Powerpuff Girls Nowhere In Sight

I've spent the last four days and three nights in fabulous Townsville, Queensland. This entry is going to get long, so I'm moving it below the fold.

Townsville is a smallish city, and while I can't be bothered to compare demographics, it felt about the size of Elmira, NY. Economically it was only so-so; there were plenty of shuttered shops, but no visible urban decay.

I shared a room with Cpl O_ and Sgt R_ from my shop, at the Central City Motel. It had three beds, clearly intended for families. Close to downtown, it served our needs, although the third star it had was, shall we say, iffy.

Downtown was a walking mall/promenade, just like in Brisbane. Then came a street of resteraunts and bars, more the latter than the former. None of us did any serious drinking, so we were annoyed that shops in Townsville close early. Very early. Most places shut their doors at 5 PM, and even convenience stores were closed by 6 PM. Most annoying.

We went to their city museum, which had a nice section on the HMS Pandora, the ship sent to recover the men responsible for the Mutiny on the Bounty. The Pandora struck the Great Barrier Reef and sank, killing quite a few, and the survivors had to take small boats on a long trip without water to safety. Karma strikes again.

We also went to the city's aquarium, Reef HQ. It's an enclosed Great Barrier Reef pool, with coral and fish. We were there on a day that they feed the big fish, so we saw a lot messy shark munching, although the sea turtle was the messiest of all. Lots of photos were taken. I was sad that my new lens is still in the mail, and I'll probably get it when mail call goes tomorrow. The new lens is quite "fast" and would have been a great help in the dim light underwater, photographing the fish through the aquarium windows.

Then we checked out the Maritime Museum, which was half about the area's WW II history and half about the SS Yongala, a famous local shipwreck that I'm told is the most dived-upon wreck in the world. It's in a sheltered spot and wasn't rediscovered until fairly recently, so it's in fine shape; and it's so close to the surface that even snorklers can get close enough to see.

Today we finshed up our stay with a spot of lawn bowling at the Townsville Lawn Bowling Club. They're looking forward to their centennial in 2012, and were thrilled that young Americans were stopping by to give it a go. They were talking of putting up a sign by the pier next time a US ship pulls in.

Backtracking slightly, I was unable to take any photos of us pulling in to port, because I was manning the rails. Er, "at quarters", because technically manning the rails is done to welcome someone aboard. At any rate, a selection of Marines and sailors put on nice uniforms and stand at double arm interval at parade rest along the edge of the flight deck. I was posted up at the center rear. Staring at the flagpole. Watching the wake. I couldn't see anything except the ocean we'd just come from. After the first hour had passed while we were heading up the dredged and marked channel, I was becoming slightly irritated about the whole affair. But I finally got something to look at, as the tugs spun the ship 180° in the basin in front of out berth. I finally got a look at the town, and could also see who all was watching us in our military finery... pretty much no one other than the wharfies there to tie us up. For this I got cold at 0600?

But hey, I'd lost some weight on the voyage so far, so my trousers were nice and loose. I think I've gained it all back in Townsville though. Three doors down from the hotel was a place called "A Spoonfull of Sugar". It was an old-style candy shop, with shelves and shelves of glass jars. Plus fresh fudge. Mmmm, fudge. When we walked up, there was a young couple with a girl of about four playing in the sidewalk outside; we walked inside the store, and the three of them rushed inside to get behind the counter. Quite the small family business.

Then about two blocks away was the "Great Australian Creamery", a rather nice ice cream shop. I became quite fond of their lime and their honeycomb flavors, and I intend to duplicate both when I return to CONUS.

I'm back on the boat, a bit early; liberty expires at midnight. But as I mentioned before, there's nothing to do but drink after about five o'clock, so we decided to call it a day.

And now if you'll excuse me, I am going to eat some fudge. Mmmm, fudge…

Posted by: Boviate at 05:07 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 815 words, total size 5 kb.