A VISIT TO COTTON TREE MARKETS AND A SWIM AT MOOLOOLABAH...

It has been so nice having Sarah and the children come to visit overnight... Once we had finished the yard work we decided to head down to Maroochydore to the Cotton Tree Markets.  Steve needed to go to pick up some more ties.  He had bought some when we were last down here for his boat but whilst we were away camping at Kinka we used them with the caravan and he decided to wanted to buy a few more to use with the van.  We had also been talking to my cousin and her husband and he was very interested in getting some also, and the only place Steve knew where to get them was from the markets.  

We were fortunate enough to get a car park near the pool at Cotton Tree and then just had to walk up through the park.  

The children did get a bit side tracked as we headed to the markets with climbing trees and collecting nuts that Max in particular found on the ground.

Max fell in love with these nuts and wanted to take a heap of them home...

We all loved their vibrant colour

Willow and Sarah decided to pay a visit to the amenitites and whilst the rest of us waited, Max was very happy to investigate the trees near by climbing as many as he could...

We were all impressed with this bike set up that we saw parked in the park there..

The first stall we came across at the markets was a stall selling shells.  The kids loved all the little animals made with the shells...

The children loved these little shell animals..

There were quite a few stalls with unusual things for sale...

I showed Sarah the lovely children's stall I had seen a few weeks earlier when we visited and she also fell in love with a lot of the beautiful clothes there.  It is just a pity that most of them were for younger children.   Now if my grandsons from overseas where here, we both might have had a bit of a field day...

We wandered around whilst Steve went off to buy the ties that we had specifically come here to get. 

Amazing teapot cosies in all colours, shapes and sizes...

The stall where Steve buys his ties...

We came across an artist there who was painting as she sold her wares.  I particularly love the bright colours that she paints with.  The kids loved looking at the details in her work...

Max and Willow studying the detail in this particular painting.

The came across a second hand book stall and both the kids were happy to browse through and see if they could find any books that they would like...

Meanwhile I slowly kept meandering looking for a seat to sit down.  There were a few stalls there selling home made children's clothes, with one stall even having dolls clothes to match...

Steve found me and joined me whilst we waited for Sarah and the children. 

Whilst we waited for Sarah, I spied a plant stall near where we were sitting so decided to check out some of the lovely succulent plants that they had on sale there...

It was pretty close to lunch time when we finished wandering around the markets so decided to stop and have lunch at the Coffee Club which was situated on the esplanade...

Children spoilt by Poppy

Our shared lunch

The children's lunch

Hot drinks all round

Poppy and Willow

Max and Poppy

Sarah and I

After lunch we decided to walk back to the car along the water front past the Boat Shed Restaurant.  It was extremely busy with the place packed with diners.  An indication that the food must be excellent there.  The outlook and ambiance certainly was..

We came across beautifully flowering gum trees.

Extremely popular restaurant.

Packed with diners...

The beach at Cotton Tree

The caravan park was packed also

The old ibis or 'bin chicken' as they are often called...

Love seeing the bond between these two...

It was getting pretty hot and the children were keen to go for a swim.  We decided to leave here and head back towards home stopping off at Mooloolabah for a swim.  We were sure whether we were going to swim at the main beach at Mooloolabah or whether we would go around to the Spit.  In the end we managed to get a car park at the main beach so decided that we would swim there.  It was also a good option as the beach here patrolled by life savers..

Mooloolabah beach

We headed for the "Loo with a View" so that the children could change back into their togs.  Willow was happy to demonstrate some of her gymnastic skills to us whilst she waited for her Mum to get changed. 

It really was a beautiful day to be on the beach.  After weeks of no so good weather, it was nice to be out in the sunshine and enjoying a true Aussie summer...

Neither Steve or I thought to bring our togs so we just had to sit up in the shade and enjoy the beautiful weather whilst Sarah and the children had a swim.

Steve did wander down to the water's edge to get a photo of the children splashing around in the water.  Max has become a lot braver, once he would never swim in the surf as he hated the waves rolling in.  These days he is happy to roll with them or race them in. 

Whilst we were sitting on the beachfront, we noticed the Coast Guard come out and rescue a small craft and tow it back into the mouth of the Mooloola River...

I really enjoyed watching the seagulls.  Contrary to most people I really love these birds and find them fascinating.  They were just hovering above us and catching the air currents and just moving with them.  Very graceful to watch...

Heading back up from the water, Max took the opportunity to have a good roll in the sand, so he was covered in sand by the time he got up to us and needed a good hose down before we could dry him off and get him changed.

They were also keen for a bit of a play in the playground, although we were fast running out of time for this to happen.  They headed for the Loo to change first and then came back where they managed to have about a 10 minute play before we were due to take them for a treat before they hit the road to head home. 

On the way back to the car, we noticed the chopper doing it's patrol along the coast line...

We ended up heading to Macca's just down the road from where we live down here.  It was my Dad's favourite place to visit.  He would go there first thing every morning for his cup of coffee and also to catch up with friends and always sat in the same seat.

So, in Memory of Dad, we visited his Macca and sat in his seat to have an ice cream...

The kids wanted a McFlurry....

enjoying our ice cream treat

Sitting at Dad's table...

It has been a really great day with the kids.  It was after 4pm when we left here and Sarah still had to go home and pack to head back to Brissie.

In the end we convinced here that it would be easier to bath the kids and them all have dinner with us and leave around 7pm to head home.  By this stage the traffic would mostly be gone, the kids were bathed, fed and then all shed needed to do once they got home was put them straight to bed.