Welcome to the world of whimsy -

First impressions of Australia - courtesy, Quantas Airlines.

Their safety card, which describes the electronic devices you can't use while the plane is in the air? Includes a Furby. And the ad for the Duty Free shop was cute - chides the passenger for arriving empty-handed - "You have until this plane lands to fix this!" Reasons you can't claim for arriving without a gift included "A Llama ate it." With diagram.

Steve Erwin does the message for incoming passengers to declare anything you shouldn't be carrying in your bags (food, plants, etc.) - and he wasn't kidding. That was one of the toughest customs I'd ever gotten through - and one of the nicest at the same time. The dogs alerted on our bags (thankfully, I'd decided to declare - just to be safe) - they had alerted on Jim's gummy bears. The prepacked curries, the Luna bars - nah. Gummy bears.

davidh_aus met us (OH SCHWEET) - just in time to see the first A380 from Airbus land outside to get painted for Quantas before it left for a county-wide tour. We got videotape. We also picked up our rental car, which was another adventure - this time, in how much luggage you can actually put into a very small vehicle, and then add three passengers. The car is a Hyundai Getz - and it closely resembles a Battletech pod on wheels. About as roomy, too. With the steering wheel on the right side. David directed us to a local shopping area, where we got our first meal and look around - and were able to do some grocery shopping. After we parted, we drove for about an hour or so south to the hotel.

And then the fun began. (Not to say that driving on a freeway - when you aren't used to driving on the left hand side of the road - after a long flight - isn't interesting enough.) No, when we got to the hotel, we were informed that our room wasn't ready - and wouldn't be ready for over an hour. Then we were told to put up $400 as a cash deposit. When I protested, they dropped it to $200 - but I think if I had refused entirely, they would have had to put up and let us in anyway. BUT - wave goodbye to it, there goes a hunk of our budget where we can't get at it. Terrific. The front desk has been like that the entire stay - we can only cash $100 of traveler's checks at a time. We can only ask for housekeeping once a week (we had the come over this morning to pick up trash from all the fast food bags. Thought it would be appropriate, yanno?) and the phone is prohibitive. One local call to verify our tour on Monday was $5.40. The internet? $28 a day. We made sure someone knew about the broken, dented things we found when we got in. Other than that - the hotel has been comfortable and quite satisfactory. BUT THE COST AUGH.

I've found an internet cafe that's $7 for two hours and I have two weeks to use it up. I think that'll do.

deense shows up Thursday night - and she'll be with us until Saturday morning, when we go home. Trying to get a call back to davidh_aus - we've got tonight and tomorrow night clear (or if you like, come meet someone new) - but trying to make contact has been less than, um, easy.

Will post more about Australia Zoo when I have the time to be verbose - the park is definitely worth it. Steve Erwin wasn't there, but that's like asking Walt Disney to be at Disneyland - there's only one of him, and it's clear he's a busy man. The Zoo, however, is an incredible facility - that can only grow further and differentiate into something to rival any zoo I've ever visited.

Politics? We got hit by the bomb hoax coming home from the Zoo. The Aussies were a little surprised by it and not pleased - watch them turn it around and figure out how they're being yanked around by their own government. They'll do it quickly.

Oh, and they took down all the American flags here at this Radisson because of the bombing in Jordan at the Radisson there. Didn't want to present a target here. (The fellow who came over to get the trash was a Pinoy with family in Carson. He wasn't impressed and appreciated the fact I wasn't either. Politics here - haven't seen Bush on television, but I surely have Clinton. Ten years since Rabin was assassinated - and that was news. So was the birth of a baby to a woman nearly stabbed to death, five months ago.) Yes, align yourself with a government like the Bush administration, and get tarred with the same brush - uh, no thanks.

Then add the guest book the used book dealer at the Carrara Market showed me on Sunday - it was the guest book from a holiday home in Germany, the entries dating from 1898. I think the reason it was in Australia was that family had immigrated there - or part had - the bookseller said that the family was just clearing out a lot of books, and these she had from that collection. How did I end up seeing it? I asked for a book of local recipes, and she had this one German - hand-done entries. And the guest book had been with it.

Um. Jewish family. I don't know if I'm going to be the caretaker of these books or not - I told her to take them back to the family and let them know what these were. But this is the record of a family and their friends in German, that dated back before WWI - or WWII. If I end up taking it home, it goes straight to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. I swear it.

Oh, the things I find on vacation. It's been quite an adventure, so far.

Will check in later - hope you are all well. Got word from home - Mom went in for her procedure and is doing well, albeit drugged. I hope to find out more - but I'm dealing with a 15 hour delay and email right now. No news is good news. *nods firmly*

rdwayneright - make sure I get contact information for when you're in town, I don't want to miss you!

Welcome to the world of whimsy -

First impressions of Australia - courtesy, Quantas Airlines.

Their safety card, which describes the electronic devices you can't use while the plane is in the air? Includes a Furby. And the ad for the Duty Free shop was cute - chides the passenger for arriving empty-handed - "You have until this plane lands to fix this!" Reasons you can't claim for arriving without a gift included "A Llama ate it." With diagram.

Steve Erwin does the message for incoming passengers to declare anything you shouldn't be carrying in your bags (food, plants, etc.) - and he wasn't kidding. That was one of the toughest customs I'd ever gotten through - and one of the nicest at the same time. The dogs alerted on our bags (thankfully, I'd decided to declare - just to be safe) - they had alerted on Jim's gummy bears. The prepacked curries, the Luna bars - nah. Gummy bears.

davidh_aus met us (OH SCHWEET) - just in time to see the first A380 from Airbus land outside to get painted for Quantas before it left for a county-wide tour. We got videotape. We also picked up our rental car, which was another adventure - this time, in how much luggage you can actually put into a very small vehicle, and then add three passengers. The car is a Hyundai Getz - and it closely resembles a Battletech pod on wheels. About as roomy, too. With the steering wheel on the right side. David directed us to a local shopping area, where we got our first meal and look around - and were able to do some grocery shopping. After we parted, we drove for about an hour or so south to the hotel.

And then the fun began. (Not to say that driving on a freeway - when you aren't used to driving on the left hand side of the road - after a long flight - isn't interesting enough.) No, when we got to the hotel, we were informed that our room wasn't ready - and wouldn't be ready for over an hour. Then we were told to put up $400 as a cash deposit. When I protested, they dropped it to $200 - but I think if I had refused entirely, they would have had to put up and let us in anyway. BUT - wave goodbye to it, there goes a hunk of our budget where we can't get at it. Terrific. The front desk has been like that the entire stay - we can only cash $100 of traveler's checks at a time. We can only ask for housekeeping once a week (we had the come over this morning to pick up trash from all the fast food bags. Thought it would be appropriate, yanno?) and the phone is prohibitive. One local call to verify our tour on Monday was $5.40. The internet? $28 a day. We made sure someone knew about the broken, dented things we found when we got in. Other than that - the hotel has been comfortable and quite satisfactory. BUT THE COST AUGH.

I've found an internet cafe that's $7 for two hours and I have two weeks to use it up. I think that'll do.

deense shows up Thursday night - and she'll be with us until Saturday morning, when we go home. Trying to get a call back to davidh_aus - we've got tonight and tomorrow night clear (or if you like, come meet someone new) - but trying to make contact has been less than, um, easy.

Will post more about Australia Zoo when I have the time to be verbose - the park is definitely worth it. Steve Erwin wasn't there, but that's like asking Walt Disney to be at Disneyland - there's only one of him, and it's clear he's a busy man. The Zoo, however, is an incredible facility - that can only grow further and differentiate into something to rival any zoo I've ever visited.

Politics? We got hit by the bomb hoax coming home from the Zoo. The Aussies were a little surprised by it and not pleased - watch them turn it around and figure out how they're being yanked around by their own government. They'll do it quickly.

Oh, and they took down all the American flags here at this Radisson because of the bombing in Jordan at the Radisson there. Didn't want to present a target here. (The fellow who came over to get the trash was a Pinoy with family in Carson. He wasn't impressed and appreciated the fact I wasn't either. Politics here - haven't seen Bush on television, but I surely have Clinton. Ten years since Rabin was assassinated - and that was news. So was the birth of a baby to a woman nearly stabbed to death, five months ago.) Yes, align yourself with a government like the Bush administration, and get tarred with the same brush - uh, no thanks.

Then add the guest book the used book dealer at the Carrara Market showed me on Sunday - it was the guest book from a holiday home in Germany, the entries dating from 1898. I think the reason it was in Australia was that family had immigrated there - or part had - the bookseller said that the family was just clearing out a lot of books, and these she had from that collection. How did I end up seeing it? I asked for a book of local recipes, and she had this one German - hand-done entries. And the guest book had been with it.

Um. Jewish family. I don't know if I'm going to be the caretaker of these books or not - I told her to take them back to the family and let them know what these were. But this is the record of a family and their friends in German, that dated back before WWI - or WWII. If I end up taking it home, it goes straight to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. I swear it.

Oh, the things I find on vacation. It's been quite an adventure, so far.

Will check in later - hope you are all well. Got word from home - Mom went in for her procedure and is doing well, albeit drugged. I hope to find out more - but I'm dealing with a 15 hour delay and email right now. No news is good news. *nods firmly*

rdwayneright - make sure I get contact information for when you're in town, I don't want to miss you!

Welcome to the world of whimsy -

First impressions of Australia - courtesy, Quantas Airlines.

Their safety card, which describes the electronic devices you can't use while the plane is in the air? Includes a Furby. And the ad for the Duty Free shop was cute - chides the passenger for arriving empty-handed - "You have until this plane lands to fix this!" Reasons you can't claim for arriving without a gift included "A Llama ate it." With diagram.

Steve Erwin does the message for incoming passengers to declare anything you shouldn't be carrying in your bags (food, plants, etc.) - and he wasn't kidding. That was one of the toughest customs I'd ever gotten through - and one of the nicest at the same time. The dogs alerted on our bags (thankfully, I'd decided to declare - just to be safe) - they had alerted on Jim's gummy bears. The prepacked curries, the Luna bars - nah. Gummy bears.

davidh_aus met us (OH SCHWEET) - just in time to see the first A380 from Airbus land outside to get painted for Quantas before it left for a county-wide tour. We got videotape. We also picked up our rental car, which was another adventure - this time, in how much luggage you can actually put into a very small vehicle, and then add three passengers. The car is a Hyundai Getz - and it closely resembles a Battletech pod on wheels. About as roomy, too. With the steering wheel on the right side. David directed us to a local shopping area, where we got our first meal and look around - and were able to do some grocery shopping. After we parted, we drove for about an hour or so south to the hotel.

And then the fun began. (Not to say that driving on a freeway - when you aren't used to driving on the left hand side of the road - after a long flight - isn't interesting enough.) No, when we got to the hotel, we were informed that our room wasn't ready - and wouldn't be ready for over an hour. Then we were told to put up $400 as a cash deposit. When I protested, they dropped it to $200 - but I think if I had refused entirely, they would have had to put up and let us in anyway. BUT - wave goodbye to it, there goes a hunk of our budget where we can't get at it. Terrific. The front desk has been like that the entire stay - we can only cash $100 of traveler's checks at a time. We can only ask for housekeeping once a week (we had the come over this morning to pick up trash from all the fast food bags. Thought it would be appropriate, yanno?) and the phone is prohibitive. One local call to verify our tour on Monday was $5.40. The internet? $28 a day. We made sure someone knew about the broken, dented things we found when we got in. Other than that - the hotel has been comfortable and quite satisfactory. BUT THE COST AUGH.

I've found an internet cafe that's $7 for two hours and I have two weeks to use it up. I think that'll do.

deense shows up Thursday night - and she'll be with us until Saturday morning, when we go home. Trying to get a call back to davidh_aus - we've got tonight and tomorrow night clear (or if you like, come meet someone new) - but trying to make contact has been less than, um, easy.

Will post more about Australia Zoo when I have the time to be verbose - the park is definitely worth it. Steve Erwin wasn't there, but that's like asking Walt Disney to be at Disneyland - there's only one of him, and it's clear he's a busy man. The Zoo, however, is an incredible facility - that can only grow further and differentiate into something to rival any zoo I've ever visited.

Politics? We got hit by the bomb hoax coming home from the Zoo. The Aussies were a little surprised by it and not pleased - watch them turn it around and figure out how they're being yanked around by their own government. They'll do it quickly.

Oh, and they took down all the American flags here at this Radisson because of the bombing in Jordan at the Radisson there. Didn't want to present a target here. (The fellow who came over to get the trash was a Pinoy with family in Carson. He wasn't impressed and appreciated the fact I wasn't either. Politics here - haven't seen Bush on television, but I surely have Clinton. Ten years since Rabin was assassinated - and that was news. So was the birth of a baby to a woman nearly stabbed to death, five months ago.) Yes, align yourself with a government like the Bush administration, and get tarred with the same brush - uh, no thanks.

Then add the guest book the used book dealer at the Carrara Market showed me on Sunday - it was the guest book from a holiday home in Germany, the entries dating from 1898. I think the reason it was in Australia was that family had immigrated there - or part had - the bookseller said that the family was just clearing out a lot of books, and these she had from that collection. How did I end up seeing it? I asked for a book of local recipes, and she had this one German - hand-done entries. And the guest book had been with it.

Um. Jewish family. I don't know if I'm going to be the caretaker of these books or not - I told her to take them back to the family and let them know what these were. But this is the record of a family and their friends in German, that dated back before WWI - or WWII. If I end up taking it home, it goes straight to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. I swear it.

Oh, the things I find on vacation. It's been quite an adventure, so far.

Will check in later - hope you are all well. Got word from home - Mom went in for her procedure and is doing well, albeit drugged. I hope to find out more - but I'm dealing with a 15 hour delay and email right now. No news is good news. *nods firmly*

rdwayneright - make sure I get contact information for when you're in town, I don't want to miss you!