Today we decided to take it easy and relax by the pool. We woke up late, after a much needed night’s sleep. It’s been a lot of driving for Bruce and we hoped that he could go a day without driving.
We went in the lukewarm jacuzzi and stayed in there awhile until we were overrun with little ones. At that point the pool was empty so we ventured over there. But not long after, the tiny tots invaded once again. Enough for resting around the pool.
For some reason Bruce and I are not good at resting so we needed to find something to do. Already early afternoon, we decided to go downtown and walk the Esplanade, which is the avenue by the ocean in Cairns.
We walked around the Saturday market and checked out the lagoon. There were a lot of people, especially kids in the lagoon, so we decided to pass on going in for a swim.
We were all getting hungry so we checked prices at the restaurants along the Esplanade. We found a hotel with a casino and restaurant. Bruce, Stan and I had fish, chips and salad for $15. Linda had pot roast, potatoes and vegetables for $15. It was a great deal.
We played a little in the casino and then watched the pelicans on the beach.
At the end of the day it was time to go food shopping. That was quite the experience. The big grocery store closest to our condo closed at 6pm and we arrived at 6:20. So we headed back towards the Esplanade to find another Cole’s grocery store. We finally found one but had difficulty figuring out how to get in. Instead of the four amigos shopping we should be called the four stooges. Wandering aimlessly around the supermarket, Linda and I have a tendency to go into lalaland, staring into space. However, through it all we managed to fill our basket and have items to make several meals.
After a long day we had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner. We played a game of cards and called it a night.
The next day we drove to Crystal Cascades for a nice hike and to see some waterfalls. It was a beautiful morning, sunny and not too hot. There were several natural pools to swim in but we decided we weren’t hot enough to get wet.
After our hike we went to the Esplanade to check out a tourist info center that was supposed to be the only legitimate one, according to Lonely Planet. We went to eat at the restaurant in the casino because the food is good and the price is right. We played in the casino and Bruce’s name was called. He ended up participating in a slot tournament and the first round he won a $20 gift certificate for the restaurant. Second round he won the same. Third round he won $30 in cab fare. And he ended up winning $500 coming in second place. All our reef trips are now paid for with the winnings. We left after the tournament and visited a few tourist information places trying to sort through the myriad of options for reef trips and then checked out the boats on the pier. 
What a beautiful end to a lovely day!
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