A Marathon Trip.

Not since those early days of visiting baby Millie in Panania have I traveled on my own. I flew over "Seat and Bag" and just took a Meusli Bar to have with my cuppa. (No wine, of course, but this was morning) The guy in front of me was very tall and heavy set and insisted on putting his seat back, despite the hostess telling him not to. As I consequence I couldn't read the magazine I bought with me - I blame the airline rather than the man. But the silver lining was I found a game on the screen called 2048, a bit like Sudoku, which seemed to occupy me for most of the flight.
I had a long wait for the shuttle as "Corky's" ipad had been stolen and he had to do everything manually.
The apartment was very suitable - except for one feature:

I wondered if I should take it down before the kids came. We were located close to the marathon course, but sadly up 4 flights of stairs!! no lift. My knees were shattered before we left. The shopping centre was nearby, so I picked up some supplies.Then I had to go again as I was gagging for a cup of tea, and there was none in the unit. Up and down, Up and down.
Next morning I familiarised myself with the area, then meet April, Greg and Isobel - April's mum, for morning tea. (While April was taking her to the toilet, Greg confided that it was a long month that she had been staying with them!)

The weather was windy and cold then sunny in unexpected intervals.

 It was mid afternoon by the time the other's arrived. Simon went off to collect his race number and go to the supermarket while the kids and I got into signage. Simon cooked pasta for dinner and it was an early night all round.
The marathon was starting at 7.20am, so Simon left at about 6.30 and was lucky to be able to get a tram for part of the journey.
The race had just begun when the rain started to pour down, and although our first sighting was at the 2 km mark, lots of the runners were appreciative of  our little group.

 We went back to the unit and had our breakfast, before heading out again to catch Simon at the 29km mark. He had experienced a grueling head wind out which was very chilly, but coming around this time it was fine and a tail wind. He looked great - and Theo delivered the gel.

 We walked over towards the finish line while Simon did the last 12 km. This time it was chilly showery crosswinds. We had to dodge inside the ice-cream shop to get out of a very heavy shower of rain. Once this had finished we took up our positions near the end of the finishing shutes. We were expecting him in before 4 hours. It was a nervous wait as the people who were coming in were cramping,cold, dizzy, and many of the men suffering from chaffing of the nipples and testicles. The women looked mainly like zombies - all so glad to reach the finish. 4 hours came and I told the children we would wait another 10 minutes,  when there - with spring in his step, and a smile on his face - was Simon. Apparently they had bowls of oranges and bananas and water further up the shute so he'd had himself a feed.

3 hours 55mins 3 secs

We got the tram some of the way back, then the kids and I played Hide and Seek and Hello Neighbour while Simon went off to have a few drinks with friends. Us girls took a while to get ready for dinner out.

Unfortunately the dinner was not such a success from the kids point of view. They wanted soft squishy garlic bread, not flatbreads, and the macaroni cheese which we thought would be a good choice turned out to be quite dry. It was another early night after the exertions of the day.

Next day we headed off to Seaworld at about 9.30. We caught most of the Seal show, then saw them training the seals, saw the Paw Patrol Show and then took in some rides. I started Claudia slow - on the carousel, but sitting with me.

Next she went on a horse

Theo was a wonderful big brother - taking such delight in her being able to confidently try these things.

So far, so good. So it onto the mini roller coaster.

Can you see little Claudia's head next to Simon?

I suppose I could have gone on this but the role of the photographer is SO important.

Theo in the front capsule, Claudie and Simon behind

The boys went off to the BIG rollercoaster. Earlier in the day we had taken Claudia to meet Dora the Explorer. Now Dora is a cartoon character, and something wasn't quite right. This was sort of like a person. She took me back to the door that Dora had come out off. I think she wanted to knock. All of a sudden Spongebob Squarepants and two of his sidekicks emerged. Claudia was transfixed watching them - more cartoons come to life!! You could almost hear her brain trying to make sense of it all. She wouldn't pose for a photo, but the staff was very good and played hide and seek with her for a few minutes instead.

After my bad experience with the teacups ride with Millie and Alex I looked for a safe ride for me and Claudia. The bananas looked a  possibility - but then I saw one grandma really struggling to get into the banana. And being a long and thin fruit it would be worse for a chubby Grandma. So we went on the Jellyfish instead! Big mistake

Up and down

Side to side

"Will those chips stay down?" Just as well we hadn't had the candy floss by then.

When the boys returned - a little damp as the roller coaster splashes down into a pond - they  went on the Bananas

Simon struggled to get his knees folded inside

Then we did some more Seaworldy things - sharks, stingrays, underwater viewing, a rocky seashore exhibit, and what I wanted to see - the Polar bears. We only saw one and he was having a nap - but they are big - and rather rug-like. We went round on the Monorail ride and saw all the back ponds where some of the creatures are kept. Theo also saw another ride that he had not been on!

My stamina is not up to much these days, and not helped by wet shoes and sox as we had had showers of rain all day on and off, so while the others headed off  to do another ride I went to the kiosk for a cup of tea. I was extremely exhausted - really - and thought this TimTam frappe was just the ticket.

We had been there for 6 hours by then, so just time to try an arcade game - and come away with two stuffed dolphins. As usual you have to exit through the shop. Claudia leapt out of the buggy to do a little browsing.

"This pink one's pretty"

Just beans and egg on toast that night, and an early night. Off next morning in time for me to get my flight from Coolingatta Airport and for Simon and kids to be able to make the long drive home.
An Action Packed Adventure!!