Day 3: Whileaway Bookstore Port Douglas.

We are still all mixed up timewise.  I told Frost we were going out to a coffee shop before dinner.
"Dinner?" he squawked.  "We already HAD dinnner."
"No, that was lunch."
"LUNCH?  But if felt like dinner.  What time is it?"
"Its four pm."
"Argh.  I hate jet lag!"

He is happy now.  He and I are sitting down hooked up to the internet for the first time in ages.  The password for the $4 an hour wifi was "lamington".  Frost is watching yogscast for the first time in 3 days.

Today Mum and I did morning yoga at the beach at 8am but the day began three hours earlier when Frost got up to see if it was morning yet.  Going back to bed woke Wren who cried because he had lost "baby dog".  That woke me. I woke Mum.  We were all up by 5.15am.

Olympics
At 6.30am we watched the Olympic Track coverage of Usain Bolt winning the 100 m.  It was LIVE.  The Olympic coverage here puts the NBC coverage to shame.  At all times during UK Daylight, there are 6 channels providing LIVE coverage and replayed highlights of daily events.  At one moment I could flick between table tennis highlights, women's archery finals, the women's marathon, equestrian qualifiers, basketball and something else.  Incredible!

Before we stepped out, we were watching live 400 m hurdles qualifiers and steeplechase.

It is utterly different to watch live.  It makes me keep coming back for more in an active way while the NBC highlights is more like a packaged entertainment where you just sit and stare.

Swimming with a Big Tire
Frost has been loving boogie boarding in the small waves.  The CROCODILE and STINGER RISK signs continue to concern me and I sit on the beach alternating between reading my book, responding to Wren's urgent demands that I jump over waves and scanning the water for saltwater crocodiles or Salties as they are known here.

According to a local whom we met today, they are much more of a problem in recent years because they are not culled and numbers are increasing.

We rented a big inner tractor tube to play on today and Mum and Frost floated over the waves and toppled and splashed a lot.  Another swimmer said to Mum "You get an A for effort."

Wren sulked because he didn't want to come in the deep water but it looked as if we were having fun!

Ordering Burgers
I have been having an awful time trying to order food.  I failed to order the coffee I wanted and then had to get help ordering Burgers for lunch.  Apparently my years in the States have ruined me for Australian Fast Food.

Here are some hints for ordering a burger.  I knew this stuff, I had just forgotten and stumbled in my delivery:

1) Ketchup = Tomato Sauce
2) Fries = Chips
3) Pickle = Gerkin
4) Chips do not come with tomato sauce, you have to order it.
5) Relish is not
6) Root beer is not.  Sarsparilla is close.
7) There is no tax.
8) You do not have to tip everyone.

We have found a very nice Burger Joint called The Bull and another great pie joint.  Urbanspoon is sadly out of date around here.  I shall have to try and catch them up.

Wren says fruit bats have faces like Beezle.  What do you think?

Tomorrow we are taking a boat out to an inner island on the Great Barrier Reef to snorkel and look at fish through the glass bottom of a boat.  Wren, Frost and I are going with Mum.  Mervyn has a sore leg and is going to stay home.  Frost is very excited.  Wren is mostly excited about bats.  He says that Fruit Bats have faces like Beezle.  We are going to watch them fly out tonight at dusk.

It is now an hour from dusk and I must leave this cafe and head back to the house where we left Mum showering, Mervyn watching Olympics and Wren drawing.

We are going to watch birds and have a drink by the harbor.

Till tomorrow.  I hope to hook up the pictures soon.