G'day from Australia!

Traveling always has it's ups and downs.  This trip is no exception.  Mind you, I'm not complaining.  Not a bit.  We're having a great time.  But the facts must be recorded!

Up:  Free trip to Cairns, Australia.  Free plane tickets, bus tickets, and accommodations!   (Thank you SO MUCH for coming to Misawa, Survivors!!!)

Down:  Left my prescription medications at home.  Dang.
Down:  Red eye out of Tokyo was less than restful for Doug and Gray.
Up:  Empty flight meant I got to spread out and sleep!  (Sorry Doug and Gray.)
Down:  Flight regulations that require waking sleeping babies every time the plane hits turbulence!

Up:  Arrived in time for breakfast and ate a FABULOUS meal at "Perrotta's at the Gallery".
Me:  French Toast with caramelized pear, King Country Vanilla Yoghurt and raspberry syrup.  Yep.  It was divine.  (Doug had a yummy fritatta with mushrooms.)

Up:  Beautiful hotel!

Up:  Doug took me right to Target (a few blocks into town) as requested.
Down:  It's super expensive here--even at Target.  Plus, it's the wrong season.  I was looking for a few casual t-shirts to wear while here.  They have out the long sleeve flannel shirts for fall!  D'oh!  (Always good to be back at Target regardless, though...)

Down:  Had to visit the Cairns 24-hour Clinic.
Up:  Got my prescription.
Up:  Got to explore the Cairns ghetto and meet a sampling of the indigent population!  (Now really...how many tourists can say that?!?)
Down:  Out a cool $110.
Up:  Made me that much more grateful for health insurance and free prescriptions back home in Misawa!!

Up:  It's warm and humid and warm and warm and delightfully warm!!!  I'm soaking in as much vitamin D as possible!
Down:  It's still a bit rainy--got rained on all day today on Green Island.  (It was still beautiful and fun.  Just wet.)

Up:  Gray is so so so so cute and adorable.
Down:  Gray is one.  Not good at walking, swimming, napping on-the-go, or communicating.  Makes traveling with him a little tricky.  But he's still been remarkably cute and happy despite the crazy shift in his routine.

Up:  Cute new travel shoes!
Down:  Million new travel blisters!
Up:  38 band-aids later, NO PAIN (practically).

Up:  I love love love the different accents and dialects and colloquialisms and idioms!!!   It's so fun to listen to people talking here!  Doesn't even matter what they're talking about, it just SOUNDS awesome!

Up:  Little kids (and some adults) keep calling Gray "Bubby".  It's adorable!   i.e.:  "Hey Mahm...It's eh Bubby!" and "Hey lil Bubby, wahs yo neame?!"

Down:  My Australian accent.  I keep trying to perfect it, but it comes out a cross between Swedish and East-Indian.

Up:  We're in a tropical paradise surrounded by beautiful blue/green water.
Down:  We're on an island surrounded by bad-evil-killer-death water.  The first thing we did was discuss our plan of action should we hear a tsunami warning.  (Okay, so maybe it was more me demanding to know which direction I should run if sirens started going off...)

Down:  We miss the big boys lots and wish they were here with us!  :(  (Gabe is currently crying himself to sleep in an attempt to guilt me into coming home immediately.  After our Skype conversation tonight, I'd get on a plane right now if I could...)

Up:  We're having a fabulous time!  No down-side to that!!!