Saturday 29 November

Friday was a very hot day! Neo and I again went on an adventure. This time to Cleveland. I wanted to see what kind of housing they have there - the area had been recommended to us. We took the train and went to every rental office in the area. The response was similiar - nothing available at the moment. There were a couple of houses that looked interesting and one woman was willing to drive Neo and I to see 2 houses. I was very disappointed. It was a typical cookie cutter type house in a typical suburb. Not what we're interested in. It only goes to show that we have the best area. We got off the train at Wellington point to walk past another potential rental but found it was further from the train then we had been told, so gave up looking. But did see another rental that was lovely - but taken.

Dave took the kids to Redcliffe using the car! That's further up the "Sunshine Coast" about 1 hour from Brisbane. We can see the point of Redcliffe from our side of the beach. The children were all excited about their adventure. The water was clear - unlike our little bay area that is cloudy.

Unfortunately, I brought a therometer from the states so we could know the "real temp" But Dave was depressed by it because he could know how hot it was in the house. We don't have air conditioning...there are several ceiling fans - and the breeze off the ocean helps...but it's tough - especially for Dave.

A little bit about where we're staying. We live in a little village called Shorncliffe. It's a very small town with a train stop, a school, 1 restraunt, 1 B&B, and beautiful coastline. Just up the road 2 km, there's Sandgate. Sandgate reminds me of Mayberry. It's very quaint with wonderful shops. There's just about everything you need here. We run to Woolworth's for groceries. It's the grocery store here. There are chemists for medicines, etc. That's where I bought hats for everyone on the first day we had arrived.

Today, Saturday, it was shaping up to be another hot one....80 before 7am. We decided to take the car to see what The Gap was like. It was an area that we had identified as a potential place to live. It was nice - although not like here in Sandgate. Another confirmation that we are in the right place.

Once we returned, Dave went into town to find an internet hook up for his computer. He'll begin looking for work next week. He'll have to go into "the Bunker" or another internet cafe as we don't have access at home. I finally secured access through the library - at 1 hour/day.

The kids and I took a short spin to the beach. Then met the estate agent to view a 4bedroom house in Brighton - which is near Sandgate. It was one of the nicer houses we've seen. We're still looking, however.

I think I'll need to get a 2nd mobile phone. The one Dave has, he really needs to field calls for his job search.

Got to go - Neo is beginning to meltdown.

The pictures are of us enjoying the beach near our Holiday House. This is at the Moora Park beach front at low tide. There's also a picture of a Lorakeet and an Ibis - which the kids call "baldy"