Wow - one look at this photo, and you'll know why this is called the Gold Coast...

Anyway, enough daydreaming of tropical beach vacations for me. Welcome, friends, to beautiful Queensland, Australia, where you'll find Broadbeach! About 3,600 lucky souls call the Broadbeach area home year round, with many thousand more coming to stay and play for a few days each year. (Can you blame them?) Popular activites include picnics in the park, golf, shopping, and laying in the sun and not worrying about those bills back home...

Here, the beans enjoy a stunning view of Queensland from the seashore, while wishing that they had remembered to pack their Speedo...

Next up, the beans decide to see the view from sandy Kirra Beach, a resort community with a huge park, oceanfront hotels, and some killer surfing. The beans spent their day walking along the beachfront soaking up the sun and trying to keep sand out of their label, to no avail...

Here, the beans visit the beach at Coolangatta, on the southern end of Queensland's Gold Coast, where you are permitted to swim in the area between the two posted yellow and red flags. Stay in this area, and the the odds of being dragged out to sea and becoming fish food are a lot less (something the beans are all in favor of...). And for heavens sake, keep your eyes out for the red bell-shaped signs, which means that there's a shark danger. No need in filming "Jaws 5" while on holiday, now is there?

Finally, here's Mark himself, enjoying some shade with the beans. Mark wrote the following: "While taking the picture of me, I met a lady from California who was amazed to see the Beans that she actually cooks with!! I was even given recipe ideas. She asked if I worked for the company, and then I explained the whole Bean Story to her. Hopefully I have recruited another member..

Now, the beans don't see what's so unusual about their being in Queensland - heck, they've been all over the place - and yes, maybe we have made a believer out of the nice American tourist, even if she did have to go 5,000 miles from home to find it. :)