes (great value at only $99 – unlimited entry until June) we visited Ben & Jerry’s.

Ben & Jerry's

Decisions, decisions

Kevin & I decided to share one of hte Core Concoctions – 2 scoops of ice cream with choc sauce in the middle and cream & nuts on top. YUM!!

Sharing an ice creamIce Cream

We wandered over to the Looney Tunes Kids area but it was rather busy. The girls had wanted to ride the roller coaster but said the line was too long. Then Christy announced that she was too old for the other rides. Fair enough I guess since she’s now tall enough for all but two rides.

Flowers at Movie World

The girls spotted the lady doing hair braiding and decided they wanted to get some.

Amy getting braids

Amy's Braids

Of course Amy had to get the peace sign once I showed it to her.

Amy's peace braid

Christy getting some hair braids

Christy's braids

Then it was a few more rides on the Scooby coaster. My feet were in a bad way (old problem with hands & feet swelling) and I was in quite a bit of pain so it was good to relax and even put my feet up for a bit. While waiting we got to see the very unexciting parade.

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IMG_0331 Batman

We actually missed the girls coming out of the ride but guess who can be seen in the last photo. They didn’t know where we were so went to watch the parade then came back to look for us. I had to laugh when I saw the photo.

Batman

Once they found us and did another go on Scooby then headed over to the Wild West to do the wet ride again.

Wet sisters

Then it was time for the last rides. Kevin and Amy went to do Superman (and got the front row) and Christy went off to do Batwing again (managing to do it 5 times in the time Amy did 2 goes of Superman).

Superman ride

We didn’t end up leaving until nearly 5pm and the girls had had a fantastic day. Kevin and I enjoyed watching them but didn’t like how old our bodies had made us feel :-(. Once back in the apartment we relaxed for a bit before Kevin was kind enough to go and out and get Nandos for dinner. My feet thanked him. I had my favourite vegetable pita. Delicious.

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Then computer time to upload photos and write this post before heading to bed. The rest of the family is already there and it’s not even 8.30pm!

Tomorrow : Infinity (not for me), Australian Outback show and a swim.

Off to Surfers Paradise

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Some of you might wonder why we’re having a holiday when it’s just 2 months till we go Alaska. This is our “we feel guilty for not taking the girls to Alaska with us” trip :–). Kevin is only here till Monday night though as he can’t really have too much time off work.

We aimed to wake up around 3am and I woke at 3.02am. We had showers to wake us up then got the girls up and dressed and were in the car around 3.40am. First stop was McDonalds for tea/coffee and hot chocolates. Service was VERY slow however and we would have been much quicker to make them at home before leaving.

First stop for early morning tea & coffee

The best thing about getting up so early is getting through Sydney before workday traffic gets too bad. The girls slept a little more but unfortunately Christy got a bit car sick. This happened the last time we drove up so it must have something to do with the early morning or driving in the dark. She’s made the same trip many times in the day and never gotten sick. We were excited to find a Oliver’s at our breakfast stop.

Breakfast stop at Olivers

However there wasn’t really anything warm for the girls and I to have so we went over the cafe to get some toasted sandwiches and bought them back to eat at Oliver’s. I did ask the lady who worked there if it was okay. But Kevin did get his breakfast and we bought tea/coffee and other stuff. I had a cheese toasted sandwich with was delicious (esp. from a roadside cafe).

Breakfast

Back in the car I tried to do some knitting but had a bit of a fail – only one needle. Later I found the other needles – but by then I’d put the knitting in the boot :-(.

Knitting Fail

We had rain on and off for most of the morning.

Wet roads

And amazingly Kevin asked me to drive as he was REALLY tired (he’s been having sleeping/tiredness problems for a few months now).

Kevin having a nap in the car

I didn’t mind, though it felt strange to be driving with him in the passenger seat, esp. once he work up and I remained driving until we stopped for an early lunch.

Driving Kevin

The girls and I wanted Subway and Kevin got KFC, which he ate out of the car (to save us from having to smell it).

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Onwards we drove…

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Christy and Hippo

past the Big Banana…

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and very green countryside (due to all the rain)…

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… and fields full of sugar cane…

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The girls did great on the drive, only getting a bit restless towards the end.

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Our last stop was the Macadamia Castle.. where we stocked up on fresh, warm macadamia nuts.

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I also got a tea which I enjoyed while sharing the muffin I had bought at Oliver’s with Kevin. Raspberry and white chocolate – delicious.

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When we got my favourite view on the drive we rolled down the windows to take some photos…

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the result of which was some unruly hair…

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Then finally, after almost 12 hours of driving, the Gold Coast high rise buildings finally came into view.

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A short time later we had arrived and met the person to give us the keys. Our room is lovely. We’ve stayed at the Chevron twice before so knew what to expect, and we were not disappointed.

The Chevron Rennaisance

Our room

IMG_0250 The kitchen

Christy was first out to check out the view – which is gorgeous.

Checking out the view

View from our room

View from our room

We were tired and wanting to get settled so we quickly headed out to get some dinner, pausing to check out the pool at night. Must be cold in though because no-one was swimming.

Nighttime pool

We got some takeaway from Noodle Rennaisance, some cheese rolls from Bakers Delight (for Christy) and a few groceries from Coles. We’ll come do a proper shop in the morning. One thing we love about the Chevron is that the shop are just RIGHT downstairs.

Getting some groceries

Kevin decided to try out my new camera while we were eating dinner…

Amy's dinner Eating noodle soup

Once we had eaten we unpacked, then got out the laptops – yes, all four of them :-).

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I think it’s going to be an early night.

Playing in the city

Sydney Tower

Surprisingly we managed to sleep in till after 7am this morning. It was looking a bit wet and gloomy so we played on our laptops before Kevin finally decided to go in search of coffee and breakfast. He did well, supplying tea and raisen toast (from the same place we got dinner last night).

Breakfast

Finally we headed out on the first mission of the day, which involved catching the ferry over to Taronga Zoo.

Zoo ferry

It was rather drizzly and cold and we were definitely underdressed as the weather forecast had been for a warm day.

Arriving at the zoo

Our only reason for coming to the zoo was the activate some annual passes I had bought. This had to be done by the 31st March. I loved these cute posters for guessing animal noses/

Zoo poster

Of course I spotted the Golden nose right away 🙂

Poster at the zoo

This was in the Gondola waiting area (and would be a great way to pass the time with kids) but there were no lines for us.

Brief visit to the zoo

We picked up some morning tea which was enjoyed on the ferry ride back to the city.

Morning tea on the ferry

I might have grown up in Sydney, and we still visit often, but I still get a thrill seeing the Opera House (where we’re attending a concert tonight) and the Harbour Bridge…even on an overcast day 🙂

Habour sights

Sydney skyline

Our next mission was to give our 4 jetboat ride passes to some lucky people. We had planned to come up with the kids last weekend but the weather was really bad and Kevin’s back has been bad and we don’t want to risk causing him further pain. Anyway we were able to make 2 families very happy. It saved them $120 each (way more than what I’d paid).

Jetboats

We weren’t sure what to do next but came across the Justice and Police Museum so thought that might be worth a visit.

Police & Crime Museum

Police Musuem Sydney

It was quite good – more reading than exhibits – so wouldn’t have been great for the girls. We did see Tess, the very first Australian police dog.

Tess - first Aussie police dog

and the old court rooms.

Courthouse

I thought it funny seeing these old official documents from the 1950s. All handwritten in books. You don’t find official documents like that any more. It seemed so odd.

Old books

It was lunchtime and we were getting hungry. Not really sure where we were going I spotted Wagamama. It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to eat at and was rather excited it.

Lunch at Wagamama

Lunch

Love the set up and how you can see the chefs in the kitchen.

Kevin at wagamama

This was our view while we ate.

Lunch time very in Sydney

I ordered my very first bento box, which started with miso soup (another first for me and I really enjoyed it).

Miso Soup

The meal was lovely but the tofu/veg dish was a little too spicy and left me with tingling lips :-).

Vegetarian Bento Box

Loved this building. Not too sure where the palm trees fit in though.

Love old buldings Sydney buildings

We headed back to the hotel as Kevin’s back was sore and my heel spur was sore – good couple aren’t we? :-). Of course, we had to go via Adora handmade chocolates.

Adore chocolate shop

I bought this for myself because I loved the jar. Of course, I’m sure the chocolate easter eggs will be loved as well.

Cute dish filled with easter eggs Easter eggs

Kevin had a sleep, while I played on the laptop and sampled some of the eggs. While on facebook I was reminded that we were supposed to vote today (in the NSW election – ooops).

Around 4pm we headed back out. Since I was now dressed for the show tonight (and NOT wearing my crocs) we decided to get a taxi to the Sydney Town Hall. Such a beautiful, and iconic, building.

Town Hall

Obviously we had to do an absentee vote. One difference between voting here and at home was there were SOOO many people helping out that the line went really quickly.We probably waited around 5 mins, voting took about 1 min and we were out of there.

Absent voting

Since it was much quicker than we expected we now had almost 3 hours to kill before the show tonight. My feet were feeling okay so we walked to Kevin’s favourite store – the Apple Store, where he bought a few bits and pieces (including something that will allow me to listen to my i-pod in the car – good thing since I broke my car antenne off ages ago).

Kevin in the Apple Store

We thought we’d keep walking and happened to walk past this….

Cupcake shop

which of course meant buying these. I know I can make yummy cupcakes at home but they never look as cute as the ones you buy. These were mini ones in case you thought we were being really big piggies :-).

Cupcakes

Now we had to go back via the hotel…which meant I could have worn my Crocs after all. After sampling one of the cupcakes and hanging out for a bit, we set off in search of Nandos.  BIG MISTAKE (said in a Julia Roberts/Pretty Woman tone of voice). We never found it (it was not where the i-phone map said it was) and this resulted in us walking much further. So by the time I hit the Harbour I had blisters from the straps on my shoes (becuase I was not walking on my heel). Not fun. I ended up putting the straps under my foot, but then they rubbed on the bottom. BTW, I was wearing my flattest, comfiest, more dressy shoes.

We reached the Opera House, without having found somewhere to eat as most of the resturants were too busy, too noisy or too expensive for us. But we did spot the man we had come to see – Tim Minchin. If you have ABC2 they are broadcasting Sunday nights concert at 8.30pm

Concert at the Opera House

I think my expression reflects the pain of my foot :-(…

In front of the Sydney Opera House

Still in search of food we found somewhere inside the Opera House that sold sandwiches and wraps, which we took outside to enjoy with a million dollar view.

Dinner with a view

I also made a friend – well, he might not have been a friend since he tried to steal my dinner.

He tried to steal my dinner

After we ate we went inside to wait as it was a bit cool out. While waiting my friend Kerrie managed to find us. We had been going to look out for each other and amazingly we going in the same door. And they were sitting in the row just in front of us – what are the odds? It was nice to have a little catch up. Once we went it we were seated next to a couple who had come all the way from Seattle, Washington, primarily to see the show, and we enjoyed chatting with them as well.

All set for showtime

Waiting to see Tim Minchin

Then it was time to see Tim Minchin versus the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. It was a great show. Funny, great music, and good entertainment.

Tim Minchin

Tim Minchin

The show finished around 11pm and we got out of there fast to get a taxi back to the hotel. No way I was going to manage to walk all the way. Just as our cab pulled up at the hotel it started to rain, so it was a good decision all round. The only problem with going to such great show is that even though we were physically tired, mentally we were wide awake. I ended up uploading my photos before going to sleep.