Z Team Travels

We always try to mix activities we think the kids would like along with visiting our preferences, too. I really wanted to visit Brisbane's Street Beach, but it was closed for maintenance for the Winter. Bummer!

These unexpected changes in plans do not set us back. In fact, this makes me think more creatively. I've found that scrolling through Google Maps helps me to see places that I would not have been able to find easily on the Web.

So, I was looking at the Queensland University of Technology's (QUT) campus and I found the CUBE. The CUBE is an interactive STEM resource that focuses highly on technology and engineering skills. To me, it looked like a giant video game. So, the kids had fun trying it out for about a half-hour.

Next, we visited the Art Museum at QUT. This was on the smaller side, but featured two exhibits, one of an indigenous artist and another exhibit of former students of QUT. The following pictures are from our walk to lunch.

The final activity was my favorite. I think the kids loved it, too! Holey Moley is a hilarious, pun-tastic 9-holes of mini-golf. The three kids and John golfed for $50 AUS with the family pack discount. I enjoyed watching and taking pictures while they were golfing.

Since Holey Moley was having, "Christmas in July" today, we got the hats for free (they even gave one to me!). These hats are hilarious! I'm planning on pulling mine out to celebrate this December. They added to Holey Moley's silly atmosphere and I was completely digging it!

We woke up at 5:30 AM to watch the Final World Cup game. It was a terrific way to start our day! Needless to say, I took a nap following the game. Then, it was time to partake in a day designed by John.

He found a park and playground that was designed for older children. Frew Park used to be a tennis complex. It still had several tennis courts. C would have loved to play a few matches if he had his racket. The three had fun playing and working out.

After some playing, we walked to lunch and then headed to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt. Coot-tha on the bus. It’s so remarkable that there is no entry fee to this beautiful park. The walking paths, plantings, and gardens were gorgeous, especially considering it is winter here. Since it was raining on and off today, we walked around a bit and then headed back to the CBD.

The Museum of Modern Art has an awesome children’s art center! They offer opportunities for all children and their adults, to create. I was impressed with the engagement of the three. They really loved having the opportunity to get creative. They spent at least an hour working on their “people.” Can you guess which Z-Team members created each person?

The children's area is so carefully designed!

In completing our mass transportation experiences in Brisbane, we went on a nighttime ferry ride on the Brisbane River. The lights were sparkling and the wind was blowing. P and C enjoyed standing in the front of the boat, while G’s hair was blowing too much and he wanted to sit on the inside.

One of John’s bucket-list experiences whilst in Brisbane was to have dumplings for dinner (he really doesn't ask for much). What a sweetie! The Little red Dumpling did not disappoint. They sure were tasty!

OK, so our hotel is “conveniently” located right across the street from Yo-Chi, a frozen yogurt hot-spot. The place is packed at all times of the day. Obviously, our kids have been tempted every time we walk past. So, John and I promised them we would go before we left Brisbane.

At Yo-Chi, you pay for the weight of your yogurt creation. We told the kids that whatever they picked, they needed to eat. Let’s just say the bill of $79.00 AUS demonstrates that these teens were living their best life while John and I were in disbelief at the cost. 2/3 had no problems finishing their dessert. Can you guess which one took about an hour to finish?

We took a bus and then a train to reach our destination… the BEACH! Pandanus beach was highly recommended as one of the closer beach destinations. It’s located in a suburb of Brisbane called, Wynnum.

Wynnum itself was a great town with cute shops and tasty restaurants. The beach WAS NOT busy at all, as you’ll see from our pictures. The park nearby has a fun playground, splash pad, and wading pool. However, since it’s winter here, the wading pool and the splash pad were closed for maintenance. They looked like they'd be fun during the hot summers.

G and John were playing around while we were waiting for P to change out of her swimsuit. First it was a squishy ball… and then a hat?  :)

P and I did a little window shopping when we got back into town. Although we didn’t buy anything, we saw some cute doggie-themed apparel. I guess we’re really missing our pooch, Kiva.

It was great to spend more time with John today!  He completed the conference, came back to the apartment-hotel, had lunch, and we took off for the Indooroopilly Shopping Center. Now, shopping is not high on the boys’ list of enjoyable activities. However, we’ve made a compromise in that if they come, they can find a chair to sit on and play their phones. To sweeten the deal, John and I took them to an arcade in which they could play unlimited amounts of games for one hour. That made the trip much more enjoyable for them!

John and I enjoyed some quiet time at Starbucks while they played. I must admit, the loud noises of arcades are like casinos, and both those places are way too overstimulating for me. The lights and all the sounds increase my stress instead of bringing me joy. Sorry, kids! That's not for me.

For dinner, we scoured three grocery stores, beginning with Aldi, then trying Coles, then Woolworths, then back to Coles. Obviously, our incisiveness and exhaustion from the day played a part in decisions for dinner. However, we all got foods were happy with in the end-the boys both had pasta carbonara, made a cheese pizza, and John and I had a Green Goddess salad and crackers with tzatziki dip. Then, we had an ice cream bar for dessert.

We are also becoming more proficient at navigating the mass transit here. Although walking is fab, being able to use the bus, train, ferry, and subway system will increase the footprint of our travels.

The clock tower used to be the tallest building in all of Brisbane. Now, skyscrapers and other buildings have grown up all around. In signing up days ago, we got a free, small-group tour up to the top of the clock tower riding the 96-year-old elevator.

Once at the top, we were able to look out at Brisbane’s CBD and beyond. Prior to the more modern buildings surrounding the area, the perspective would have been vast. It would have been possible to see well into the surrounding hills and mountains. Although much of that view is blocked by modern development, there are pick-a-boo sightings of the river, mountains, and surrounding neighborhoods.

Note: the church featured in several of the pictures used to be the tallest building in Brisbane prior to the clock tower being built.

Here's the interior of the copper dome mentioned earlier. Such ornate arcitecture!

The three kids and I did a little shopping and grabbed lunch. G got his ramen that he's being craving. We shared lunch again. That's been working out well!

We've really noticed a difference in the clothing that specifically states, "Made with Australian Cotton." These tees are both soft and heavy-duty. We've also found that they are fairly inexpensive at the Australian Target store. Today, I really nailed a deal- I got a t-shirt on clearance for $1.00 AUS, that's about 70 cents! Woo-hoo; I can afford that!

After our little shopping and lunch, we hung out at the apartment-hotel until John was finished with the conference for the day.

C and P have been wanting to try Australian BBQ. So, we went to Frankies Smokehouse. We took the bus into a neighborhood we haven't been before - Woolloongabba.

Since John is here for a conference, the conference organizers designed some optional daytrips for their participants. We paid for the five of us to attend a bus trip to Currumbin, a suburb in the Gold Coast of Queensland. The Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary was about an hour and a half from the convention center.

We started our trip with water and a sandwich upon entering the bus. There was some traffic on the freeway to Currumbin, so it took us a bit longer than anticipated to arrive. Normally, when we travel, we go at our own pace. So, this guided tour with an established time frame, took some getting used to for the kids. We spent about 3 hours at the wildlife sanctuary. Some of the activities we participated in were viewing the raptor show, watching an Aboriginal dance troupe and Digeridoo player perform songs important to their culture in the Queensland area, and feeding the lorikeets.

Now, this is the hilarious part. P really wanted to feed the lorikeets (the rest of us were fine watching the others). So, she chipped in some of her coins as a donation to obtain the man-made nectar that was offered on a pie plate. The participants held up the plates in the air, hoping a lorikeet would land on the plate. The volunteers said that usually the higher the plate, the more likely they would land and feed on your plate.

The sequence of pictures demonstrates how P was feeling waiting for the lorikeets to feed. If you know P well, her facial expressions are something you’re quite familiar with. Notice that she is smelling the nectar - I guess she's checking that it's fresh?

Sadly, it started to downpour. We were supposed to go to the ocean for some pictures. This didn’t happen (and P was especially disappointed), but the bus drove us by the ocean, so we were at least able to see it. Let’s hope we can go to the ocean another day once John’s conference is completed.

After the wildlife sanctuary, it was time for the dinner. C and P chose pizza (surprise, surprise) and G chose a Wagyu beef sandwich (Bougie much?)! After dinner, it was back in the bus for the ride back to Brisbane.

We started our day at the Queensland Holocaust Museum. It was both heartbreaking and impactful. Over 200 survivors of the holocaust migrated to the Queensland area following WWII. Of those 200, about 19 are still alive today. “We will never forget.”

I have been to several holocaust museums in my travels. All of them have artifacts and tell stories of tragedy, hope, and perseverance. However, this museum was different in its method of telling these stories. Using artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) technologies, this museum brought several Nazi victims back to life to tell their own stories of how they were murdered. Emotionally, this holocaust experience was different from others since individuals retelling their death was tragically compelling.

After the engrossing experience at the holocaust museum, the kids were getting hungry. I was feeling a bit nauseous, but growing kids need to eat. So, off to the food court we go. This is where everyone can find what they like. Also, as a travel tip, we share food a lot since cost is quite high and taking leftovers with us is often difficult when we’re on the move. Today, we shared two meals with the four of us. I just make sure to order larger portions when I can. At KFC, I upgraded to the “large” meal.

Next on our agenda was crossing the river to head into Brisbane’s Cultural District. This is where many of the government-funded museums are located. This side of the river is also where John’s conference is located, at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.

We began our museum experience in the bottom floor of the Queensland Museum Kurilpa. This was where the Spark Lab was located. Although general admission into the museum is free, the Spark Lab has a cost. For a family pass, this was $50 AUS. This was some of the best money I’ve spent so far! These three were engaged in STEM activities for almost three hours- even closing down the exhibit! 

We had one hour to check out the rest of the museum and John joined us! We had a blast during this emotional and brain-stimulating day!

John's conference began today, so the kids and I walked about 6 kilometers around Brisbane. We explored Kangaroo Point Cliffs and part of the South Bank neighborhood.

I didn't want to push my luck with the kids or my ankle, so we returned to the hotel, relaxed for a bit and then P and I went to a couple of thrift stores that she's been itching to visit.

These stores featured 90s clothing that were much more expensive than they originally were in the 90s. P once told me, "Mom, you were SO LUCKY to grow up in the 90s!" "Why," I asked. "Because the clothes were so cool!" Did y'all see my eye roll?!

John returned from his conference and had a great idea to visit the Glass Platform at the Star Skydeck. We were on level 23 and watched the sunset beyond the mountains surrounding Brisbane.

C found a gelato place called Clementine's and navigated us there for a treat after dinner. So yummy!

Seeing koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, dingos, a Tasmanian devil, a crocodile, snakes, tree frogs, and native birds to Australia all in one day blew my mind. This is where we felt like we were IN AUSTRALIA. This experience reminded us of why Australia is unique to all other continents on our great planet.

We started off by seeing some colorful birds.

Then we quickly moved on to seeing the koalas. There are nearly 100 koalas here and each are more adorable than the last.

Ha! Did ya see what I did there? I included a stuffed animal in one of the photos. Could you tell which one?!

We attended all of the informational "shows" they offered. Which were: raptor show, herding sheep dog show, koala show, crocodile show, and the dingo show. Learning more about each of the species was super-informative. Lone Pine also really focused it's talks about the uniqueness of each species and how humans (individuals) can help preserve each animal species.

One of the absolute best parts of the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was petting and feeding the wallabies and kangaroos. I could not believe how soft they were! We are talking softer than a rabbit's fur, and our cutie-cockapoo's fur at home has nothing on these marsupials!

Can't forget the Tasmanian devil! Yikes! Check out those teeth!

Of course, each of the kids enjoy different things. The tricky part is to make sure that each child feels like they have personal highlights to the trip. And, let's be real, John and I need to feel like we're enjoying ourselves, too. So, ensuring that throughout our travels, that each person feels like they got some of their individual expectations met and the whole group engages in compromise throughout our experience is part of our agenda as parents.

P loves to shop (obviously), so we stopped at a couple of stores while strolling through the CBD.

G is really starting to dig cooking and trying new foods. He's been wanting to try Hot Pot for a long time now. So, time for some family (dinner) fun!

"Beautiful" is not a descriptive enough word to describe the Brisbane Botanical Gardens that are only about 3 blocks from our hotel. We're deep into the central business district and It's winter here, but even so, the bright greens of the trees, grasses, and the blooming hibiscus were incredible. Hearing unfamiliar bird (and bat) sounds also added to the intrigue.

Maybe the highlight of our whole morning walk was the lack of argument and displease from the kids. When I say everyone was enjoying the gardens - that's simply the truth!

Can you see the bats snoozing in the mid-morning on our walk?

The entire family is zombie-like and barely functioning after getting slim to nil amounts of sleep in the San Fran airport last night. So, after arriving about ten hours after we were supposed to arrive, we headed to our hotel/apartment, applied some must-needed deodorant, washed our faces, brushed our teeth, and walked to Brisbane's hip CBD.

FYI, CBD means Central Business District, according to some Australian TV shows I've been binging on BritBox lately.

Since we were a confused hot mess walking around tonight, you'll need to stay tuned for pictures of Brisbane tomorrow.😉

Oh! And, my phone said I couldn't take pictures due to lack of storage. How "convenient," when we've just traveled around to the other side of the planet. Another thing to work on tomorrow....ugggghhhh!

OK. So that was, or more specifically, still is, the longest travel day we've ever had.

We left MSP on time at 1:30PM on the way to Denver. After two attempts, we were finally able to land safely. The winds off the Rocky mountains gave us the "gift" of turbulence so badly that some on the plane were using the courtesy barf bags. I was so close to searching the plane-pocket for mine, but thankfully we landed just in time.

The flight to San Francisco was uneventful (hooray) and then our 6-hour layover began at the airport.

After grabbing some pricey grub at the food court and vegging-out in the International terminal until 11:00 PM, we boarded the plane for the nearly 14-hour flight to Brisbane.

Unfortunately, there were technical difficulties with the plane. We were lounging in our seats, watching movies and getting updates every so often. After realizing thag my movie finished and we still haven't moved, I started realizing the implications of this delay. At this time, many passengers were sleeping, since it was now close to 1:30 AM. Then the news came- we needed to deboard the plane.

The airline said we could get a hotel voucher, but our new flight was leaving at 8:00 AM. So, once realizing the time was now about 2:15 AM, by the time we arranged a hotel and got there, we would only have about 2 hours to sleep before returning to the airport. So, this is what we did...

And here's a pic from earlier- a good motto to live by- But, not always the easiest to do.

It's travel time. From Minneapolis/St. Paul, we head to Denver, then San Francisco, and finally our destination- Brisbane! We're leaving on Wednesday and arrive Friday morning. I think this will try all our patience. Wish us luck!