Noosa and Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia KCACO: TNG

Ok, maybe it's not the The Next Generation. It's the Next Chapter. But Gen X friends and Trekkie fans will enjoy the pop culture reference.

Anywho, we are on the road again for an extended trip, the first since returning after 13 months on the road. Except for Mia--who traveled for 5 weeks through Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam last summer. However she is not the Keeper of the Blog so there you have it. I know I am still terribly behind on our RTW blog, but I woke up buzzing with energy to write. I'm back, baby.....

Dmitri and I have traveled from Los Angeles, CA to Noosa, Queensland, Australia. He has a conference in Gold Coast in a few days and we have come early to acclimate. And are, if I do say so myself, kicking ASS! Not to brag, actually YES to brag, but I went to sleep last night around 7 or 7:30 pm local time and got out of bed for good around 7 am. Yes, I was up briefly at 1 am when I woke to a text from Mia and then promptly powered down my phone without really reading it. Woke again at 4:40 and thought I was up for good, but managed to snooze again after reading my kindle for a bit.

We left from LAX around just before midnight on June 12. And we were a bit rusty. Guest star in our lives, Michelle Kinch, made a cameo with a clutch drive to the airport when Mia had to work late. Traffic was WRETCHED so she literally dropped us off at a stoplight on Sepulveda and we hopped out and walked into the airport and to the International terminal and were faster than the cars in the drop off lanes. On the walk, this was our convo:

Dmitri: Do you know what terminal we are flying out of?

Me: I don't even know what airline we are flying.

We perhaps have gotten a bit too blase about overseas travel. We don't check in at the gate since we are doing carry ons only and we have e boarding passes. We wait to get to the front of the TSA line (not pre-check bc #reasons) and they tell us that we need to go BACK and get a paper boarding pass. Sigh. So we go back to the check in desks and see on the board that the boarding time is in like 40 min. WTF. Also, we find out that our bags are over the allotted 7 kilos so we have to check them. SIGH. Do they NOT know the name of our blog? Luckily, they add precheck to our now-paper boarding passes and we breeze through security and arrive to the gate and board our flight. It's 10.5 hours to Fiji, with a layover of 4 hours, then another 4 hours to Brisbane. Piece of cake.

The flight is uneventful. We have started ordering vegan meals on planes and are delighted to know that specialty meals are served first. We get on and off sleep, me more so than Dmitri and we arrive in Fiji in ok shape. We find the Priority Pass lounge and grab some snacks. All too soon it's time for our flight to Brisbane. And I realize that I have thrown away my Nadi to Brisbane boarding pass rather than my LAX to Nadi boarding pass. Sigh. Rookie mistake. Grrrr. The lady is nice but also firms and tells us--you will be LAST on the plane. So we wait and wait and there is a lull when it seems all the people have boarded and we try to approach again and told AGAIN that we will be LAST on the plane. They are still waiting for 6 people to board and when we try to tell them that one of them might be Dmitri we are told to stand OVER THERE in the CORNER. Finally, finally we are on the plane in our seats and being LAST on the plane has its perks. We take off shortly after that.

Yowza! This is the photo taken as I enter the country. I SWEAR I'm happy to be in Australia!!

Flight to Brissie (I'm already picking up the Aussie slang) is also uneventful. We pick up our rental car and head north to Noosa. We stop along the way at Pizzami in Peregian Beach and our waitress is so dosh-garn nice. Yup, it's lovely to be back in Australia. The people are so freaking happy and kind. We have what are, according to the waitress, "big boy Cokes" to get a little caffeine into our systems. Off we go to Noosa. We arrive and check into our room at the Sebel Noosa and go for a little walk around town. We try to get some more caffeine in us but think the lady at Aroma Cafe isn't the best barista. Dmitri gets a chai latte but it tastes like milk with a little cinnamon and nutmeg and I get a hazelnut matcha latte but I think it's pretty much a shot of hazelnut syrup with milk. So we basically have tried to sabotage ourselves by getting warm milk drinks. Great plan.

Noosa is so adorable and pretty bustling even in (their) winter. We walk along Hastings Street and over to the beach to catch a particularly beautiful sunset. Since it's winter in Australia, the sun sets early and we know we are pretty much goners once the sun goes down. We stay out as late as we can and then head back to the hotel and watch a little British Baking Show until I give up and give in around 7. I think Dmitri made it until around 9:30.

Big Beach, Noosa

Soooooo tired, but happy

June 15

We skipped a day by going over the International Date Line and we wake after all that travel on Saturday the 15th of June. We have done a little planning for Noosa but the main goal is overcoming jet lag, which we miiiiiiight have done already. Well done us! Well, maybe. It's a bit early to get too cocky about it. Last night we found that one of our favorite acai places, Oakberry, is about a 2 minute walk from our hotel so the plan is to grab some brekkie and then head to "Australia's premier artisan market" which is "the best place to support local small businesses" and where there is "something for everyone all in one place." We like something for everyone all in one place so off to Eumundi Markets we go!

TWO MINUTES from our hotel! SCORE!!!!!

We skip Oakberry and decide to see what we can get to eat at the market. We find a coffee cart. Dmitri gets a chai and I get a blue butterfly tea latte. We find some yummy bagels. We spend some time wandering the stalls and when we leave less than a couple hours later we are ZONKED. It's not even lunchtime and we are both wiped out. So much for being all braggy about conquering jetlag so quickly.

Dmitri has a short nap in our hotel room, while I head to the beach and nap there. The weather is lovely and I am at peace hearing waves. We meet up post-nap and have lunch and then hit up the tourist info shop and get some ideas for things to do over the next few days. And then we head back to the beach (which is across the street!!! LOVE our location) and loll around on our blanket in some shade under a tree until the sun sets. We get some yummy treats and I get Oakberry and there are even wild turkeys (Australian brush turkeys apparently like the beach) wandering around. And all is right with the world.

Dmitri chilling with his book while a turkey ambles by

June 16

Another night of decent sleep. Jet lag? Not for the two of us. Knock on wood! We head out earlyish for a walk through Noosa National Park.

Dmitri and I take the coastal track on the way there and then through the forest on the way back. It's bustling on the coastal track. Many locals clearly use this for their Sunday morning walks and we can certainly see why. The waves are crashing, the birds are singing. It's so beautiful.

After about an hour of this, we decide to cut in and get away from most of the people. It's quiet in the forest and we try for about an hour to spot koalas. No luck. We do find evidence of them, though.

This is what it looks like when koalas climb trees

Just when we are about to exit the park, Dmitri spots a baby kangaroo. It is very still and stares at us for a few minutes before bounding off. So no koalas, but a roo. How fun!

We have "hot oats" and chais at a little place on Hasting St. called Blended. We decide to chill by the pool at our hotel and play games (Dmitri) and read books on kindle (me) and we laze away the afternoon and it feels decadent. Nothing to do, nowhere to be. This is our kind of vacation.

Eventually the grumbling of hungry bellies put an end to our lazy afternoon and we head to Grill'd, a burger place we really enjoyed in both Melbourne and Perth. But here in Noosa our veggie burgers are just ok. Oh well. Back to the hotel and I book a boat ride through Australia's Everglades for the following day. I am so excited to go and Dmitri is humoring me so I really hope it's fun and interesting.

June 17

When jet lag gives you lemons, sometimes you have to make sunrise lemonade....at Dolphin Point. I am wide awake at 5 am. I don't want to disturb Dmitri so I throw on my clothes and head out to the coastal walk. And I am rewarded with early walkers and joggers, birds chirping, some wild turkeys out for a stroll, and the wondrous feeling I get when I watch the world (or my small corner of it, at least) slowly wake up. No koala spotting, but that's ok. It's a new day, I'm in a beautiful place, and I'll be on a boat through the Everglades later today.

I'll have to get my Oakberry on the early side today since we will on our boat ride when it closes. Hmmmm, breakfast? Or snack before we drive to the Everglades?

Dmitri and I decide to split hot oats and an acai and it's a good call. Eating it while sitting at the beach boardwalk is another good call.

Our afternoon activity is driving up to Australia's Everglades in the northern end of the Noosa River system. We are going on an eco safari. It's a beautiful drive with many amusing road signs.

I wish! Didn't see any.

Australian cows will upend your car and F you up! Do NOT mess!

We arrive in time to have lunch before our afternoon cruise. CootharaBar is much better than it needs to be. The grilled fish and chicken pie are delicious. And the view of the lake isn't bad either. Oh, and what's that? A kangaroo, sunning itself. Fantastic! I go closer to get a few photos and it cares not in the least about my proximity.

Come hither....

We board the boat and this being Australia they offer us complimentary beer or bubbles. We go for the Eco Brewing Company lager and it's quite good.

We cruise along and our skipper, Paul, tells us about the area, as well as his time in the Kimberley, and lots of other interesting facts about Australia. The water is almost black with the concentration of oils from the tea trees in the area and the reflections of the trees in the water is really beautiful. It's so serene and a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

We get off our boat and, as promised by Paul, there are "heaps" of kangaroos all over the grounds of the eco hotel.

Dinner is at Kaali, an Indian place on one end of Hastings.

June 18

I wake today early enough for a sunrise walk but it's not to be, as I also wake with a sore throat. Grrrrr. It's our last full day in Noosa and we don't have much planned, which is a good thing. We are having a slow start but the plan is to get breakfast and do a little walking in the national park. I mean, how lucky are we that we have this beautiful coastal track that is free to enter and walking distance from our hotel. Yes, please!

We have settled into a nice breakfast routine in Noosa. Head out for a chai latte. After 4 days here and subpar chai, we find a place that has the best one, Noosa Social. Then we head to Oakberry and pick up our acai, then down to Blended and get hot oats. We take it all to the beach and eat overlooking the sand and sea. By the way, we love love love the location of our hotel/apartment. It's literally steps from Hastings street, which has shops and restaurant and a block over is the beach. It's a really nice size, with a bedroom, living room, kitchen, patio, and laundry facilities. And the water pressure in the shower is the stuff of fairy tales.

After breakfast we walk up many, many, many stairs to Upper Hastings and make our way through more of the national park and a cute neighborhood to Noosa Junction. More fun shops and restaurants and we meet a nice photographer in a gallery. He tells us the best place to spot koalas and so we plan to head there later today. (Spoiler alert, we don't see any.)

We head back to the room for some down time and laundry and then drive to Noosaville in search of one of the local brewing companies--Heads of Noosa. Annnnnnnnnd. It's closed. Luckily a very nice woman working there sees us and, even though they are closed, she invites us in for a tasting. Seriously, Australians are just so darn nice. I really don't see this kind of thing happening at home. We try the Japanese lager, which is very smooth. And Dmitri tries what he claims to be the best ginger beer he's ever had. WOW! High praise.

Unfortunately, there goes our lunch plan. Instead we go to Rick's Artisanal Pies and get take away. We have that with the beer we bought at Heads and have a lovely picnic lunch on a bench alongside the Noosa River. Pies are $5 US so that's a pretty cheap lunch. Score!

On our return to Noosa Heads, we go back to the national park and go right where we were told the koalas would be. They are not there. At least it's a pretty walk and we did spot a dolphin. On the way out a bush turkey flies at my head. So that was a bit startling.

Had my second Oakberry of the day and debated watching one last Noosa sunset. Nah, too lazy and I also have to do laundry. Tomorrow we pack up and head to the Gold Coast.

June 19

Well, I am super low energy so it's not early sunrise walk for me. I'm definitely getting sick. I get a smoothie before Dmitri wakes up and then we do our usual chai on the boardwalk. Today we mix it up a bit and we eat in an outdoor food area. And are delighted to see this group of older gentlemen, the Noosa Turtles Swimming Club who we have seen around town the past few days. They go for a swim in the morning and then they all meet for brekkie. We LOVE these guys. We surreptitiously take a photo of them.

Just before we hit the road, we visit Milk Bar for some yummy snacks and lunch. Milk Bar has quickly become a favorite for Dmitri. He had been hoping they might have a sister store in Gold Coast, but, alas, they do not.

We load up the car and head to the Gold Coast, via Tamborine Mountain. We stop on the way at Skywalk and it's really beautiful walking in the tree canopy. The website concisely explains it better than I ever could: The entire walk totals 1.5 kms and is a combination of forest floor trails, 300 metres of high-tech steel bridges through the highest points of the upper canopy, and a 40 metre cantilever bridge that soars a breathtaking 30 metres above the creek and rainforest below.

From there we have a brief stop for lunch and then we head to see glow worms. We wanted to see glow worms on our RTW trip on a stop in New Zealand. Sadly, covid prevented NZ from opening in time for us to go see the worms so we will try here. The very enthusiastic guide tells us all about glow worms (which are not really worms) and all kinds of facts about their life cycle and such. When we arrive in the cave, we do see them but there certainly aren't the thousands and thousands of them lighting up the cave like we had hoped there might be. Ah well. It's still pretty cool.

On to Broadbeach, and the Star Grand hotel. It's a footbridge away from the GCCEC (Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre) where Dmitri's conference is being held. We pull up to the hotel and find one of Dmitri's former students, Robby, literally on the doorstep of the hotel. We say hello and catch up a bit. And Dmitri is in conference mode!

June 20

I am sick. Sigh.

Dmitri goes off to conference and I lie around the room. Later, when he returns, we walk to the beach to see the waves and then get delicious Thai food. We walk to the Pacific Fair mall to go to Lululemon. Yes, we do have a Lulu at home, but the exchange rate is so good that we pick up some of Jack's staple everyday shorts. We find his size, get two pairs and are good to go. The price is the exact same as home but the dollar is stronger here. And Dmitri and I LOVE a good deal. He gets a couple of pairs of shorts as well and I debate buying something but I have started to fatigue and so I go back to the hotel and crash out.

Dmitri is delighted that there is a casino in the hotel, with poker games going on.

June 21

Another conference day for Dmitri and low key day for me. I am sick of the hotel room so I walk to the No Name Lane Cafe and get a maqui berry bowl to go and take it to the beach to sit in the sun and hopefully dry out this stupid cold.

Then it's back to the hotel for more resting. Dmitri is conferencing it up--attending sessions, meeting up with colleagues and students for meals, and attending receptions. I go to bed relatively early, thinking he will be home not too terribly late. I wake up at 11 pm and he's not back. I text and ask if he's playing poker. No response. So I check his whereabouts and see this:

And because I am a RIDICULOUSLY paranoid person, I immediately jump to the conclusion that something terrible has happened and his phone was thrown in the creek. Yes, that's where my mind goes.... Sigh. I'm sure all my true crime podcasts don't help my overactive mind....

Anyway, Dmitri is FINE. He's out with friends, catching up and having a great time.

June 22

I am finally on an upswing--YAY. I pick up my berry bowl and head back to the beach to sit on the sand in the sun.

Beautiful, and aptly named, Broadbeach with super cool clouds.

I walk back to the hotel and sit by the pool, moving from chaise to chaise as the sun moves. I am determined to rally for the night's receptions. First, it's off to the Michigan one and we catch up with some people I haven't seen in probably 20 years--Marko and Nat. From there we go to the City University of Hong Kong reception but it's really hot and loud and crowded so we chat in the hallway and run into Jen. Yay! This is SO fun for me. Dmitri sees these people at conferences every now and again but for me it's been AGES. Luckily, Jen insists we take a photo before we scatter.

Next we try to go to the USC reception but it's too crowded and they are not letting anyone else in. How about if we go in if other people leave? No, they tell us. But, it's my school and my department, Dmitri tells the guy while showing his badge. No dice. We are sent away. I call it a night and Dmitri heads to the poker tables.

June 23

Happy anniversary to Dmitri and me!! It's been 23 years. What a ride it's been! I have brekkie with my bestie and it's some life admin today. I need to do some laundry in the hotel sink with my scrubba. I've also gone online and filled out my customs form for Bali. Loving the e versions of visas and whatnot. It's also sunny again so I'll be out and about later today trying to soak that in and get my Vitamin D. I'm feeling much better but not quite 100% and I am a firm believer in the healing power of the sun. Which reminds me, I also need to pick up some sunscreen for Bali. I'm sure it will be cheaper here and there will be a wider variety.

We go to GYG (Guzman Y Gomez--a fave from our last trip around the planet) for lunch and Spice Thai for dinner and watch Welcome to Wrexham in the hotel room. It's not the most exciting anniversary we have ever had, but I'm not a stickler for dates and so I don't really care about a nice dinner on a particular day. Especially when I've got a head cold. We can postpone an anniversary dinner and drinks until we get to Bali.

June 24

Last full and complete day in Australia and it's a picture postcard gorgeous one. Blue skies, sunny, perfect temp. We rent bikes and cruise north up to Surfer's Paradise and then on to the Spit and then return to Broadbeach for Oakberry.

Dmitri has one final session to go to at his conference and after that we take the car south to Burleigh Heads and have a quick walk in the national park and then chill and watch the kayakers and the birds dive bombing the ocean looking for fish. It's a lovely end to our time in Australia. Man, the beaches here sure are fantastic. I will miss them. I wish it had been a bit warmer and the sun didn't set at 5 pm, but that's what we get when we come Down Under during the winter.

June 25

Today we will meet Wendy and Austin in Bali. Yayyyyyyyy. They are in transit (Chicago to Dubai, 8 hour layover, Dubai to Bali) and their route makes our 6 1/2 hour flight direct from Brisbane to Denpasar look wimpy.

After breakfast and a workout, we head to Brisbane for lunch at Felons. We LOVED this place when we were here 2 years ago and it makes for a nice stop on the way to the airport.

We return the rental car and head to the airport to post up until our flight leaves. Bali, here we come....

Some fun things in Australia:

NO thank you! However, during our time in Noosa TWO birds swooped near my head. Wtf, Australian birds!

Well, you don't see this in the US! Echidna! We were hoping to see one in Australia but we didn't.

Villain origin story...

Aromas is speaking my language...

Ummmm....

Dmitri is TICKLED by the street sign that says Draculas, which is:

Why yes, it's a Barbie vending machine!