We made it!

We've actually made it! At the moment, we are all a bit brain dead, so for this first post I'm just going to list a bunch of things that have happened and things that we've seen.

- The V Australia (the new Virgin airline) check-in desk at LAX was hilarious! It was all lighted in neon, and they were playing club music, and the staff were all dancing! I've never seen anything like it, and it was quite a welcome.

- When we were checking in, all of a sudden Nancy and I heard a scream, and there Jim was! We all jumped around and squealed like tween girls at a Miley Cyrus concert.

- V Australia was fantastic to fly. The flight crew was upbeat and nice, and each seat got a pillow, blanket, eye cover, and earplugs. We all had our own screen on the seatback in front of us, and you could chat seat to seat! I tried to chat with Jim, but he didn't have his reading glasses and couldn't see the little keyboard.

- I thought my butt was going to fall off after 14 hours in the air. Seriously.

- We arrived, and they did not confiscate the graham crackers I brought for a librarian in Tasmania.

- Alexander, a youth librarian (children's and teen) here in Sydney met us at the airport, and was so, so nice to us. I say that not because we thought he wouldn't be, but because we were so out of it that who knows if we were even making sense.

- Our hotel is great! Here are funny things:
1) Our room/suite has a doorbell!
2) Our beds have wheels. The first time I sat down on mine, it crashed into the door.
3) In the bathroom, we found (I'm not kidding) aromatherapy shower caps! Jim wonders if you're supposed to put one on your head and light it.
4) We took a short nap, and while I was laying in bed, I heard a doorbell, but couldn't think of anyone who would be at our door, so I ignored it. Then I heard, "Hello! Hello!" I hauled myself out of bed, wandered into our little kitchen (!), and there was a guy stocking the fridge. He froze like a deer in the headlights and said in a panic, "I rang the doorbell! I shouted hello!" I told him not to worry about, left him at the fridge and went back to bed. He's probably wondered who the heck the Americans are who don't care when people invade their room when they're sleeping.

- Alexander took us to lunch, and at the outdoor table we saw a bird called a lorikeet. They are like little parrots, and are the first thing that really made me feel like I was in another country. Apparently, however, they are pretty aggressive and will eat food right off your plate if you're eating outside! They are also very noisy.

- We randomly found a delicious French restaurant in Sydney that was delicious.

Now we need to go to bed.

Good night, Jim.
Good night, Nancy.
Good night, Shannon.