G'day Mate!

We went to the Gold Coast on Australia's west side. It is a direct flight from our airport here in Japan to the Gold Coast airport and so for our maiden voyage with a baby on a plane, we decided it would be relatively safe and easy. He was a trooper the whole trip even though our first 24 hours should be the next National Lampoon/Chevy Chase movie.

We left the house Saturday late afternoon to catch our 9pm flight. We drive 40 minutes to the ferry...take the ferry for 30 min. to the dock, take a bus for 5 min. to the airport. Not always easy when the ocean is rough but it is free parking and probably the shortest and cheapest route to take. I had packed everything....or so I thought. Halfway to the airport, I realized I had forgotten the front pack carrier. I was planning to use it to leave both arms free and for ease of sleeping on the plane, etc. I was very bummed to say the least but we tried to move past it and go on with our trip. Got to the airport and no one was in line (bonus!) so we headed up to the front. We asked about the Sky Cot (bassinet on the plane) and they had one available so things were looking up. The woman started to reserve the seats, ran the first passport and said, "Uh, Sir, where are your visas to travel to Australia?"

WHAT???!!!?!?!?!??!?

I was ready to vomit right then and there. In the past, we either have had a travel agent take care of our bookings and they would remind us about visas or we were traveling to the US so we didn't need one. We didn't even check! THANKFULLY, we were able to get them instantly on line. THANKFULLY, we had Bryce's I Pad with us and even though it was extremely painful to type in all the information not once but twice for each person, we got it done and headed on our way.

The plane ride went very smoothly with the baby and kids up until about an hour or so before landing. Isaac has a tendancy not to eat or drink on the plane. Usually when I am sitting with him, I remind/force/threaten him to eat and drink something so he doesn't getdehydrated. I think I was so focused on the baby (and I wasn't sitting near him) that I forgot to tell Bryce to do the same. Sooo, Isaac lays down in the aisle of the plane saying he is going to get sick and he feels like he is going to pass out.

GREAT!!!!

The flight attendants were fantastic and brought us water, a cold rag, and found some seats where he could stretch out. Then, they told us that there was a woman at the back of the plane that had passed out at the beginning of the flight and that Quarantine Officials were going to be coming on the plane to check her. Now, they want to check Isaac, too. UGH! So, with everyone being forced to stay seated, the officials came on, asked questions, took names and passport info, and recorded where we were staying.
We were the last ones off the plane.

Next was the rental car. Bryce and I decided to save and went with a cheap car rental place. We learned our lesson. No one was there to meet us, the locks and seatbelts didn't work properly, and the tank was on E when we started driving. Oh well, it got us from point A to point B and I didn't feel too guilty when we got sand on the floor from the beach.

We headed straight to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary because we arrived 7am in the morning and we couldn't get in to the house (because of the cleaning crew being there) until noon. We held a koala, fed the kangaroos, saw a snake show, and enjoyed our time there. It was a neat park and we saw animals that we would never have seen anywhere else.

(I am truly glad I am not this mother....the joey was 10 months old...legs and tail couldn't even fit in the pouch anymore!)

After that, we grabbed lunch and headed for the house. We had rented a 5 bedroom house with a pool and tennis court that we knew was up for sale but the woman (Vicki) had hired a 'booking agent' (Christina) to rent it out until it gets sold. We made all our arrangements with Christina and I even emailed a few days before to find out how to get access to the house, etc. We had wanted to check in early but she said we would have to pay the cleaners' fees because they would have to come the night before. We opted to just go to the park and head to the house at noon. Christina sent me the address, gave me the codes to the keys and we were good to go.

We arrive at the house and there is a rental mini van in front with three car seats in it. We call the owner (Vicki) to find out why there is someone at the house. She tells us we are not supposed to check in until the following day.

WHAT???!!?!?!?!??!?

I went through all of our info and found the dates, etc. and it ended up being that the booking agent sent us to the wrong house. We got the new address and drove the 5 minutes to the house we were renting. We arrived and there is another car, this one is a realtor's, in the front of the house. Come to find out, he is having an open house for the house until 12:45. There were people walking through the house! We called Vicki back again, told her what was going on and she said that they would leave soon.

We fina-freaking-ly get in to the house and it is hotter than blue blazes! There is one A/C unit for the whole house and it is a wall unit and apparently it is not working. Not only that but there is no portacrib or high chair for the baby. We call AGAIN and they tell us that the A/C needs to be fixed and they will let us know when that will be and that we didn't reserve a portacrib or high chair.

WHAT??!!!!????!

Of course, I can't get any internet access to PROVE that I actually asked TWICE for the two items. In the end it all got worked out, we got the A/C fixed, and the items for the baby. After that, we had two straight days of rain and cold! By this point, I am ready to go home to Japan!

One funny thing, when Vicki came over to meet us and drop by borrowed portacrib/highchair, she told us about the river that was out back. Her words, "You are more than welcome to swim out there if you want, and others have, but there ARE man-eating fish back there!" Yep, the last two deadly shark attacks in the area have been Bull Sharks which have swam up the river systems. NO THANK YOU....we will swim in the pool!

Monday, we went to a place called Timezone. Picture a big Chuck E. Cheese for big kids with bumper cars, video games, putt putt and laser tag all in one big indoor place. The kids had a blast and Cade slept through most of it.

Tuesday, we braved the rain and chilly temps and headed to the Wet and Wild Waterpark. The benefit on going on a chilly/rainy day is that there is NO WAIT to get on ANY slide. The bad thing is that you wonder if you are going to have hypothermia or frost bite! We still had a great time and went on some really awesome water slides. And Cade slept....

Yes, that is a lifeguard wearing a hat and parka....it was THAT cold!

Wednesday morning, our friend Petro that used to live in Japan with her family met us for the morning to chat and catch up. It was so great to see here and we are truly happy she made the trip down to see us. Weds. afternoon, we had a surprise for Tanner. He had said that he simply couldn't leave Australia until he saw a platypus. We prepped him and said that we weren't sure if we could find one, etc. I found this expensive, very small park that apparently is the ONLY place in the area that has platypus. We put the kids in the car and drove to the park. We walk in to the cave (did you know that they are nocturnal...and POISONOUS?!) and up to the tank. Tanner says, "Mom, what is this? Is this a platypus.....Mom, is it a platypus? MOM!!! It is a platypus! I can't believe I am seeing a platypus!" The kid had tears in his eyes and we sat there for close to 40 minutes watching those platypus swim and play. I would have paid three times the amount just to see his face and excitement again! Of course, since we were in a cave, we couldn't get any pictures....we did however get these pictures of the saltwater crocodiles!

Thursday and Friday were complete and total beach days THANK GOODNESS!! We found a quiet beach with beautiful sand, sun and surf to spend our last two days at. We loved playing in the sand, having a picnic lunch, body surfing and watching Cade experience the sand and water for the first time. He loved it and cried when we would take him out of the water. We couldn't have ended our vacation any better!

Our trip home was uneventful except for troubles with getting through security with a stick of deoderant (solid!) and a pair of craft scissors....but otherwise, the flight went well and we made it home safe and sound.

We loved our trip and thankfully it ended much better than it began (could it have gotten any worse...honestly?) Now, other than us freezing and getting used to the colder temps. and the baby screaming most of the day from lack of constant attention, we are slowly getting back in to the swing of things.