The plan was to wake up around 9am and see what the weather was like. If it was nice we would go pick up Erin and spend the morning lounging by the pool. We hadn’t really talked about an alternative as we were trying to stay positive. But, 9am rolled around and the sky was filled with clouds and it was VERY windy. Mom and I went back to sleep for about another hour and then woke up to start packing.
We check out of the hotel and started the hour drive to the Brisbane airport, although it did take a bit longer because of construction. It was pretty hot today (the sun was sort of out) and we were blasting the AC but something wasn’t right as it was just blowing warm (not hot) air. At one point I felt my heart start racing..I felt like I was trapped in an oven..it was awful! I quickly looked through the manual and felt like it was a race against time. I realized we had to push in the button for it to become AC! We were so thankful when it started working because mom said she was at the point of pulling over it was so bad!
We were VERY hungry when we arrived (apparently Australia doesn’t put food signs on the highway..this is NOT our type of country!) and we found an area near the airport that had restaurants. We headed that way and the place was happening..we still aren’t sure why. It would be kind of weird to come to this mall(ish) type place unless you were at the airport, but there were a ton of cars and not a lot of people had carry-on luggage..so who knows! We stopped for a delicious lunch (or we might have been very hungry) before heading back to the airport.
When we originally arrived in Brisbane the car the man told us we had to drop the car off at the international terminal. When driving back to the airport the “car return” signs all pointed to the international terminal, so that’s where we went! Unlike other airports where we have returned cars, at Brisbane you park your car and then go inside to return the keys. We did this and the woman said we could have returned it to domestic and now we had to either take a bus or a train (both costing $5 per person) to the domestic gate! Booooo!! That was annoying. We opted for the bus and in about 10 minutes (and $10 later) we were ready to check in! When checking in we had to weigh our carry-on luggage (which I have never had to do before) and put the excess in our checked luggage (mine was overweight..surprise surprise) so then we had to pay more money for excess weight. Ugh. It was an annoying airport!
Surprisingly we managed to make it through security without being detained, so I guess all in all it was a good day! Our flight was short (only a couple of hours) and I don’t know WHAT it is with planes but all I wanted to do is sleep! I took out my laptop to blog (since I am SO far behind, I know I know..and yes I have received threatening emails) but I could barely keep my eyes open. I don’t know if I have trained my body to fall asleep (I usually take pills) or if it is just the motion, but I passed out!
We arrived in a very rainy Cairns. We rented a car (the same car we had before, just a different color) and headed out (this time with AC)! We were about 15 minutes into the ride and very surprised about how there was nothing around. We did see a sign for McDonald’s (which honestly neither of us really like) but decided we should stop for dinner because we didn’t know if we would see anything else! And it was a GOOD thing we did. We took the SCARIEST road to get to Port Douglas! It was SO windy, every turn was a hairpin turn (I felt like I was going to be sick) it was SO dark (no street lights) and it was DOWNPOURING (we legit couldn’t see anything). Good thing mom is the best driver in the world because I had a headache trying to keep my eyes on the road as well! I really thought we were in a scary movie..it was the PERFECT setting! Port Douglas is a tourist town, so maybe in the daylight it really won’t be as scary, but this road put me in a really weird mood!
FINALLY we saw civilization (and signs for Port Douglas) and when we turned on the main road we saw..PEOPLE! It was very comforting. We are staying in an apartment and on our first trip down the road we missed it because there is retail on the first floor. However, once we turned around we were able to find it! The location is PERFECT (well…we think..it’s dark) and it is SO nice to have some space! Mom booked the two bedroom because she knew at this point we have been together for over a week (including in the very small hostel in Vietnam)..and while we love each other..space is nice! We each have our own bedroom and bathroom, and a kitchen/living room/dining room! It really is nice to have some space to move around! It is supposed to rain all week (boo) but as long as there isn’t lightning (which means I can go diving) I will still be happy!
Hugs and kisses from a rainy Australia!
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