We're Here! AM

Day 1 (Ok, so it’s more like Day 1-3 – we lost a day or so in there somewhere)

Bye Bye Farmhouse! Bye Bye USA

DK and I have arrived!  Since we seem to have beat DS by a day and E by a month (they were far too busy playing in LA – hope DS made his flight) we thought it would be appropriate for us to kick off the group blog. And, since David is in the midst of cooking our first meal here in Australia I guess I’ll go first!

First off – I have to say I am quite proud of having had such a highly successful and ambitious arrival day. Secondly, I am wearing shorts and a tank top in the middle of winter at 6:30pm – AWESOME!

Our Life in Luggage

I am sure I’ll have much more witty commentary once I’ve actually slept, but since I know we have a contingent of friends and family back home wondering if we made it safe, here goes!

Quick run down of our first day in Oz (love that word)

-  Flew over fireworks when landing in LAX = super cool

-  LAX to Brisbane = 14 hours in the air, but we scored exit row seats and after watching two movies slept most of the way so flight was not nearly as bad as we feared.

18hrs later - Made it Through Customs

-  Cleared customs no prob, even with a ridiculous amount of luggage (six 70lb checked bags, two boxed bikes and four carry-ons). The only small glitch was when our driver took one look at me (with the bikes on a trolly) and said, “we gotta a problem…” Not to worry – he borrowed a fellow driver's trailer, attached it to his rig.

-  Arrived at Wyndham Surfer’s Paradise – room wasn’t ready so we grabbed breakfast and headed to the bike shop with our boxed bikes.

"We got a problem..." - Too much luggage!

- While waiting for the bike assembly, we shopped for a bed (it is REALLY hard to test beds and not actually fall asleep when you are this tired), grabbed a coffee (necessary after the bed thing) and perused an electronics store, going into sticker shock over the price of TVs.

- Rode bikes (on left side of the road) back to hotel to check-in and shower (yeah)

Wyndham Surfers Paradise - Our First Home

- Rode bikes to the beach – AMAZING! Had to keep reminding each other that we actually LIVE here now! WOW!

- Rode around Surfers Paradise, then back to hotel to call rental agents. Got some apts set up, including one for tonight, then we walked to store for groceries (again sticker shock), made a quick snack and went on our most ambitious ride of the day.

First Stop

- In a two-stop loop, we rode to the bike shop (again) followed by an our first apartment viewing. Had to hit the bike shop again because we realized DK lost his light (forgot to mention his bike box had exploded by the time we picked it up from baggage claim – fortunately bike is Ok, however his helmet didn’t fare as well and is missing a big chunk).

Our Room

- Rode to the “Ashmore” neighborhood to view a duplex – ugh! Older, too small and with a distinct odor. As we left, DK and I were joking with each other about the commentary we’d hear from DS if he had seen it. Looking forward to tomorrow’s visit to the Southport community - wish us luck!

- Mr. Toads wild ride home – in the dark (dark around 5pm –whhhaaaattt??) – exhilarating and a bit scary – this whole left side of the road is going to take some getting used to.

Surfers Paradise

- Home cooked dinner by the DK, blogging and….at last… sleeping! 

Lessons Learned - 1) Dog needs references confirming formal obedience training to help us get into a "pet friendly" location. 2) Must provide own fridge & washer/dryer when renting an apartment. 

Cheers mates!

~A

THE BEACH!