Sunday–Happy Father’s Day

Yes, today is the day Father’s Day is celebrated in Australia…..so happy Downunder Father’s Day to all the dads out there.  Maybe if you are really nice today you can get another tie!!

The past few days have been spent changing our biological clock and catching up with things that never get discussed during Skype calls.  Most of the time has been spent in the Manly area enjoying the seaside.  I have been taking daily walks down the hill and along the esplanade and out to the end of the breakwater.  The weather has been really nice, with clear to partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 10 and 24…….OK for you US people that is between 50 and 75.  The rain we have had has come at night, so it hasn’t bothered us at all.

Walk on a cooler evening…Roy, Katie, Sylvia

View of Moreton Bay from one of the hills.

Here are some typical Queensland style houses.  These houses were originally built above the ground level but now they often have ground level rooms.  I’ll try to add more pictures later.

We picked up a rental car.  The local cat decided the “spoiler” was a great place to take a nap.

Yesterday we took a drive North of Brisbane to Redlands.  It is popular area with lots of tourist activities.  One of its claims is being where the band The Beegees got their start.  There is an alley where they played in the early days.  The tables are set for the annual Beegees dinner later than evening.  We didn’t get our tickets in time lol.

 

This statue shows their early days when two of the brothers were young (14?).  Below is another statue shows them in their adult years.

The area has lots of wind and sail surfers.  It was a windy day yesterday so these surfers were really scooting along.  Sometimes the sail surfers will get lifted out of the water…..board and all.

Along the esplanade is this interesting sculpture called Opto.  Erected in 2011, it reacts to the wind by changing directions and speed of the two counter-rotating hoops. 

And of course no trip would be complete without a picture of the local Ibis.  These birds are fairly common to the area and don’t seem to have any fear of people.  Kind of like pigeons are in the US.

We have made plans to take a side trip to Darwin, in the Northern Territory.  We are looking forward to seeing that part of Australia.