Today I was Luke's chauffeur and also fitted in a ride and up to South Park.

It was another mild night, I used my 2 blankets, we both slept very well.
I set the alarm for 6:30am, and left to pick up Luke at 7am, while Marg was last seen laying in bed watching Sunrise. I got to Luke's at 7;20am and drove him to Marriot at Surfers for his work conference. I was back home about 8:30am had brekky and then went riding. I did my normal ride, down to Surfers, stopped on the esplanade protruding out over the beach, then rode back along the shared path and off to the Spit along the coastal gravel path. The council has now pumped out all the water that covered the path. At the end of the Spit, I did see a whale offshore about a kilometer. I left the Spit and stopped for a coffee at the Cafe Rockpool, then headed to Angler's Paradise (today's turnaround point) where I ate my bananas. Arriving back at camp about 11:30am, I showered and then Marg and I drove to Spotlight, she is looking for some bit of lace or whatever. We drove to Michels at South Park for a coffee and some food shopping.
Luke rang and wanted to be picked up at 4:30pm, so the chaffeur was there to meet him and drive him home. I got back to camp about 5:30pm and we had ham steaks for dinner. Very YUMMA. We watched Big Brother.

The weather today was sunny with a moderate breeze.

Tomorrow is a busy day, Bingo in the morning, lunch with friends and then coffee with Sergio (a former workmate, who is visiting the Gold Coast for only 2 nights).

It was another mild night, I used my 2 blankets, we both slept very well.
I set the alarm for 7:30am, we can't be late for Bingo. We got up and organised and were ready to leave by 8:25am arriving at The Sharks about 8:30am. The carpark was chockers this morning, I don't know why, obviously there are other functions on apart from Bingo. We bought our 2 full sets of bingo games ($46), found our 'usual' table for 2 and prepared our bingo games, this takes approx 30 minutes. In the meantime, Marg had ordered a muffin and coffee, she had the muffin, I had the coffee. At bang on 9:30am, it was eyes down and into it. I won a game which paid $50, I was rapt, then Marg won a $12 game, then we both got Bingo on number 88 winning another $20, so we won $82 for an outlay of $46. Our greatest win in bingo ever.

When bingo finished we drove over to Bundall to visit our friends Keith and Lucy, who are about to head South with their van. We had a wonderful time chatting and drinking coffee, we left after 1.5 hour, we were meeting Serge from my previous work life.
On the way back to camp, we stopped at Hardly Normals and Marg bought an iPad mini. After ringing Serge, I met him and his wife at the Southport Sharks club, where I stayed for a beer before driving them back to our camp, to show them our rig. We had a couple of chilled refreshers and chatted about 'old times' at the NAB before Serge's son picked them up. They are only staying on the Gold Coast for 2 nights.

For Marg and I, it was a very busy day, visiting people and bingo. Dinner was egg and bacon pie (YUMMA) followed by watching Big Brother. The weather today was sunny with a moderate breeze.

Tomorrow is 120,000kms Service day for the mighty Navara.

No photos today.

It was another mild night, I used my 2 blankets, we both slept well.
I set the alarm for 6:30am, and left at 7:10am to drive to Von Bibra Nissan in Southport, as the mighty Navara was booked in for its 120k service. I arrived at 7:30am, as I was told that is the time when the service area opens. Reece was my service man contact and I showed him where the mighty Navara has a leak in a pipe in the intercooler area. The other day I lifted the bonnet to check the washer water as Brian walked past and he had a sticky, he noticed a stain on one of my silver pipes, it was leaking from a thick rubber hose that connects to my intercooler, so I mentioned this when I booked it in. No drama with Reece, he pointed out what was going to be done and I lifted the bonnet and showed him the stain, he noted it and said that he had never seen that before. I walked into the waiting room, expecting to be first, as it had 'supposedly' just opened, there were 7 other customers already sitting around. I found the last lounge seat and sat and watched Ch9 Today show, I now know why I watch Kochie's Sunrise. Greg the courtesy car driver asked who needed a ride, there were 2 of us, obviously, the rest were waiting for their car or had arranged their own transport. Greg is a very softly spoken man and he drove me to the Office at our park and said he would pick me up at 4pm to get the mighty Navara. About 9:40am, I get a phone call from Reece, the 'leaking hose' is actually a split hose, no drama, I said, just replace it. A minor hiccup, Reece said there are none in stock and it will have to be flown up from Melbourne. Ohh shit..
If all the planets align, it will be here tomorrow about 1pm. Yeah right, if that is going to happen.
So we are now carless, I solved this by going for a ride and when I left Marg she was just starting to 'skin polish' another topaz. I rode down to Surfers took the usual weather photo, then headed out to the Spit, by this time, I noticed that I had left my water bottles back at camp and usually don't need them, BUT typical, as I don't have them with me, I felt like a drink. Yes, I could have stopped and bought a drink, but I didn't. I was starting to hit the wall, only in a minor way. SO when I got back to the entrance of our park, instead of continuing to ride north upto Angler's Paradise, I headed back to camp. As I didn't have brekky, I ate some weet bix with fruit and felt better. While I was away, Willie our neighbour had invited us in for a drink at 4pm, so we went. Willie and Dennis had been our neighbour behind us for the past 2 years. I found out that Dennis is 83, the same age as my dad and as fit and sprightly as Dad. We chatted for an hour and half and had a wonderful time. We both plan to be here same time next year.

Dinner was McCain's pizza slices. Yumma. Followed by Marg watching Big Brother and I watched 'The Americans' on my laptop.

The weather today was sunny with a moderate breeze.

Tomorrow, hopefully, the planets will align and our part will arrive, as Von Bibra is closed on Friday, it is Gold Coast show day public holiday.

Today we can't check on the car until after 1pm, so I went riding and Marg played with her skin polishing.

It was another mild night, I used my 2 blankets, we both slept well.
Last night I awoke at 11:30pm, only to find Marg in bed still reading, so when I awoke at 6:30am and laid in bed listening to my headphones, I knew not to wake Marg (if I wanted to live). She eventually awoke about 8:30am, as I was preparing to go riding. I left shortly after Marg awoke and I headed off to Surfers, my usual ride, BUT as I approcahed the Nerang river bridge, this dickhead had forgotten his camera AGAIN, I had my spare camera batteries but no camera. Anyway, I continued onto Surfers, not many people on the shared path, naturally, I couldn't take a weather photo at Surfers, no bloody camera. The weather was magic. While I rode along the gravel coastal path towards the Spit, I encountered a small brown snake, probably 2 foot long, he made a very halfhearted strike at me but missed by heaps. Thank god. No Camera. Out at the Spit, I watched 3 dolphins swim into the seaway into the Broadwater again NO BLOODY CAMERA, at least I was feeling normal and stopped at Cafe Rockpool for a coffee before stopping back at camp to pick up my camera. Marg was up and still in her PJs, she said don't come back for at least an hour. SO I thought today, being so beautiful and as yesterday I only rode 26 kms, today I would ride past Runaway Bay and see what's up there. SO off I rode to the bridge going to Ephraim Island, which is a gated community, I rode everywhere on the island that I could which was bugger all, so I took photos. As I crossed the bridge heading home, I stopped and took more photos, hopefully of Clive Palmer's house. Last year or the year before, we did a jet boat cruise and the driver drove around Sovereign Island pointing out who owned the monstrous houses. He pointed out Clive's house.
It was uneventful ride back to camp, but I did ride a total of 50.41kms.

Back at camp, about 1:30pm, I rang Reece at Von Bibra and he said the part had arrived. YES, THE BLOODY PLANETS DID ALIGN, you ripper. I then rang Greg the courtesy driver to arrange a pickup time, we settled on 3:45pm, he would ring me beforehand, so I could walk to the entrance and wait for him. In the meantime, I watered the instant turf, as we won't be home at dusk. While watering the lawn, I received a SMS telling me that the mighty Navara is ready and the cost. Greg rang me earlier as he was in my area, so he picked me up at 3pm. While I went to pick up the mighty Navara, Marg walked upto our club (Southport Workers) to play the pokies and I would meet her whenever I was ready after picking up the mighty Navara. At Von Bibra Nissan, I paid and had everything explained by Reece and then headed back to camp, where I lifted the bonnet and checked the new hose and noticed that the engine bay had been cleaned, as well as the exterior. I am very happy with the service. I changed clothes and packed my laptop and drove over to our club, where I found Marg on the pokies and we agreed to meet in the bistro about 5:30pm, SO I sat at a table in the bar area, bought a beer and updated this website. Marg came in about 5:30pm, we moved to the bistro and ordered dinner, Marg had garlic prawns, while I kept with the mixed grill plus our free pancakes, naturally, dinner was very YUMMA.

We drove back to camp about 6:15pm and relaxed watching TV.

The weather today was sunny with a moderate breeze.

Tomorrow I will ride in the morning and we will do some food shopping. It is the Gold Coast Show Public Holiday.

It is getting milder at night, so I am comfortable with 2 blankets, we both slept well.
I awoke at 6:45am and laid in bed listening to my headphones, I got up, on the internet and had brekky, Marg eventually awoke about 8:00am, as I was preparing to go riding. I left shortly after Marg awoke and I headed off to Surfers WITH MY CAMERA, my usual ride, took my weather photo at Surfers. Being a public holiday, the walkers were out in force. The weather was still magic. I rode along the gravel coastal path towards the Spit, the sand regeneration has finished on the Spit and has moved all the dredging equipment to the south side of the Spit. Sitting on the Spit, I noticed this guy paddling his 'fishing kayak' out the seaway, I also watched a pod of dolphins frolicking off the Spit. When I left the Spit, the 'fisherman' was a good 300 meters offshore still heading out to sea with an offshore breeze. I think he was a bloody idiot.
I rode past Cafe Rockwell, but it was chockers so I didn't stop for coffee. I continued onto Runaway Bay marina, where I HEARD an Offshore boat in the marina, so I rode in to check it out. The boat was being put on its trailer, all I heard was this monstrously loud and beautiful V8 burble. It was AWESOME sounding. I took a photo and then had a pleasant ride back to camp with a tail wind.

After I showered, we drove to Officeworks to buy a 500Gb portable HD ($79), then off to Trudy Fischer , so Marg could try on her dress, it needed some alterations and she also ordered a lacey top to go with it. We continued on to South Park, where we had lunch at Michel's, Marg had a coffee and sausage roll, while I had 2 pies and a coke, then did a food shop.
Back at camp, we relaxed, me on the laptop and Marg doing her skin polishing, when out of the blue, Annabel (another neighbour) asked if Marg and I wanted to join her and her hubby (Neil) and go for a spin in their boat, so we did. Within a few minutes, Marg and I were off heading north up the Broadwater into a moderate breeze with a little chop. At Angler's Paradise, we enter a canal and went and had a stickybeak, then headed over to the Spit and the bay just south of the Spit and then across the Broadwater back to camp, it was great fun.

Marg cooked steak and vegies for dinner and it was very YUMMA, followed by watching TV.

The weather today was sunny with a moderate breeze.

Tomorrow we are joining Bec and Jay looking at a house, they are house hunting.

Today we went house looking with Jay and Bec.

It was a very mild night, I used only one blanket, we both slept well.
I awoke at 6:30am and laid in bed listening to my headphones, I got up, on the internet and had brekky, Marg eventually awoke about 7:30am. Today I didn't feel like riding, so I didn't, also I had to update yesterday's activity on our website. It was a very pleasant morning just relaxing and taking it easy. At 11am, we got our act together and drove over to Jay's house, where Jay gave us directions to the house that he and Bec were going to inspect. It was interesting checking out this house to see what you get for the price. It was a very nice home with 2 drawbacks, the pantry is smaller than our fivers and the laundry is so small. After the inspection, we had lunch at the Pac Pines Tavern, Marg had beef lasagna and I had a chicken parma. It was YUMMA. After lunch we did some shopping next door at Woollies and then drove back to camp. During the afternoon, I managed to have a nanna nap before getting up to water 'my' lawn.

Dinner was pizza slices which were YUMMA, followed by watching TV.

The weather today was sunny with a moderate breeze.

Tomorrow the boys and families are coming around here for lunch and father's day.

No photos today.

Today the boys came for lunch.

It was another very mild night, I used only one blanket, we both slept well.
I awoke at 6:30am and laid in bed listening to Macca on my headphones, I got up about 7:30am and continued to listen to Macca until Marg woke about 8:00am, then we watched Weekend Sunrise. I drove to South Park to buy rolls for lunch and some soft drink, while Marg stayed at camp and cleaned the fiver. Both our boys contacted me this morning, wishing me a happy Father's day and also asking what time lunch is. I told them midday. When I got back to camp, I parked the mighty Navara in the public carpark to save Lukey a car spot. I rang my Dad and wished him a happy Father's Day. Just on midday, both our boys arrived without their partners, Luke bought our granddaughter (Mont) with him. We sat under the awning having salad rolls for lunch, they were YUMMA. After lunch, we walked 10 meters to the beach and Mont and I built sandcastles, while Marg spoke to the boys. After everyone left, we had a nanna nap.

It was a lovely Father's Day.

Dinner was the leftover food from lunch, it was still YUMMA.

The weather today was sunny with a stiff breeze.

Tomorrow only a ride is planned.

No photos today.

Today nothing was planned apart from a ride.

It was another very mild night, I used only one blanket, we both slept well.
I awoke at 6:30am and laid in bed listening to Gold FM on my headphones, I got up about 7:30am and while Marg woke about 7:45am, then we watched Sunrise. I did look out the window and saw Georges frolicking near us, so I grabbed my camera and ran to photograph them.
I changed into Cycleman headed off to Surfers WITH MY CAMERA, my usual ride, took my weather photo at Surfers. As it was a very stiff southerly the crowds were light, but still enough to ride cautiously. After leaving Surfers, I rode along the gravel coastal path towards the Spit, the sand regeneration has finished on the Spit and I climbed to the top of the sand castle, it was approx 50meters x 50meters x 7meters high.
Sitting on the Spit, I noticed a hump back whale about 300 meters off the Spit, I tried to photograph it, but only fluked a bleary one. The bugger wouldn't stay in the same spot. I rode to Cafe Rockwell and had a coffee, then continued onto Land's End or Angler's Paradaise. The ride back to camp was 5kms into the very stiff head breeze.

This afternoon, we were going to drive to Caravan Storage near Yatala, but Lukey rang needing his mum's help to buy a costume for Mont for school tomorrow. We met them at Spotlight and tomorrow she will be some sort of fairy. Back at camp, I booked our site for next March and April for Lukey's wedding.


Dinner was Gordon Blue and vegies it was YUMMA.

The weather today was cloudy and warm with a very stiff breeze.

Tomorrow is BINGO.

It was another mild night, I used 1 blanket, we both slept very well.
I set the alarm for 7:30am, we can't be late for Bingo. We got up and organised and were ready to leave by 8:25am arriving at The Sharks about 8:30am. The carpark was chockers this morning, I don't know why, obviously there are other functions on apart from Bingo. We bought our 2 full sets of bingo games ($46), found our 'usual' table for 2 and prepared our bingo games, this takes approx 30 minutes. In the meantime, Marg had ordered a muffin and coffee, she had the muffin, I had the coffee. At bang on 9:30am, it was eyes down and into it. I won a game which paid $30, I was rapt, but Marg didn't win a game, so we won $30 for an outlay of $46. Today we lost $16 but still had fun. So be it. While at bingo, it rained.

When bingo finished we drove to South Park for a coffee at Michel's then did some food shopping at Woollies. Back at camp, Marg did her skin polishing while I braved the elements, it was gusting to 65kph from the South East, consequently, there were about 10 people out walking between Southport and Surfers. Only the very brave or silly were on the beach, as the wind whipped up the sand everywhere. At the end of the Spit, I was covered by spray as I watched a yachtsman approach the seaway battling the waves. He did a great job and would have been very happy when he reached the calm waters of the Broadwater. Last sight, he was dropping anchor in the bay behind the Spit. I had an awful headwind to Surfers but a magnificent tail breeze heading to camp, I was rolling at 24kph, that's how strong the breeze was. As it was blowing like buggery, I didn't ride to Angler's Paradise because that would have given me another 4km ride into the head wind, I didn't want to do that, so I wimped out after 27.07kms.

Dinner was Chicken Kiev and vegies. Very YUMMA, followed by watching Big Brother. The weather today was sunny but blowing a gale.

Tomorrow we drive to Loganholme Hyperdome Shopping Centre and will check out the Caravan Storage at Pimpana on the way home.

It was another mild night with a couple of drops of rain, I used 1 blanket and later pulled on my 2nd blanket, Marg slept very well, I didn't.
I awoke about 6am and listened to Gold FM, I have had infected sinus for the past week or so and will probably go to the docs, if it doesn't improve. We got up and organised and were ready to leave by 9:30am and headed off to the Loganholme Hyperdome shopping centre, to check it out. At subway I bought 2 ham foot long rolls, one for lunch and one for dinner. On the way home, we called in and checked out Mr Caravan Storage. Next April, while we stay in Lukey's home, the fiver is going into storage for 4.5 weeks costing $180. The storage place is very suitable for us.

The rest of the arvo was spent with Marg having a nanna nap and I watched a couple of Criminal Intent episodes. I couldn't be bothered riding, as it was blowing a gale.

Dinner was my 2nd Subway roll, it was YUMMA, followed by watching Big Brother. The weather today was sunny but still blowing a gale.

Tomorrow I am visiting my mate Johnno and dropping Marg at Jupiters.

No photos today.

Today I caught up with my mate, Johnno while Marg visited Jupiter's casino.

It was another mild night, I started with 1 blanket and later pulled on my 2nd blanket, we both slept very well.
I awoke about 6:30am and listened to Gold FM, Marg awoke nearer to 8am, we got organised and were ready to leave by 9:30am and headed off to Jupiters. As there are numerous roadworks around Surfers due to the construction of the Light Rail, we drove along the esplanade and then along old Burleigh road to Broadbeach, it was very scenic. I dropped Marg at Jupiters at 10am and told her that I would pick her up about 12:30pm. I continued onto Johnno, out past Carrara Markets.
Johnno hasn't changed much since last year, his hip is still stuffed and he is still on the waiting list for a hip replacement. I stayed for over 2 hours and we drank coffee and talked crap, but it was great catching up with him. We meet each year when we stay on the Gold Coast. We said our goodbyes and I rang Marg and picked her up at Jupiters entrance and then we drove back to camp along the same scenic drive.

Back at camp, we had lunch and then I went riding, while Marg did some more skin polishing. She usually does it when our neighbours go out, as the drill sounds like a dentist drill. I rode down to Surfers, took the weather photo from out the front of Surfers, then headed to the Spit, where I took some photos of the waves breaking over the Spit, which included getting very wet from one large wave. I continued on my ay past the Southport YC, stopping at Cafe Rockpool for a coffee, when a chunk of choccy mud cake caught my eye, so I bought a piece. It was YUMMA. After coffee, I continued onto Angler's Paradise then headed back to camp.
As it was Thursday, dinner is at our club (Southport Workers) and we usually get there about 4pm, but as Marg has already had her pokie fix at Jupiters, we didn't arrive at the club until 5:30pm. We ordered a mixed grill and garlic prawns, this is the 5th time that we have ordered those meals, they are that good. We were back at camp about 6:15pm and had a normal night watching Big Brother.

The weather today was sunny with a moderate breeze.

Tomorrow I am riding and that's all that is currently planned.