Thank you, Woods'!

Sunset on North Stradbroke Island
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It is so nice to be in a house again!  The Woods' have a lovely old-style Australian home that they moved from a different part of town in sections and then renovated.  Killer 11 foot ceilings, beautiful wood floors and interior, and very open and airy...we could get used to this!

We spent a day touring downtown Brisbane via train, bus, and the City Cat (Brisbane River ferry).  Public transport is so easy and convenient here and seems the popular way to get around town.  We borrowed a tent and sleeping bags from the Woods and spent two nights camping on the beach of North Stradbroke Island (or 'Straddie', as the locals call it).  We were lucky to see a huge pod of dolphins on the Gorge Walk by Main Beach at Point Lookout and many sea turtles.  The scenery was fantastic and the waves looked like fun, although we decided to keep our $50 and not rent a board!  We spent Halloween night hangin' with the locals at the Bowls Club (near our Adders Rock campground) where we met quite a few wild and crazy Aussies livin' it up and makin' sure we enjoyed ourselves as well (buying us more beer than we should have drank ;)  This has been a nice, comfortable respite staying in friends' home; but we will be hitting the road again tomorrow on our way to Byron Bay.