03.05.10
Final Thoughts
Oddities, inconsistencies, and casualties
So we’re sitting at LAX and already thinking fondly back on our trip. We’ve been debating which parts were our favorite and we’ve dwindled it down to 1 day at each location… canyoning in the blue mountains (which might actually take the gold), diving/snorkeling the great barrier reef with the heli ride back, and off-roading on Moreton Island. You’ll notice our faves tended to be off the beaten path – literally 
While reminiscing we were also remembering some of the fun (or not so fun) things from our trip… starting with the unlimited movies on the V Australia flights (a 6 movie marathon on the way back), the “Virgin Loo” at the Brisbane Airport, the 18% grade hills going up to Tamborine Mtn (with the flood detours). We thoroughly loved the people watching and have determined we are definitely not in style, but don’t necessarily want to be.
We also determined that if you are planning a visit to Australia make sure you are early for everything! Even our flights were early… for our return flight from brissy the info boards all said boarding in 15minutes – which in the states means it actually might start boarding 15 minutes from then… NOPE! We get up to the counter and almost all 400+ people are already boarded and they were making final call! Similar scenarios for shuttle pickups and most things in general, always plan ahead!!
While making our final way through security we also were thinking back on the inconsistencies of the security in all airports. Shoes off, boarding pass in hand, no boarding pass in the bin, no wait shoes are ok, no dumbbells (i had a weight similar to a dumbbell), no water or other liquids, water ok (or at least it made it through), umbrellas out, umbrellas in, under 7 Kilos, no weight limits (think goodness they didn’t check this for us). Nothing was the same, but it definitely made it interesting!
And finally our casualties… my waterproof camera that stopped working but might now be functioning again, my 18-200 lens that fell apart (warranty to be checked), my SD card that failed (recovery TBD), and the flat stanley that never got placed… nothing that couldn’t be dealt with, just makes the trip more interesting!
In summary, a super trip! Thanks Jess for being my “partner” – in crime of course Now back to reality, real shoes, sweaters, and our hubbies – now that part was nice to come home to 