Luckily I had taken it pretty easy last night, so didn’t feel too bad when I woke up. We didn’t see Nick for some time though! We hung around the house, had some breakfast, and then Sharon had to leave at 10.30 for an appointment.

Nick took Kaoru and I on a tourist drive of Victoria Point. Whilst I have a customer here, I’ve never had a proper drive around the point. It’s a beautiful area, with some lovely homes. Then Nick drove us to the airport.

We checked in, and went in to the Lounge to have a drink and lunch. Eventually we were called, and boarded the flight home. Again, about 2/3 full (maybe a bit more). The person across the aisle from us rarely had her mask on, from sitting down to landing, but most of the other passengers did.

We caught an Uber home, and then did our usual “Friday Night” trip up to Brew Works, picking up Dan, and a Piggy Smalls burger on the way. But we were pretty tired from a busy week so were home by 10.30.

What a nice get-away!

I woke up this morning, realizing that when I made plans to catch up with Rese today, I was thinking Queensland time, but she would have been on NSW time. So I’ve suddenly lost an hour! To make the morning even more interesting, there was no water in the house as one of the circuits had tripped. Uncle Owen got that sorted pretty quickly – he was expecting a visitor at 8.30 so was up early this morning.

Our original plan was to go to visit her in Ballina overnight; but due to Jesse having caught Covid, that wasn’t allowed. Kae had an appointment in Tweed Heads, which was a good “half way” spot, so we met at Kirra Surf Club. It was an easy run down (I borrowed Uncle Owen’s car again).

We had a couple of beers, and an early lunch, and just a general long-overdue catch up. We then drove up to Point Danger and had a walk around there; as it’s somewhere Grandpa used to like, I always like going there as I drive through and having a walk around, and watch the surfers.

We said goodbye, and then did a bit of a scenic drive, down Shearwater Parade to see Nanna and Grandpa’s old house. Then back in to Coolangatta to get an ice cream, and then on our way back home. We went via a flower shop to get some flowers for Aunty Linda, and got back around 5.00.

After a quick chat, we finished packing, said our goodbyes to everybody (Shannon was already home luckily) and then Uncle Owen drove us to Victoria Point, to see Nick and Sharon (and Georgia), who had moved up in May last year. Sharon let us in and started to give us a tour; eventually Nick got out of the shower. We then piled in to the car and drove down to the jetty, to catch the ferry over to Cuchimudlo Island. They had to hold the ferry for us for a few minutes, but luckily we made it, and were on our way for the short (10 minute) trip over.

We had dinner and a few beers at the Cuchi Pub, while watching the sun set. It was a beautiful location, and a very relaxing way to finish our holiday. We caught the evening ferry back to the mainland, and Sharon drove us back to the house, where Nick gave us the rest of the tour, and we sampled some of his home made bourbons / gins / sambuccas / etc. This also involved a chat with Pete back in Melbourne. Sharon and Kaoru went to bed, and eventually we both did too, after a great evening.

Aunty Linda went out for the morning to visit a friend. I had a fly of Uncle Owen’s drone and passed the time. Tom (their “maintenance guy”) came round so I met him, as Uncle Owen directed him to his chores for the day.

Once Aunty Linda returned, she took Kaoru and I to see Nanna. We ordered some lunch at the cafe and then Aunty Linda brought Nanna out, so she could see Kaoru. Even though only one visitor per day is allowed in the room, we could get around that limitation by bringing Nanna outside. She was very happy to meet Kaoru again, and the time was over very quickly.

On the way back to the house, Aunty Linda took us to Donna’s grave so we could say our final farewell to her.

Once back at the house, Kaoru and I packed a bag, and borrowed Uncle Owen’s car to go to see Gavin and Donna for dinner. Donna wasn’t there when we arrived, but we made our way round the back and had a dip in their new pool to cool off. Eventually Donna got back with the kids, and we sat out the back and talked for a while. They have both grown up! Donna cooked us roast pork for dinner.

Gavin didn’t get back until after 8.00. So he ate dinner, while on the phone for a BMX meeting. A friend of theirs came round, who had a wound (from dropping a cabinet on his shin), which Donna needed to re-dress.

Gavin told us some stories about his new job, which he is thoroughly enjoying, and then I gave him a demo of the software I had developed for him. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get in front of his boss to demonstrate it, but Gavin was certainly happy with what it does, and hopefully we will be able to catch up in a couple of weeks in Melbourne.

We said goodbye and left about 10.30. Aunty Linda and Uncle Owen were getting ready for bed, so we said good night, and went ourselves.

In typical Brisbane form, the house was light and I was awake quite early. The fact we were an hour behind made it even earlier. But I got up, saw Shannon as she was leaving for school, had a shower and breakfast, and then did some work for the morning (catching up on emails, etc).

Kaoru and Aunty Linda went for morning tea. Uncle Owen and I got out his new ride-on mower out so I did some laps of the house paddock. I also had a look at their network setup as Aunty Linda had been having internet problems on her computer. After Aunty Linda and Kaoru returned, Aunty Linda went to see Nanna, and Uncle Owen took us to the sushi train for lunch. It has modernized a bit – when you order something special, instead of a staff member bringing it to you, a robot brought it out!

We went shopping for dinner on our way home, and then passed the afternoon away. Uncle Owen got his drone out for me to see if I could get it working. We showed Kaoru some of Uncle Owen’s toys (the model boat and helicopter), and then Costa (Shannon’s boyfriend) came round so we met him.

After dinner, Shannon took Costa home and we all sat up and talked until bedtime.

It’s been a long time between travels!

After spending the morning working, Kaoru and I caught an uber to the airport, and off we flew to Brisbane!

The airport was very quiet, with not a lot of travellers. Security was simple and quick to get through. Kaoru had made us some lunch, so we bought some champagne and beer, and ate in a quiet corner of the airport to pass the time, while also checking our “Check In Qld” apps were working.

The flight was uneventful. The plane was probably 2/3 full, and most people (that I could see) were wearing masks as required.

We landed about 15 minutes late, but our bag came out quickly, and we were picked up by Aunty Linda and Uncle Owen. We went to their house, dropped our bag off, and then I was taken in to see Nanna at her new home. Only one visitor, for one hour per day, was allowed, so Aunty Linda visited another person she knew in the same home, while Uncle Owen took Kaoru shopping.

The hour with Nanna flew. She couldn’t hear too well, so I had to talk loudly, but it was nice seeing her again after so long. Eventually I had to leave, met up with Aunty Linda, and waited for Uncle Owen and Kaoru to pick us up.

Back at the house, Shannon was already home and came outside to greet us. We talked and passed the time until dinner. And then more talking, until going to bed.