Post #220873 by WenikiTiki on Wed, Mar 15, 2006 3:35 AM

Hi Hewey!

I spent a week in Australia, Cairns area. We had a blast! Of course we were escaping from Guam, one of the most interesting places my husband has ever been stationed....

The best part was being there while a cyclone formed off the coast. We had MANY landslides. My hubby decided I was a psychic because I had insisted on a genuine 4 wheel drive vehicle for our rental car. If it hadn't been such crazy weather I might have been psycho. That vehicle was a lifesaver! We had to backtrack one day completely back the way we came because landslides closed the roads. Drove back about 4 hours through rotten storms. Got up the next morning and the road we returned on was closed, more landslides and flooding. It was so rough that my husband stopped and picked up emergency food and water, because he was sure we weren't getting back that night!

I know my Australian name. One of my sailing friends is an Aussie. Whenever she sees me she says: "Hey Wen!" Although I was very puzzled that she wasn't familiar with Abbot and Costello's famous "Who's on First" comedy routine.

We also visited the Great Barrier Reef, the first day there. Fortunately the weather hadn't yet gotten bad. I was very surprised at the giant contraption we were taken to. A huge floating pontoon boat, with huge nets strung around. So we snorkeled in a safety zone of sorts.

Your McDonald's are a bit different than ours. We don't get beets on our burgers in the USA. Really! (Yes, I ate at a McDonald's in Australia. Also Bali, Thailand, Germany and England)

Aloha!