24 August 2016 - Brisbane, Australia Part 4

My second week in Brisbane has been rather eventful for a work week. I started the week by taking a personal Kayak tour of the river. There is a nice facility on the southeast bank called Riverlife. At this location they specialize in a number of outdoor tours and activities. I have not been in a kayak in about 20 years (we used to do a Boy Scout event in Magnolia, Ohio during Canal Days on the pond outside the Elson Lumber mill).


I was trying to do the group class at 1pm on Sunday, but somehow booked the 2 hour personal rental instead. This meant when I showed up for the class, it was already full and I would have to go it on my own. In the end this worked out in my favor as I was able to set the pace and go much further then a group. As I was paddling back I passed 3 fast rowers (unhappy), 7 medium pace, and 3 people holding up the entire group (one was a texting teen, whose boat was tied to their parents'). Here is a nice video from the Riverlife company:

The second major event for the week was that I was surprised to find out that the new Marvel Thor movie was being filmed in front of my hotel. The experience was mixed. It was really inconvenient to be a hotel guest due to the number of security guards constantly harassing me and the number of movie tourists blocking the sidewalks. At the same time my inner geek was screaming for joy. The news stations really captured the experience best:

I managed to get a few photos as well. You could tell when Christ or Tom was near as all the girls (and some of the guys) would scream.

20 August 2016 - Gold Coast, Australia

During 2-3 week business trips I am sometimes able to get away during the weekends. Speaking with my customers in Brisbane during the week, they suggested I make a day trip to the Gold Coast. I decided to use the train system to make the journey. It takes about 90 minutes from Brisbane Central and the cost is about 16$ AUD round trip. This place reminds me of my teenage years and vacations to Myrtle Beach.

I spent most of my time walking along the beach of surfer's paradise. Still sore from my workouts earlier in the week, I decided not to rent a board and wetsuit. Someday, I hope to come back and surf this area.

One of the key places I wanted to visit was the Sky Point observation deck. Similar to my experiences in London (The Shard) and Germany (TV Tower), I just can't get enough of tall buildings and testing if I have developed a fear of heights. 25$ AUD later, I found myself 70+ floors up, enjoying a nice view (and a Mojito) of the entire city.


I know it seems like a rather anticlimactic location to visit for someone who moved to California a year ago, but I was actually really happy to be here. I do prefer SoCal over this place due to Australia's Ozone layer issues. Honestly, I am not sure why there were people on the beach tanning...this is some serious, cancer inducing, UV radiation! I guess it is just vanity and that it feels good to die this way.

I ended my visit at a local Kaiten (conveyor) sushi place and then traveled back to Brisbane.

17 August 2016 - Brisbane Australia - Part 3

An Early Morning Run

I've said it before: a life of constant travel is one of the most unhealthiest. It's hard to plan exercise and there are lots of meals eaten at restaurants and fast food places. I try my best to keep up with my running. Last week I took the plunge and signed up for the 2017 Surf City and Orange County Half Marathons. This means I need to keep running and have some motivation again. I started the with the Australian dish of champions, toast with Vegemite. ProTip: Don't smear it on like peanut butter unless you like being punched in the face by a salt seizure; mix it with butter. "Video Instructions from Wolverine..."

I did a run on Sunday, out and back on the riverwalk, for a total of 6 miles or 10 kilometers. My goal for today was to just do 2-3 miles to the north.

As I started making my way along the Kangaroo Cliff Park...I just kept going...Mile 3...Mile 4...it was part curiosity of what I would see next on this trail and part "i'm a lost man too stubborn to ask for directions." I eventually passed under the Story Bridge, looped around, and found a way across. The sun rise on the bridge and reflecting off the skyscrapers was awesome!

In the end I completed a 5.7Mile loop...just a little bit farther than my goal for the morning. What the heck do they put in that Vegemite?

16 August 2016 - Brisbane Australia - Part 2

Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour Day

Sometimes I scoff condescendingly at those "hop-on-hop-off" tour busses. I know I skipped the London, Dublin, Edinburgh, and Tokyo options. This time around, however, I gave the Brisbane one a try. Here is my best "i'm not sure if I am going to be happy with this look" (and for 30$ AUD it better be worth it).

So we drove around and here were some of the sights:

View of Post Office Square and Central Station (behind)	City Hall	Suncorp Rugby Stadium
XXXX Brewery	Go Between Bridge	Downtown and Kurilpa Bridge

So far, I was pretty happy with the tour and had some new ideas about where I might visit over the next few weeks. I decided to use the Hop-Off option at the history museum and spend some time walking along the shops of Grand Arbour St. and South Bank.

		Neat plant covered path...
	Street Beach South Bank (for those to lazy to go to Gold Coast)	Nitrogen Ice Cream!

I had a small lunch and some ice cream. REMINDER: Don't feed the Ibis!

After 45 minutes of walking around this area, I hopped back on the bus and made my way to the final stops of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs Park, Story Bridge, and China Town. One wierd thing about this bus was that I kept seeing the same people at each stop ("are you following me?"). I think it was just the natural timing of each area.

In the end I was most satisfied with the bus tour! It was worth it.

Stay tuned....

14 August 2016 - Brisbane, Australia - Part 1

I am in Australia for the next few weeks. The last time I ventured to this country was in February of 2014 where I spent a few weeks in the Southwest coast city of Perth. This business trip has me in the north east city of Brisbane. After a 14 hour direct flight from LAX, I usually am a mess for a few days. The climate here is Subtropical so the temperatures are between 60-70deg F (15-20deg C) most days. It feels very close to home.

I spent most of my first day trying to recover from jet lag. Here is the view from my hotel room.

Brisbane is basically a river city a few kilometers inland from the coast. It is also really close to the Gold Coast.

During my second day in the city I finally felt good enough to venture out. I started the morning by walking through the botanical gardens and locating the famous riverwalk.


I ended up doing a nice 10k out and back run/walk/run. The weather was perfect and the view was even better....

I'll try to keep posting little updates as my jet lag improves...

In the mean time, I will leave you with an odd local celebrity, Captain Risky...an anti-spokesperson. These commercials appeared on the local TV and absolutely made my day...