Back in the Northern Hemisphere

Well, we made it back. We've been back almost a month now, busily adjusting to life back home. We spent about ten days at Rob's parents' place on Lake McMurray. Rob left for fishing on Father's Day. The kids really loved being able to run around the yard and play outside all day long. We had quite the excitement one night when a transformer blew just in front of the house. We got to watch the firetrucks and firefighters secure the scene and finally the power company bucket truck fix the problem. Bennett was in heaven!!

We moved to Victoria at the end of June and settled into our temporary accommodations. Joelle's parents and nieces arrived on July 1st to help out while Joelle started work. The kids have loved having all this family around. We've been to the beach and even took a ferry ride to SaltSpring Island. They've been a huge help as Joelle has been trying to find more permanent rental housing (which she did) and an office to set up (not yet found). Work is going well. It's been a good return. We are looking forward to Rob's return when we can start making more permanent plans.

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!  

Bye Bye Queensland, Our Road Trip Ends.

Check out the people on top of the bridge.

Ben has always been fascinated with hitches.  He loves vehicles that tow things.  Well, he now has discovered that a hitch, when not connected to something, can have a cover over the ball joint that can be quite greasy.  While riding his bike around in the underground parking lot of the hotel, he took one off and put it over his mouth, don't ask why.  We were laughing at him and I think he didn't understand why and was a little confused until we told him to go look in the mirror.  

GG now prefers a bottle of port over her water bottle.

 

Brisbane

We arrived in Brisbane a day earlier than anticipated because the weather had turned quite wet.  We were hoping to stay near the Glasshouse Mountains again, but we couldn't see them due to the rain and clouds.  We therefore spent the night at Newmarket Gardens Caravan Park just west of the city centre of Brisbane.  It poured the entire night.  The next morning we left to return our motorhome to Britz and check into our hotel.

The park was becoming a swamp.  Perfect time for our departure.

The river next to the park was rising fast.

That evening we saw on the news that the park was evacuated due to the water rising up to people's knees.

Our Bunnings umbrellas became our best friends. 

Looking up the street from our hotel as we were unloading our bags from the motorhome water flowed like a river. 

After a successful, yet very wet unloading of our gear, we made our way to drop off the motorhome.

Check out this video!

The route to Britz was quite memorable to say the least.

At one point, we thought the engine was going to stall because we were having to drive through some very deep water.

Upon our arrival at Britz, we were greeted outside by an employee saying that their office was entirely flooded and that all we had to do was hand her the key.  She asked if we could sort out the paperwork and any issues the following day. 

The following day was blue sky- shocking.  It's amazing how fast the weather turns here in Australia and how severe it can be in such a short amount of time. 

The last major flood in Brisbane occurred in Jan. 1974 that lasted for 3 days with 580mm of rain falling.  This one lasted only a day with around 400mm falling in and around Brisbane.  At Rainbow Beach where we were 4 days ago, a record of 713mm fell.  A news report said that the dams were at 50% and now they are at 75%. This was a very unusual occurance due to May typically being a dry month.