Hawaii - North Shore of Oahu

Jumping off the rock at Waimea Bay

3 Tables, in front of our cottage

keeping cool

"Dog the Bounty Hunter" fans will recognize this place...

shaved ice

dole whip (fresh pineapple sorbet)

"It's not the destination, it's the journey"....well, not in our case! Hawaii was a great place to recover from our eventful flight. The heat was incredible and forced us to stay in cool areas, like an air conditioned car for most afternoons. We ventured to the beaches in late afternoons and early evenings, often having a picnic dinner on the beach. We got to enjoy Dole Whip twice - the infamous ice cream like treat from the Dole Pineapple Plantation. The kids loved the water and the sand. What a great way to recover from our jet lag from Australia.

Flight to Hawaii - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

We flew from Melbourne to Hawaii on the 13th of June.  We (aka Rob) had been supremely organized so there was little last minute stuff to do.  We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare.  The good part of the trip was that we got away with being 20kg overweight without having to pay any extra fees.  The flight to Sydney went quite well.  Glenn sat in our laps for the hour trip and Bennett actually fell asleep, likely still recovering from the flu he'd had for the week prior to our flight.  Our 2.5 hour layover in Sydney was also quite uneventful.  

Unfortunately, the good didn't last.  On our trip to Melbourne last year, we'd had good luck with a sedative for Bennett which made him sleep for 8 straight hours.  We thought we'd do it again.  Glenn got a dose too and she slept pretty well.  Bennett on the other hand, had the complete opposite reaction - this is a potential side effect of this medication.  Instead of sedating him, he got hyper and distraught.  He was crying for no reason and couldn't be consoled.  It took him four hours to finally fall asleep. 

Now for the ugly part.  After four hours of sleep, the plane began its descent into Honolulu.  Bennett, now overly sedated, has a coughing fit and pukes into Rob's hand.  We got him cleaned up as the fasten seat belt sign went on.  Then, with the plane almost landed, Glenn decides that it's her turn.  She not only threw up, but she projected her vomit all over herself and the seat.  We ended up just throwing all her clothes away.  Bennett threw up a second time as the plane was approaching the gate.  Bennett was so out of it, he could hardly walk and we had to request a wheel chair to carry him through customs and immigration.  The only good thing about that is that they brought us to the front of the line and didn't give us any hassles.  The car rental and baggage storage went off without a hitch.  

We've made up a jingle for our children after this incident.  It goes to the tune of "These boots were made for walking":

These kids weren't made for flying,

This is what they'll do

One of these days, these kids

Are gonna puke all over you!

Our Australian Adventure Ends

Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne

Paddy, Yasmin, Sonia, Nur Azurah (gynaecology team at RCH)

Chelsea - daycare worker

Prue - speech pathologist, Lynette - occupational therapist

Kaye - nurse from BC Women's Hospital

Anna, Martin and Sacha

Bron

Geoff

This is our last post from Melbourne.  What a year!  We've seen so much, we've met some great people and have memories to last us a lifetime.  This has been a fabulous experience and we hope you've enjoyed sharing it with us along the way.

The fellowship year has been such a valuable experience too.  The people I've met (Sonia, Yasmin, Paddy, Nur Azurah, the team at the Mercy Hospital, etc) have all been so welcoming.  I've seen some bread and butter things of paediatric and adolescent gynaecology, but I've also been involved in some weird and wonderful things too.  This year has trained me very well to start up my own practice back in Canada.  It's also opened some doors with regards to ongoing collaboration with physicians here in Australia.  I've gotten my name in print once, and will hopefully get two more articles published too.  It's sad to say good-bye to everyone, but it's also exciting to be heading home to finally get my career going - 38.5 years old isn't too old to start working is it??!!  

Bye-bye Victoria Australia, hello Victoria Canada!