Oz Trip Day 1,2,3

G`day Mates , How Ya Goin ? No Worries here
I decided this would bethe easiest way to keep everyone informed About our trip. we left Dayton at 11am est saturday morning and arrived in st. louis at 12.07 est . we then flew from STL to LAX and Arrived at LAX around 3 PST .
I have A cousin near LAX that I Have not seen for nearly 25 years . I tried to contact her numerous times over the past week and did get ahold of her . I finally reached my aunt and got her number . We took a cab over to her restaurant in west hollywood called the The Boulevard Lounge at the corner of Crescent Hills And Santa Monica Blvd .
She was so excited to see us as she had never met my wife and son before . We had some great laughs about the old times and caught up on some new ones . We had a wonderful visit even though it was short . We had dinner there a sampling of her husbands Superb Cooking Skills . All I can say is WOW. The little sampler Gourmet burgers are unbelievably a taste sensation . The small appetizers called cajun crostini are in a league all of there own. The blackened salmon over saffron rice and seared spinach Was quite possibly the best tasting salmon I have ever eaten !!!!!Sorry my alaska friends but it is true . We also sampled the sheperds pie and my son had the hot wings and loved them . If you are ever in the area I highly recommend stopping by and having a bite you will not be dissapointed . http://www.theboulevardlounge.com/ and yes that is her on the cover.

We left LAXo on quantas at 12am pst time and arrived in brisbane at 6am OZ time 14 hours ahead difference in OZ and EST .We did manage to sleep at least 6 hours a piece on the 13 1/2 hour flight. Something I wasn`t so sure I could do at all. Proceeded through customs and flew from brisbane to cairns another 2 1/2 hr flight .

Ok, we are now in Cairns ,pronounced (Cannes) Now for the scary part . Have you ever driven on the wrong side of the road on the wrong side of the car ? Well let me tell you it is quite a experience . First off you try and get in the wrong side of the car every time you get in and out . Second the blinker the gear shft the wiper switch the radio controls are all on the wrong side also , every time you try ans use your blinker you end up actuating your wipers, then you panic, and turn the blinker on the wrong way. Ever try making a making a right hand turn from the wrong side of the road to the wrong side of the road ? Everything about it is just wrong ! LOL. If thats not bad enough they have these things called traffic circles over here and they replace traffic lights most of the time, and traffic always goes in the same general direction . While it is a good idea, and it works ok, there are a few flaws in the system . sometimes you have 2 entrance lanes to these circles , you then add a set of cars coming in from the other road to these same 2 lanes, on the inside lane, and you also have a exit to another road on the outside lane , so if the car comin in from the other lane needs to exit on the next road, on the outside lane he will need to fight the two lanes originally coming in, cross to the outside lane, and exit from there, not to mention there are just yield way signs posted here, giving the traffic entering on the inside lane right of way at all times . Thats some crazy shit right there .
We then visited a grocery store to pick up some stuff . The trolleys or carts in the usa are exactly the same only all 4 wheels turn . unlike the usa where only the front 2 wheels turn . Try pushing one of these gems straight . Not to mention on the wrong side of the aisle . LOL! Everthing is measued in Kg and lunchmeat is 12 to 19$ a kg , potatoes are $3 kg
milk is 3 litres for under $4 , bread is $2 loaf . Chicken is $9 a kg for the most part and beef is pretty expensive around $14 or more a kg . I guess when you break it down to pounds it isn`t really all that bad. Exchanged some money at the bank at 1.06 rate and headed for the apartment . didn`t have any trouble getting here or finding the place . The owners are really wonderful and they have a really great location and a really great place . It is called Martinique on Macrossan and it is in Port Douglas . They put us on the ground floor and our patio is poolside . We are a block from 4 mile beach and we took a walk on it last night around dark so I didn`t get to see to much, the sand is very fine though unlike most beaches I have been to . I will report more later .
We walked through town last night and it kind of reminds me a gatlinburg a touristy , specialty shops area .
We read about a bar called the Iron Horse that has Cane Toad Races every night, We had dinner there and the races started at 8:15 . Dinner was nothing spectacular spent $40 on a burger fries ,kids meal ,and a chicken salad . the wait staff is horrible as I had read before about most places in OZ . there is no tipping because it is included in the meal because the minimum wage is so high and there "No Worries" atitude. I only had to wait for 1/2 an hour to get my bill paid and almost missed the start of the toad races .
The Mate running the races makes the show . He has six cane toads that he puts in a bucket and gets 6 people from the crowd and assigns each one a toad . first one off the table wins . The third and final race he holds a auction for the toads, bid starts at $10 and is never less than $20 and the prizes for the last race were a snorkeling trip, a trip the the croc farm and 1 other thing I didnt remember . The bar area holding the race was full and everyone invovled had a great time . It is alot of fun watching people try to get these Toads to move using a paper party favor that unrolls when you blow in it .
off for now going to due some opal mining, a little croc farming, and maybe a bike ride today . will post more later when I get time . No Worries

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23502476-7583,00.html