Cairns - Day 1

I woke up fairly early and did a little surfing on the net. Nothing pressing on this day, as we pretty much decided to just relax more here than try and run around too much. Morning was total relaxing in the room and around noon, I took the shuttle downtown to the mall and shops. I needed to get some shorts, and wanted a couple of shirts as well.

I got dropped off at the mall and went in. It was just like malls back home, except that Target was a part of the mall, sort of how Macy's has a corner at the Mall of America. That was different, since Targets back home are usually their own buildings. So I got a pair of shorts, some swim trunks, a couple of shirts, and a belt. Nothing special there, so I left the mall to walk around town and find something to eat.

I got a little turned around in my walk, but got back on track and was back in the shops area. I walked by a few restaurants, but didn't see anything that stuck out. Finally, I was walking by the Sebel hotel where we were first trying to stay, and it was right by the casino. There was a chinese shop there that I decided to eat at, and it was pretty good. I then sat down for an hour and played a little blackjack. I didn't do too bad, and left to catch the shuttle to go back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, I played on the internet again for a bit until we all went out for supper around six. We got in the car then and drove around just a little. We ate at this place called Wildfire, and I had prime rib. However, when I got it, it wasn't prime rib as I know it, but really a steak. It was good though, and I enjoyed it with a glass of wine. Afterwards, we returned to the hotel and stopped at the booking place to plan the trip to the Reef.

We talked with the booking agent and got input on the different options. We wound up booking with Reef Magic for Friday, all day. Then, I wound up booking a Wine/Food tasting trip for Monday, hoping I will be able to get in. I checked out some of the other things they offered. They had a hot air balloon trip, but I think that would be better if others were going with. I took brochures for some scenic flights and returned to my room for the night.

I have decided to try and book an hour flight to fly over the rain forest and see where it meets the outback. It is a little pricey, but I think it would be really cool, and how often am I going to have an opportunity like this? Tomorrow is another relaxing day I think. We are going to drive downtown again, and do more looking than shopping this time. Friday is the reef, and I think Saturday we are going to go north and see the rain forest and maybe the zoo.

That's it for now. Until next time....