I love little kids & how they find great amount of joy in the small things. Marcus’s parents spent hours the day before hand-crafting the decorations, but he finds much pleasure with the store-bought mylar balloon. To be fair, they were pretty shiny, big & non-threatening!
Sure, baby Marcus won’t remember his first birthday party, but he knows that he’s surrounded by people who love him! Happy birthday, young lad. Thanks to the parents for the awesome Hukilau lunch! Your many hours of preparation showed.
Photo of the day, photography
When we initially decided to go to Cairns, we wanted to go for the Great Barrier Reef and to hold a koala since Queensland is the only territory in Australia where it is legal to hold a koala. However by the time we got to Cairns, we were exhausted from all the travel and just wanted to relax. Since it was the end of our trip, we decided to take it easy so that we could go back to reality relaxed and refreshed. It was a tough choice, but since we enjoyed Australia so much, we knew we’d be back.
Instead our last few days in Australia were spent enjoying the beautiful weather and relaxing in Port Douglas and Cairns. Unfortunately, stingrays also enjoy the warmer weather so we were advised to stay away from the ocean. We were able to enjoy the nice oceanside views, but when it came to swimming that we resorted to the saltwater lagoons at our hotel.
After being on the move for the majority of two weeks, a relaxing time in Port Douglas was just what we needed. Though there weren’t a whole lot of other things to do, we did enjoy walking around the towns of Port Douglas and Cairns. Port Douglas was definitely more of a resort town whereas Cairns was more of a port town since most of the Great Barrier Reef tours go out from there. The one tourist spot that we highly recommend in Port Douglas was the Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary. Had it not been for a strong recommendation from my brother, we probably would have overlooked it. It’s located just off the main road as you enter Port Douglas and looked like a tourist trap. However, once inside, it was was a great way for us to see some of the native animals of Australia and to experience some of the different habitats. We really got the authentic rain forest experience as it started pouring when we began walking around.
We didn’t spend that much time in Cairns, but it did have a nice restaurant row along the harbor where we enjoyed a nice final dinner at the Waterbar. It came highly recommended from my massage therapist and it did not disappoint.
Overall, Australia was a great experience. One day we definitely hope to return and explore even more. Ian and I really enjoyed our honeymoon, most of all because we really got to spend time with each other. In our day to day lives we see each other all the time, but we are always distracted by one thing or another. It was nice to be able to spend quality time together, to talk, to laugh and to have fun. We realized how important this time out is for our relationship and made a promise to make sure that we make time for it in the future.
Lifestyle
