And the friendships I have made from these holidays I treasure close to my heart ☺
I guess as a small child being on holidays with your family you meet kids at the beach and play in the sand & surf, back at the pool where you are staying etc. A lot of the times My Grandad would be my best friend on our holidays and I would follow him everywhere. We would go shopping for groceries, go for walks and my fave: go for drives.
Here is a pic of me back in 1982, I was 16 and you will notice my Grandad's beach towel next to me! He took the pic :)
Now my very first grown up holiday was to Great Keppel Island back in the 1980’s! Yesssssssssssss they did have electricity back then....
This kids was prob my most fave holiday of them all. Back then they had a slogan “Get Wrecked on Great Keppel” and I sure did! I was only 17 ½ years old and I remember Cyndi Lauper’s song “Girls just want to have fun” had just been released and this was our theme song! ☺
We went on a bus from Brisbane to Rockhampton and then the ferry across to the island. Now in the brochure it showed boys & girls on the bus, partying, streamers and balloons! We couldn’t wait to go, buttttttttt we get on the bus and its all-girls AND ONE BOY! We were very sad.... :(
But as soon as we arrived at Great Keppel, well they didn’t know what had hit them! I made some wonderful friends, had the best time and even flirted with the Resort Photographer, called “Flash” I mean come on, what else would he be called!
And when I returned back to “Real Life” I was so depressed and wanted to go back again…… And I guess this would be when my “Holiday Addiction” began! Thanks Flash ☺ wink wink
About six months after Great Keppel I started to go out with my ex-husband and if you think this was going to stop my holidays, well you would be wrong! ;)
I had a holiday up to The Whitsundays with a girlfriend and had a blast! Lots of wine & orange, cause I’m classy like that! Come on it was the 80’s!
Then the next holiday was prob my second fave. It was the FM104 Rock Cruise on the good old P&O Fairstar cruise ship, may she rest in peace... It was November 1986 and it departed on my 20th birthday and do you know that next month it will have been 25 years since that holiday but to me it feels like maybe a few years ago. How time flies.
Now the Fairstar or as it was also known back then “The Floating Mattress” (andddddddddd remember this was before Aids) was out of control party wise! And OMG did I see a lot of sex!
Nowwwwwwwwww before you go getting all excited, it wasn’t me! Honest! Cause stupid me had a boyfriend back at home (the soon to be husband then ex-husband…). Silly me!
It was always so funny at the end of the night because the disco would end at all different times, depending on the crowd. And so when the DJ would say “it’ssssss that time of the night, time for the last song” you could see the panic on everyone’s face – looking around trying to work out who they could hook up with so they didn’t miss out!
It was everywhere. The very first night a girl in my cabin, who I didn’t know and can I just say quietly – wasn’t much to look at WON ON! And we didn’t know. How could that be, I mean our 4 berth cabin was sooooo small. But we must have all come home after they had “done the deed” and all went to bed. So when we all woke up the next morning to find a boy in our cabin, about 2 metres from our face (because the cabin was that small) well we all then made a pact that if you won on, then you went back to their cabin.
So one night I was creeping home quietly around 6am and quietly………. Opened the cabin door and guess what? I was the only one THAT CAME HOME!!
I still have two friends in my life from back then, both boys! ☺
One of them I was soooo tempted to play up with but on the second night, whilst I was sitting on his lap and he was stroking my thigh (I was wearing shorts) I thought OMG I have to tell him I have a boyfriend. And I did ☹ Silly me....
But who knows if something had of happened then we might not have stayed in touch all these years!
The other guy, well he was special ☺ There was a great connection, but he had someone back home and so did I and we were great mates! When I think of him it puts a smile on my face... Fond memories of a great holiday and great friendship’s made, even to this day!
Of course I got married, had Jake and then got divorced. But even being very poor, somehow I managed to still go away with friends but do it on the cheap! To me holiday’s is an escape from reality. And back then I was on the sole parents pension, living in housing commission, so it was lots of fun to escape that life, even for a couple of nights.
Now I am really bad at saving for BIG HOLIDAYS, hence why I haven’t travelled overseas much and also due the Australian Dollar back then being so bad. And now that I am working full time I can never save up enough leave… I know I am naughty girl, with a bad habit.... a bad habit for HOLIDAYS!
I went to Club Med – Lindeman Island in the Whitsundays. Had a great time and on the 2nd last night became the target for the Pool Barman called Ishmael! Now the night before he had had dinner with us and we had the best time. The next night this guy would not leave me alone….. He was on heat and I was his prey! BIG TIME!!! I found out the next day that a lot of resort staff will “make their move” on the 2nd last night, as after that you are leaving and so it’s SAFE!!
Let’s just say it was good entertainment to watch. For the others! ☺
And then when Jake was younger I went on another cruise and he spent the time with his dad.
We had the most amazing time and yet again made some great friends that we sat with at dinner. A group of boys that sooo made me laugh! We were so loud during dinner, poor people sitting next to us. But geez it was fun!
There was a little flirtation (ok maybe lots…) with one of the guys and myself and on the very last night, I was getting sick (as I usually do on a long cruise, from too much partying…) and I had no idea AT ALL, but on the last night he followed me everywhere and my good friend Elaine was very protective… like a mother bear and made sure I was safe, because I was def off my face with being sick and I didn’t want to miss coming into Sydney Heads so I had stayed up all night and prob wasn’t always thinking straight.
Mind you I had no idea what he was doing and it wasn’t until we were on the plane flying home that the girls told me how it had been the night before! hehehe I am such a goose!
These were the same guys that flew me down to Melbourne for Melbourne Cup a few months later…. I had fun and remember that cruise fondly too!
I also visited Long Island in The Whitsunday's and had a blast!!
At the end of our stay when I went to catch the Train back to Brisbane, due to flooding it couldn't get through (it was the Wet Season) and we all had to find accommodation for the night in Airlie Beach.
The next day when the Train did turn up (it had to come up from Brisbane as the other one couldn't get to Proserpine due to flooding between Cairns and Proserpine etc.) all the food was FREE! I spent most of the trip in the bar area, made some great pals and I had to laugh because when the voice came over the PA System that the next food was blah blah blah, I kid you not: you could hear the crowd making their way to the Bar Area!!!
I think we all ate Queensland Rail out of food on that trip! You know to get our monies worth for being so stuffed around! Either that or we were PIGS! Or maybe both LOL
When I returned to work into the Travel Industry I dragged Baby Jake from pillar to post to all the freebies and discounted theme parks and accommodation places in Queensland.
I’ve fallen in love with Kingscliff in northern New South Wales and have managed to go back there every year for the last couple of years and am off there again in November for my birthday ☺
I’ve been to Sydney a few times to see Michael Buble in concert and have some amazing fun adventures there.
Am off again to Sydney soon too! ☺
I also went on a three day Food & Wine cruise this year back in June and made some new CRAZY friends!
I have a love for The Whitsunday’s and I’m going back in December for New Year’s Eve to Hamilton Island, which should be lots of fun!
Now I am sure there are many more little places and treasures I have found over the years that escape me for now andddddddddddd if you have made it to the end of this blog, maybe you need a holiday too! LOL
Groover's it's always great to have a little light at the end of the tunnel. Something to look forward too. Something to keep you going.
Get out there and have a holiday! I want to hear all about it ok.... Pics too!
And speaking of that: I would love to hear your holiday stories, I am sure you have just as many great ones as me!
Love ya
Me xxx
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