Stradbroke Island Pt. 1

It is really difficult to write about an entire week of fun in the sun, which is why I haven't posted anything about Stradbroke yet. Ken suggested I break it down into "chapters" to get a handle on it. So here goes with the first chapter:

It was a dark and stormy night...My apologies to Snoopy for plagiarism. Anyway, it WAS a dark and dreary morning when we headed off to take a train, bus and water taxi to Stradbroke Island. The wind was ferocious and it was more than a little chilly. I'd woken up with a sinus infection and sore throat. What a beautiful start to the holiday. Straddie is only about 1.5 to 2 hours from home, so it's a nice ride on the train through the suburbs of Brisbane.

When we got to Cleveland (not the one in Ohio), we had a short wait at the bus stop for the bus to the water taxi. There were a couple of American backpackers there (they looked so young!) and two Aboriginal school girls. I can assure you that teenage girls are just as annoying and obnoxious in Australia as they are in Indiana. We were all cringing! Especially when a Muslim family came over and the wife had her face all covered in beautiful fabric. The girls went over with their cigarettes and cokes and demanded, "Why do you have your face covered up?" The husband handled it perfectly by suggesting they sit down quietly and he would explain it to them. The female backpacker and I exchanged looks of absolute horror and embarassment. "Oh my God," she mouthed to me.

Finally our bus came, and the Muslim family, the backpackers and Ken and I all got on. The men started talking about the water taxis and time tables, etc. The water taxi was right on time and we loaded our stuff and got on. Because of the wind, it was a pretty choppy 25 minutes, but even in the gloom you could tell it's a beautiful place. Ross met us at the other side and off we went to the house. It was a cute little place on Flinders Beach called Lee's Cottage.

As soon as we unloaded the Ute and dumped everything in the bedroom, we were off to the beach. Wow! The dramatic clouds and dark ocean water were just fabulous. We worried about the fishing, but it truly would have been okay with me if it stayed stormy the entire time. It was that beautiful.

Sandra was so wonderful, she cooked the entire time we were there! I think the only thing I cooked was toast for breakfast. Yes, Mom and Dad, I did do the dishes. We had a lovely night catching up with Ross and Sandra and woke the next morning to sunshine! The kookaburras joined us on the veranda for breakfast and then we were off for a day of yabbie pumping and fishing.

To be continued tomorrow...