2 sleeps...thank you Mike!

I woke up on Wednesday feeling no better, even after a solid night's sleep and yesterday's dip in the pool. Toni suggested a couple of masseurs who might be able to straighten me up a bit and I headed down Macrossan street to find either of them.

Michael Joseph at Deep Massage & Body Work was just opening the door when I arrived. He stood at about 6'6" and his friendly grin quickly turned upside down when he saw me try to sit down to arrange an appointment.

'So do you know what you want?'

'Well I'm getting married in 2 days and I can't stand up or sit down or even walk without feeling like a 90 year old' I blurted. He asked a couple more questions before declaring it was Quadratus Lomborum, and the good news is that it's easily treatable. Phew!
I headed across the road to pick up a couple of coffees from rehab. This place has the best reputation in town and I couldn't resist a pair of 'Outpatient' stubby holders. Like most places in QLD- you wouldn't want to be in a rush but the coffees were terrific and definitely worth the wait.

When I came back an hour later for the appointment Mike showed me the problem on the muscular chart and I learned about why it was starting to affect my legs and upper back. Generally if your lower back is sore, it means your thigh muscles are already tight as they've been carrying the weight. And as you try to brace yourself and distribute the weight away from your lower back, that's when your upper back starts to carry the extra, so it gets sore too. We started with 2 amazing but excruciating stretches that I was only allowed to use sparingly, before Mike got to work on a very strong 1 hour massage. It hurt. He knew. I winced and tried to bear it in the hope that I would improve faster. I have never felt that kind of power in knuckles or elbows ever before! I'd just try to brace myself as he repeated the movements. As an extra special treat, he put some hot stones under my back ('just because you're getting married').

When I stood up, I wasn't cured but I felt a lot better. I could even reach down and put my shoes on!

When I got back to our Villa Trav was content munching on his sandwich and as Michelle and Ryan had gone to Cairns for the night I persuaded Mum to join me for a bucket of prawns and bubbly on the decks of the Tin Shed. http://www.thetinshed-portdouglas.com.au/

Not to be confused with the Iron Bar, the Tin Shed is home to the Port Douglas Combined Club, and with a deck over the water, it's a lovely spot for a meal. Mum and I enjoyed our indulgent lunch - we'd been talking about fresh prawns for so long that it was about time we ate them! They were small but so sweet and juicy!

After the obligatory photos, we started making our way back home and I heard from Louise and Deborah that they had finally arrived. The first thing I did was knock on Deborah's door until Coral answered - explaining that Deborah was upstairs in bed, ill with a serious chest infection! Ooops. I retreated quietly and Mum, Trav and I prepared welcome drinks for the McIntosh's who would arrive soon. We greeted them with beer and bubbly (not that they hadn't already started on the way from Cairns of course!!).

It didn't take long for them to join us in the pool for the afternoon.



The skies greyed as we headed over to the beach for our first guest meet up - it started to drizzle! Spirits still high, we madly texted everyone we could think of, inviting them back to Coral Seas instead. Soon people started wandering up the driveway - there was Louise and Daniel, Eileen & Kim and Tracy and Dean! Dennis and Robyn - Kat and Matt and David and Andrea... more and more familiar faces appeared and  we all toasted the beginning of this exciting adventure with drinks and snacks.

As dusk approached, the rain cleared and we found ourselves at the beach afterall, the boys kicking the footy and Kate and I wandered off to check out a hidden path through the trees.

We met most guests at the Iron Bar again that night, this time with tickets to see the Cane Toad Races. Our friend Nick wasn't running them but it was still a hoot. Kat got up, as did Dean and Kate - I'll never forget when the MC coaxed Kate towards the bucket (again) to pick up her toad, then madly shook the bucket causing her to squeal!

We stayed around for the band and had a few dances but moved on soon after as they weren't taking our requests! Next stop - the Courthouse Hotel where an accoustic performer was playing downstairs...SOMEONE kept refreshing my glass after every sip and I quickly decided I'd had just about enough for one evening. On the way back home Trav and I did an awful practice of our dance in the Port Village courtyard.