Finally flyin'

Well, a dreary Monday in Newcastle, but none-the-less got my first front-seat ride in the AF-18 today.  All was a blast as we rocketed down the coastline at 200 feet from Broughton Island to the Northern tip of the city of Newcastle - seriously - they let you fly 500mph at 200 feet all the way to the city.  They still have some noise restrictions, butting I'm starting to like the flying around here a heckuva lot more than back in Virginia Beach.  Unfortunately I had a more senior ranking officer in the back today so I couldn't get any pics out the window - hopefully only one more ride with a guy in the back and then I can start to really scare myself again.

Enough about work though - Nina and I are making some burritos to offset the inordinate amount of lamb we've been eating for the past few weeks.  Them Aussies love their baby sheep and, well, ya know, when in Rome.  Speaking of meat, we're on the hunt for a Turkey for Thanksgiving, but apparently these folks don't respect the Pilgrims nor Native Americans so we might be eating lambchops for our holiday while watching Rugby instead of the Cowboys.  We have sacrificed sooooo much for the good ole USA in taking this assignment.  Heh heh.

I think we'll survive though - I asked Nina for a surfboard for my birthday - I saw a couple of amazing spots on the flight down the beach today:)

pictures

Ok, I am working on an easy way for non-Facebook users to view our pictures. There is a link on the side of the posts and here is another way... let me know if you have problems viewing them.

Love you all!

Zenith Beach & Port Stephens

Finally I posted!

Okay, so we've been here 3 weeks and, I know, I'm a slacker, but I'm up on the Blog now. Let the thoughts and observations roll. It's currently Sunday morning, 16 hours ahead of a college football weekend back in the States, but really the only sports news in Australia is Cricket and Rugby. I guess it's a good year to be a Michigan football fan when the only way you can find out about their loss to Northwestern is to have your sister email you a gloating message. Way to go, Northwestern, you did what Toledo managed to do this year. Sorry, Katie, I'm embarrassed at my team.

Australia is amazing, not so much because of the cool wildlife and amazing scenery, but more so because it's just a laid back atmosphere where folks lounge around and enjoy their lives. People love their barbecues, their beer, their 6-month old United States pop music and asking us about the presidential election. You'd think Australia just elected Barack Obama president the way it's been covered here! We're doing our best to fit in, though, and while we're new to figuring out how to drive on the left and navigate around round-a-bouts, we're quickly getting acclimated to the friendly and relaxed lifestyle.

Work has been fast-paced for me, and I should be a full-up Australian converted pilot by the end of this week. I'm flying on Monday and Friday, have simulators the rest of the week, and am trying to absorb all the aircraft limitations that are slightly different from the U.S. numbers for the F-18. Go figure - why make something too easy. It's going to be fun though, and the few backseat rides around the countryside have been great - the Aussies are about as crazy as the Brits when it comes to flying low!

All right, Nina and I are off to a market up north of our place to try and find some cheap eats. Let's all hope that US Dollar keeps making gains on the Aussie!

fun weekend

Well, we had a fun and busy weekend here!

We went to the RAAF base sem-annual Officer's formal. Charlie found out about it right after checking-in last week. Of course we did not pack our formal attire when we traveled over here. We decided to go, but that meant finding formal wear for both of us! Charlie rented a tux from one of the local shops and I set out to find a dress. It was definitely a challenge since I had never heard of any of the designers... but I ended up finding a fun dress! We had a great time at the formal and it was a nice way to meet tons of people.

After Friday night Charlie and I decided to head out to Hunter Valley. It's a huge wine region here in Australia and it's also known for it's great food. The drive was only about an hour from our place and it went through cute little rural towns. The day after a big night out wasn't exactly the best time to go taste wines so we decided to taste cheese, olives and olive oils instead. Mmmmm. Sooo delicious! We bought a bunch of cheese, saw TONS of wild kangaroos and explored the area. We cannot wait for people to visit so we can go taste wines with you all! : )

The weather was gorgeous yesterday, (Sunday) so we ended up walking down to the beach and hanging out down there for a while. We sat their wishing we could surf like the tons of people out in the ocean... it definitely doesn't look easy, the waves have to be at least 8 feet high.

Oh, we also bought a car last week! It's a cute little 4 door hatchback... the maker is Holden, an Aussie company. It'll probably end up being my car and Charlie is still looking for another car... he's thinking about a Jackaroo..another Australian made car : )

I guess that's it from here!

Newy

Well, we are officially in our new hometown… Newcastle… or Newy as the locals like to call it. We are learning that Australians abbreviate every word they can and although they speak English, it’s sometimes impossible to understand what they are saying : )

We decided to cancel our flights up here from Canberra on Saturday. The thought of getting back on a plane was not appealing at all and we wanted to see Australia, so we figured a little drive would be nice! The terrain changed a lot between the two cities… at some points it was farmland with tons of sheep and cows and at others lakes and forests. It was really neat to see. After 4 ½ hours of driving we finally arrived in Newcastle…

Newy (yeah, I am a local now) is beautiful! It’s a mix between California coastline, the Outer Banks at some points, and a little hint of Hawaii. The weather has been up and down since we got here… chilly and overcast the first day, warm and sunny yesterday, and windy and rainy today. I guess that’s spring for ya!

We have spent the past few days trying to get orientated, figuring out the mobile phones, internet and driver’s licenses. We will be happy when all of that is over and we can just enjoy the town. We did get a chance to go to Blackbutt Reserve on Sunday afternoon. It’s a cute little park with walking trails and native Australian wildlife. We got to see our first kangaroo (minus the road kill ‘roo we saw on the drive up here) and our first koalas… they are soooo cute! I can’t wait to go back so I can hold one of them… they don’t allow you to hold them on the weekends.

Charlie started work on Monday. His squadron just got back from being in Singapore for a month, so they were not really organized for his check-in. Hopefully it will all get sorted out in the next couple of days! While he’s at work I have been searching for houses, cars, etc. and that has been keeping me busy.

Today is Melbourne Cup Day which seems like a huge holiday. Melbourne Cup is a big horse race where everyone gets dressed-up, even if you are not in Melbourne, and parties… I guess it’s a bit like the Kentucky Derby, but on a Tuesday and celebrated all over the country. Needless to say, I do not have a cute little hat to wear, but I guess we will still go out and see what it’s all about.

That’s about it from here… we love and miss you all!

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=968481&l=1c7cf&id=838603900

"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!!