Surfers Paradise

So yesterday, we drove from Dalby to Surfers Paradise. Not wanting to make the same mistake that we did last time we went on holiday and get stuck in Brisbane 3:00 Friday rush hour traffic, we decided to leave town around 10:45 or so. Which meant that we could stop in Toowoomba for lunch. Just the night before, Josh had seen a commercial on the telly for Phatburgers in Toowomba. So we stopped there.

And man, those burgers were huge!


We also drove on the first real motorway that made us feel like we were back in Atlanta. Count them - 5 lanes of traffic!

Back as early as in the late 60's (we saw a picture mural in the Baskin Robbins), Surfers Paradise used to be a quaint seaside town with lots of beachhouses and just a cozy type atmosphere. Now, it is like Miami on steriods. There are condos everywhere and more going up as we walk around.

Unlike Caloundra where it felt like there was nothing to do after 5:30 when all the shops closed down, here I think that it gets MORE active the later it gets.

We have an ocean view room (the beach is about a block away). And yes, you can see the beach - it's just around that huge complex right in front of us.

Just to give you a perspective on how big that complex is, our hotel is about 20 floors high - we are on the 9th floor. It's a nice resort and spa. But here is a picture from our bedroom of the complex across the street. It's ridiculous.

Also ridiculous are all the luxury cars that we see cruising the streets.

Of course, we don't mind so much that it's more of a touristy beach town now since it means that there are plenty of putt-putt golf course to keep us occupied.

Josh beat me both times.

Also, we did get away from town a little bit today and got some pretty cool pictures out at the ocean. And we'll be taking some backroads home tomorrow.