the garrison show

the highlight of cairns is without a doubt the doyles.

i blogged earlier that i won big at the toad races; terry is the chap who runs them and he and his son jake are the band that plays beforehand. i came back to johno’s to check them out and ended up chatting with him after the show.

after i went on and on about how much i enjoyed the toad races and his music, we started talking about cairns and i gave him the tourist’s perspective. he invited me back to his spot for a night to sleep in a real bed, get some home-cooked food and see some of the other side of things - he didn’t have to offer twice!

he picked me up at the hostel and we drove about 20 minutes outside the city center to his house. it’s a one-story, 3-bedroom joint that’s cozy and comfortable though his back yard is still in a bit of a shambles since the cyclone hit earlier this year. we put on some coffee and got to chatting…

thanks to him, i was able to see some of cairns’ industry (sugar crops and refineries), undeveloped land and Aboriginies actually living something of the Aboriginal lifestyle. i also got to meet howard, an 83-year old chap still rootin’ arond with the best of them. if howard had a blog, it would kick this blog’s ass, i guarantee it.

i owe him a debt of gratitude for his hospitality but i may be able to repay it in the spring when he and his son come to the states to tour the east coast a bit. hopefully the garrison show will still be on at that point…