"hi" from OZ !

We are FINALLY here in Australia!!

It's a minor miracle since the Navy scheduled all of our flights to get here and left us only 40 minutes in Dulles and 45 minutes in San Francisco to make our connections. We literally ran from the domestic to the international terminal in San Fran and thank goodness we made it!! Our luggage somehow made it as well!

I had been dreading the 14 hour flight we had from San Francisco to Sydney, but in the end it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We ended up with an entire row to ourselves (4 seats) so we got a decent amount of sleep!

We had been a little nervous about getting through customs in Sydney, but when we got there Charlie was chosen by a customs officer to be a tester for the customs dogs. So we breezed through the lines... minus the couple of dogs that would stop and stare at Charlie... then after all of that worrying they didn't even inspect our bags.

From Sydney we flew to Canberra where we were picked up by the Navy Administrator who works at the Embassy. He dropped us and our eight bags here at the Crowne Plaza Canberra, where we have been since.

Our first day here we tried to stay awake as late as possible - we only made it to 9pm. We had a great dinner out at a cute little cafe... I had fried prawns with a chili lime dip... Mmmmmmm... delicious.

We have spent the past couple of days wondering around Canberra trying to get our bank account opened, cell phones (or mobiles, as they call it)figured out and car sorted out before Charlie has to start work on Monday. It's been nice wondering around the city. It's very clean and all very new. It has lots of parks and tons of cute restaurants.

Right now Charlie is at the Embassy, hopefully for the last time this week. If so, we might be able to tour the city a bit more tomorrow, although everything thing we have heard so far, including from the locals, Canberra isn't the most exciting place in Australia by any means. So, that said I can't wait to get to Newcastle, because everyone has raved about it!!

Love you all! More to come soon!

goodbye 237 granby

It's paper plates, plastic utensils, and Scrabble until Sunday. The last of our stuff is heading out of the door as we speak. After a day of packing and a day of loading, our furniture and belongings are packed in crates, ready to make the journey around the world. Hopefully they will arrive in one piece and on time... 42 days they are telling us. I will believe it when I see it : )

After all of the planning and anticipation, we are just ready to be in Australia!!