A Wonderful Visit!

Scott dropped his phone in Queenstown, NZ so
all these photos are from Julie or Peter. Here we
are at Noosa. At the very end of the post you can
see a photo of us back in 2011.

We stopped for a drink at this restaurant 
overlooking the beach on the way to Noosa.

We met Peter and Julie in Marathon, FL in 2011 at a meeting in our Marina on Going to the Bahamas. Most of the attendees had never been, but Scott and I were old hands, having been there three times. We struck up a friendship on the spot with both they and another couple, Marie & Ron on "Molly Bloom". Julie and Peter were on their Manta Ray Catamaran "Anything Goes".  We formed a quick alliance and crossed together to Bimini. Marie & Ron left us in Staniel Cay but Julie & Peter stayed with us until the end of that season in northern Florida. We've been fast friends since then, seeing them every year either on our boat or in Florida or Vermont. This was the first time with got to visit them at home, now in Mooloolaba, Australia. 

Peter took this picture at dawn looking from their balcony over to the river.

This was taken from their golf course and looks over the city of Mooloolaba. The river goes from horizontally at the top from the bay. Their condo is only a block or so from the beach along the river. 

They picked us up at the airport in Brisbane and we spent the nest 8 days with them. It was a lovely time as always although the weather wasn't at it's best. In fact it rained for more than half our week. It didn't dampen our enthusiasm. This is a beautiful part of the world - gorgeous beaches backed by green scenic hills. They drove us around the "Sunshine Coast" as far as Noosa, a charming resort town at the junction of the Noosa River and the Coral Sea. Mooloolaba is also at the junction of a river, the Mooloolaba, and the sea. Their river has a good entrance and is lined with Marinas and boats. Julie & Peter's condo has a large covered balcony with views of the river and down to the sea. It is very spacious with two bedrooms and baths plus an office and lots of windows. Our bedroom had it's own balcony. Scott and I enjoyed the pool on the two bright sunny days!

Miles of walks stretch along the beach. Due to the
heavy winds the waves were really big.

This looks the opposite direction from the shot on
the left.

Walks continue up the river and are lined with Marinas and restaurants.

Julie is a very good cook and had prepared some great meals for us including Kangaroo Curry. We didn't get lucky enough to see one in the wild however. They assure us they are often on the golf course! One night we got together with their old friends Graham and Diane. They joined us in the Bahamas and sailed over to Florida for a really fun week - that was again in 2011. Here's some photos from back then. 

Here back in 2011 in the North Berrys, Bahamas: Scott and I, Marie & Ron, Julie & Peter.

Scott, Peter and Graham in the Abacos in 2011

Julie & Diane also back in 2011.

But all too soon it was time to say good-bye. Happily not for long as we plan to see them later this year back home. They drove us to the train station for a two hour ride into Brisbane. As we had an early flight the next day, we booked a hotel on the South Bank downtown. That way we could explore the city for the remainder of the day. And that will be my next post!

Enjoying a beer along the river boardwalk

Unfortunately the photos were taken with too
much sun. But you can see it's a busy Marina.

Scott and Peter on the Pier