Day Three: Out and about in Southport

Five thirty is a relatively late start as far as Hughesy's concerned, but with the sound of external rain there seemed little likelihood of a morning walk, so I figured I could lie in for a bit before rising and tapping out the rest of the Travelogue to date.

A pause somewhere like Southport is invariably an excuse for a shopping excursion, and with issues like the need for a SIM card and a screen protector for the iPad, a new pair of joggers for Hughesy and a replacement jacket for The Photographer, it's not hard to guess where we were headed later in the morning.

At first, I'd thought that the expedition would be confined to Southport and Harbour Town but reports from The Nephew of an actual Apple Store in Robina means that we'll probably be ranging far and wide in search of these items, with subsequent evaluation of options and possible later issues with regard to the preparation of a long-simmered pasta sauce that'll feed the crew tonight with the surplus going into the freezer for later on.

That, in any case, was the theory as I tapped it out in the predawn gloom. I knew that the presence of precipitation was going to rule out the morning walk, which was a pity because I'd wanted to have a look at developments in the Broadwater Parklands, but as the light failed to burst through and what was currently masquerading as day dawned it was obvious we weren't going to be venturing too far afield.

Investigations into the SIM card options had us heading to Dick Smith, doing a circuit through Australia Fair, and heading back to the formerly electronic Dick to make the purchase. Pastries from the Southport Bakery were going to have to do for a late breakfast, and then it was back out into the wilds of Southport's retail precinct to chase up our individual requirements.

I didn't actually require anything of any significance, but had to buy the ingredients for the evening meal, a process that needed to be completed in two stages, with a takeaway Kung Po chicken from the Asian supermarket strategically placed in the middle.

Actually I could have done the lot in one fell swoop, but that would have entailed diverting to the butcher and the bottle shop when I really needed to get stuck into the Kung Po.

In any case, the afternoon was spent in relative idleness interspersed by brief bursts of cooking action, largely of the stir and add another ladle of beef stock while the sugo slowly seethed variety.

Given the regular early to bed early to rise cycle, it probably comes as no surprise to learn we were both pushing up Zs by about eight thirty.