BRISBANE

Well here we are, rolling along in an 8 ft sea that Tom swears must be wrong - but then again we are on the 8th deck and the lower down you go, the bigger the waves get. It is now the 26th of Feb and time does fly. Today was our second day at sea so I tried the aerobic/stretching class and Tom competed with the circle walkers -- 7 laps makes a mile. I get dizzy. After coming on board Wednesday we were pleasantly surprised to find Jim Nantz, the voice of CBS sports, sailing with us. His time on board is limited as he has to return to the USA for NCAA basketball in a few weeks. The second day out we enjoyed a formal dinner, followed the next day by a delightful visit with Jennie and Nick. Without a doubt we saw as much of Brisbane as anyone who went on an excursion. Much of down town is on the river banks with connecting points via a water taxi. Sure beats sitting in highway traffic! Chef Nick then treated us to a superb lunch at their beautiful seaside home. Tom and I are ready to move in with them as they have a perfect suite downstairs for guests. We noted with amazement that the ravages from the flood throughout Brisbane were not that evident, although Nick and Jennie pointed out the complete destruction (and consequent removal) of a new award winning restaurant that had just opened in 2010. The river was dark brown in color and Jennie said in all probability it was polluted with sewage. Several ferry terminals were destroyed in addition to many sidewalks along the river and the University track and field complex. The latter had already been replaced!

Tomorrow we head for Townsville and I will continue to struggle with posting photos. The satellite system keeps blocking anything I try to upload.