Cat Tales: Miscellany and Mischief

Day 13:Brisbane

30DBC December 13 Prompt: We're flying out to Brisbane this morning and staying in the Meriton Apartment Hotel.
We'll do a bit of island hopping afterwards- from the mainland to Amity Stradbroke Island (Straddie), then onwards to Moreton Island. This means we're first going to Cleveland to take the QRail to Straddie before we get to Moreton via the Amity Trader barge.


Alrighty. On a plane again.

I'm really starting to be afraid that any day now we'll be packed into the car again like sardines for 18 hours. But I'll enjoy the break while it lasts.

We get off the plane (can you call a 7 AM flight a red-eye? I wish you could) and check into the Meriton Apartment Hotel. I get some more shut-eye while I can. And then we'll be experiencing basically every mode of transportation in one day--by water, by train, by car, and this morning, by plane. (That even rhymed a bit.)

I'm not too worried as I pile into the car to Cleveland with my hot coffee in a thermos. It'll be a nice change of pace and an experience to freshen up the staleness that the act of traveling has acquired in these past couple weeks.

The train is interesting, and much faster than I would have imagined. Before I know it, we're pulling into Straddie, and while we wait around on the Amity Trader Barge, I wander around the station looking for a place to sit and record some thoughts. I sip my coffee as I finally decide to slump against a wall and jot down some ideas for a story set in the future.

WakeUpAndLive calls to me and tells me the barge is here. I hop on board and stumble--I can't remember the last time I had to use my sea legs (or lack thereof). But once I get settled into my seat, the ride is nice, and the breeze coming off the water is refreshing on my still-sunburnt arms. As we approach Moreton, my imagination is sparked once again. It's a pristine island, with a tall lighthouse near the shore, and miles and miles of sand and turquoise water all around. I grab BlueMoon and we decide to explore the lighthouse first, and then find some shade to enjoy the crystal clear day.

The day passes pleasantly. The lighthouse is gorgeous, and then the whole gang decides to go sand-tobogganing. I go for another pass down the dune even when my mouth gets stuffed with sand the first time round. When night falls, we point out the stars blinking to life in the darkening sky. We think we can even see the smudge of the Milky Way, and we stare awestruck for some time.

Then it's back across the water, to food and civilization once more, and then back to the hotel to rest up for tomorrow's adventures. We're all exhausted from a day of fun, but I stay up a bit to finish my Rosary and call the hubby before turning in, careful to leave my arms out of the blanket so they can cool during the night.

AlyCatAuthor