Brisbane (for Feb. 19)

We gained an hour as we crossed the border from New South Wales to Queensland, which seems odd, because intuitively, you should be in the same time zone if you are traveling south/north. Anyway, we had free internet and an extra hour of time, so we used it to catch up on blogging and finances. Celeste also tried to call the kids on Skype, but was only able to get hold of Darren. We could here him fine, but he could not hear us well, so they did some instant messaging instead of talking.

With all the interneting, we only got out of the hotel at 10, despite the gain of the extra hour. We headed to the beach, just one block away, and took a looong beach walk. Being a Sunday, there were lots of people, but because the beach is miles long, it was not at all crowded. People were concentrated around the patrolled areas marked by flags, although there were some people everywhere up and down the beach. The patrolled areas are about 50 metres wide and marked by red and yellow flags. I am not sure if it is the same everywhere, but, apparently, at Bondi Beach in Sydney, paid lifeguards work the weekdays and volunteers work the weekends. The volunteers belong to beach rescue clubs, complete with club houses comparable to a Victoria Club type operation. They are highly trained and it is a big status symbol to belong. At the beach in Brisbane, there was a patrolled beach about every half mile.

It was a pretty hot, humid, and sunny day, but quite comfortable on the beach with the ocean breeze. Away from the beach, the heat was pretty oppressive, so after our walk we retreated to a mall to pick up some groceries. As malls go, it was pretty interesting. In addition to the very large, two stories high, and fairly conventional main mall, there was a surrounding shopping area that was laid out in narrow streets that bent back and forth, giving it the feel of shopping in an old European town.

With groceries in hand, we went back to a park near the beach for a picnic and finally hit the road for Brisbane at 3, arriving in our hotel at 4:30. It was so warm (34 degrees) and humid that, I am embarrassed to admit, we hid out in our hotel room and watched a movie on TV. At about 6:30 we went out for a walk. It was still 29 and humid, so Celeste was still suffering. But, get this. It was already getting dark. By 7 it was totally dark with just a hint of light on the horizon. How weird is that? Somebody should explain to these people about Daylight Saving Time.