wow, well we finally made it. that is one long ass flight - made longer with small whirling dervish we call our daughter... and as usual, detouring adventures abound for the gardners.
our 8 pm plane out of albequerque was delayed due to weather (much thanks to abi for helping us haul all our carry-ons - stroller, car seat, guitar, diaper bag, school bag, back packs, baby - to our gate) so we missed our connecting flight to sydney. bummer. sarah, you'll be envious to here we had to spend an unexpected 24 hrs (because, of course, there are not frequent flights to australia, even from la) in the city of angels, where, thanks to a rental car and the ENORMOUS generosity of whitney's sister, julie, we did find a peaceful place to stay with food and beer and baby toys and fresh food before hopping on the 14 hr flight to sydney. much benadryl and only 6 hrs later, nova was wide awake trying to scream her way in to first class (kid's got taste). elbows flying side to side, she made many laps up and down the aisles and through the galley, payton and i switching off between exhaustion and nova.
shockingly, the flight came to an end and we finally landed in aus. where, adam, i have yet to see a corn dog. but oh, the meat pie is very tasty. krista, this will offend mike enormously, but for us it is a comfort - i feel like he's always near us because every dude sounds like him. anyway, customs was a treat. not only did we have the aforementioned carry-ons, but now we had to cart our luggage as well - 6 very large (wheelie, fortunately) bags. everyone was very friendly and loved to tease us about "how long are you staying?!", it was gratifying to answer that yes, all this baggage is in fact necessary because we are now living here. so after customs, we had, literally, about a mile trek pushing, pulling, or carrying some 600# of luggage between the 2 of us to the end of the terminal where we would catch ANOTHER flight... to adelaide. dripping with sweat and feeling uncomfortably like the beverly hillbillies, we finally made it to the qantas gate. the poor woman didn't know what to do with us or all our stuff, so after much measuring, weighing, calling to higher ups, and waiving of MAJOR baggage fees, we finally got to get on the bus to get to the terminal to get on our plane. fortunately, nova was cheery as a cheerio and the cereal they served us for breakfast on the flight has in fact become one of our favorites and remains steadily stocked in our little extended stay hotel kitchen.
once we got to our little one room apt., nova took a 17 hr nap and payton and i tried to stay up as long as possible to get through the time change asap. adelaide, oddly enough, is 30 minutes ahead of sydney, so we are 16 1/2 hrs ahead of all you in the states (mountain time). after a blurry week of recovery, house hunting, a lot of tea and a frantic search for decent coffee (instant is rather popular over here. and they don't have 1/2 and 1/2, you get the real thing, baby, all cream), we are finally getting on our feet. payton has gone in to work, confirmed that his guitar made the transition just fine, and is currently out car hunting. nova, because she sleeps better without us in the room, has a twin mattress on the floor of the single bedroom, sleeping sweetly next to the double bed in there, leaving payton and me to figure it out on the other twin bed that's set up in the living area. so, instead of being barefoot and pregnant in a trailer in wyoming (as i was a couple years ago when we were working in yellowstone), we are now back to how we used to sleep in college, and have only slightly more in the bank. although this time, all our stuff doesn't fit in the back of our truck....
nonetheless, we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves and having fun getting to know an entirely new system. driving is breathtaking, mainly because a right hand turn leaves you facing off with other cars at the intersection - an experience more commonly left to the left-hand turn in the states. the beach is beautiful and very fun to play on. the days are quite short, shadows rather long, but even though it is fall, when it rains it feels like spring.
ken - we looked at a house the other day and the fellow showing it looked so much like you, we looked around the place a few more times just to see him and feel like we'd seen you that day. unfortunately the place was a shit hole, but it was nice to see you with an australian accent all the same. whitney, where are you and kai? nova picked up the "more" sign from kai right before we left and now she taps her fists together and says "mommy, mommy, mommy" all the time for...everything.
hope all is well for everyone. please forward this email on to anyone you think would like to get it. i know we have plenty of friends who are not on facebook, so pass it on. we'd love to hear from you. we usually have skype turned on - your evening is our morning.
cheers,
lindsey
ps. i'll post pictures as soon as we unload boxes and find the camera cord.
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