11 April 2007

The Gold Coast


Heather and I just got back from what is becoming an annual event: autumn in Queensland. Last year was our cruise to the Reef, this year was the Gold Coast. We spent five days at Surfers Paradise, doing nothing except relaxing on the beach. It was nice to spend a few more days in the sun with the season winding to a close.

And that's was about it: sun, sand and surf. I've got something I'm working on as a presentation for part of the trip, but that will have to wait for now. Just know that we got back to Sydney a little bit more tan than when we left.

As for Surfers Paradise, you could easily convince yourself you were at Myrtle Beach, Padre Island, Panama City Beach or any other typical American beach strip. All the regular players were to be found: Hard Rock Cafe, Hooters, extreme thrill rides, tattoo parlors, and high rise hotels as far as you can see. About the only thing missing was an airbrush t-shirt stand. Surfers Paradise separates itself from these American beaches when you actually get to the beach: blue water, nice waves, powder sand and no tar balls. And since the beach was the only thing we were concerned with on this trip, we had a great time.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

No air brush t-shirt stands. That's pretty funny. Guys in lycra with 10-inch knives were also missing. Remember that time we went to Folly Beach and that guy in bicycle shorts waved us into a parking spot with a giant hunting knife?

Chris said...

True. The armed parking valets were also missing.

Anonymous said...

Remembering Spandex Man with the Rambo knife makes me laugh. I probably would not have thought anything about the knife had we not had our 2 out-of-town guests with us. Parking was tight and Spandex Man was only being helpful, but that Rambo knife threw our guests for a loop.