Brotherly love in Brisbane

Brisbane - 24th June - 4th July

We left Byron Bay heading to Brisbane to see my brother David, Sister in Law Kathlene & nephew Jackson who is 9. We were very grateful when David & Kath offered for us to park the van on their front lawn. Apart from the obvious cost saving, it meant we could have more time together. With all of my brothers & sister living interstate I do cherish the times we spend together.

We spent a few days at Kirra beach on the Gold Coast on our way to Brissie. The caravan park was quite nice but a bit too far away from the beach. As has been the pattern of our trip since leaving home they had been having unseasonable cold & wet weather so we spent most of the time inside the van watching movies & knitting trauma teddies. There was a small break in the weather, just long enough to spend the morning at one of my favourite Gold Coast attractions ....Harbour Town! As much as I love a good shopping trip, it's not quite the same when you're travelling in a caravan & have limited space & have to check the weight in everything. Not to mention having to live on a budget as there are no 'paydays' any more. 

We arrived at David's & were greeted by Jackson standing by his letterbox with the biggest smile & David. (With a big smile too). After a couple of smooth manoeuvres Gary parked the van on the front lawn & we went inside & Jackson gave us a tour of the house & garden.
After Kathlene arrived home from work David explained that they have a great tradition where on Friday nights they celebrate the start of the weekend by putting music on, having a few drinks & making home made pizzas. It was a great way to spend our first night together.

Next day we went to visit the show home & block of land for the house they are about to build. The house is going to be beautiful & they are very excitedly planning all of the details before the build commences. 
That night we went to their favourite Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. We all had Pho which was pretty yummy. They put 2 little dipping bowls on the table that were made of melamine. I was so excited as we love to eat dim sims & dumplings in the van & I had been looking for little dipping bowls for ages but they're all made of glass & I wanted plastic. As we were leaving I asked the manager if I could buy the bowls as I was travelling etc & she said I could have them. That made my night! 

Jackson absolutely LOVES Gary as he also is a huge Star Wars fan & wants to be an engineer when he grows up so Gary is his idol. He often calls him "Uncle Star Wars". We arranged a sleepover night for Jackson. After dinner we went into the van & they played Wii games for a while. We made up a bed on the chairs just like we did when Ashleigh & Lauren slept over. As he kissed us good night he said, "I love you Uncle Gary because you're gentle & funny & I love you my beautiful Aunty Jenny because you're beautiful". He just melted our hearts & that moment will be one of our special memories of this whole trip.
At 2.30 in the morning I was woken up by Jackson standing at the foot of the bed & his little voice saying "Aunty Jenny, I can't get comfortable" I asked if he wanted to go back into his own bed & he very quickly said "yes". After that Jackson would come knocking on the door at 8am each morning & climb into bed with us & he Gary would enjoy playing Wii after tea in the van but no more sleepovers.

On the Sunday we all went to 'Eat Street Markets' at the port of Brisbane. It's a very cool little food market full of food trucks selling all different kinds of food. Gary & I had Yiros followed by Greek honey puffs. They were amazing!

Our time with David, Kathlene & Jackson was great fun & very special. Jackson summed it up by saying to David the day we left ...... I didn't remember very well who Uncle Gary & Aunty Jenny were before they came here but now I will never forget them"!

Next stop..... Sunshine Coast (Coolum)