So I have an Australian aunt (Diane, my dad's brother's wife) who has a first cousin named Len Lotz that lives in Brisbane.  What better way to see the area than to get him to take a day off of work to show us around?  Australians are extremely hospitable, and Len wouldn't hear otherwise about spending the entire day during a very busy period to drive us up and down the coast.  He picked us up at our place in the city and took us south about 40 miles for our tour of the Gold Coast.  It's a very cool area, reminiscent of Miami Beach.  Lots of high rises, tons of development going on, and of course beautiful beaches.

We spent the day slowing making our way up the coast, seeing all there was to see.  It was perfect since we only had 3 days in Brisbane and really wanted to see the Gold Coast.  We stopped back at our place for a quick freshening up, and then we were right off to a BBQ dinner with Len's daughter and son-in-law Jason and Danielle.

If I ever moved to Australia, I would have a best friend all ready to go.  Jason and I (in addition to sharing a name) were like two peas in a pod.  Straight down to finishing the evening with a bottle of fine Scotch.  We dined on bugs, a weird cross between a crayfish and a prawn that only exists in this area.  Good stuff!!  The only flaw in the evening was when Joy saw a ginormous spider on the wall and flipped her lid.