The actual flying was uneventful, perhaps because two hours is much less than fourteen. When we landed, Ian met us at the baggage carousel and ferried us all down to St. Kilda, a beach on the bay, to meet Johanne and Clare. We all got a dip in the water and saw a number of the large jellies pictured below. Clare & Zara took the tram and train home, where they were delayed for a bush fire. The rest of us got the car tour of central Melbourne from Ian and lots of ideas for what to visit during the rest of our stay. 
Amity managed some lunch and a nap, and when she woke up we retrieved Zara from her marathon play date next door. We set off to see Geoff and his kiddos Abbey, Blake and Chloe. Sadly for us his wife Belinda, a nurse, was working so we didn't get a chance to meet her. What we did get to do was have a lovely, relaxing time while the 5 kiddos went nuts. They were clearly excited for us to visit, as evidenced by the awesome welcome decorations that greeted us.
This was awesome. The kids got on super well, and Geoff and I got to catch up on the last 20 years. Even on his own with the kids, Geoff hosted us in the elaborate Australian style we're growing accustomed to.... snacks/appetizers, drinks, BBQ, loads of sides, more drinks, dessert (sticky date pudding and ice cream, we'd never had it before and it was lovely), cappuccino, and even after dessert chocolates. We wished we could stay longer, but the kids were getting tired, and some of them had school the next day while the others were flying to Melbourne and needed to leave for the airport early-ish in the AM, so we had to say our goodbyes and call it a night. What fun!
First things first, and that is that before we went off to the farmer's market, we took a family picture (probably the first with all of us since Zara was born) and then we bid a fond farewell to Bri, who was returning to Hawaii. The kiddos are very fond of Uncle Brian, and not just because he can pick them both up at the same time, though I think that helps.
The farmer's market was fun. It was a smaller, more suburban one that Maryann had not yet been to, so it was an adventure for all. They had multiple places to get coffee (by this time we had figured out our favorite of the coffee drinks is the flat white - skinny optional) so Wes and I immediately loved it! They also had more diary than we usually see at our markets here, including someone selling greek yogurt with fruity toppings. Kids loved that, and Wes found a crepe guy who made him a very delicious breakfast crepe. We procured some fruit (including figs and strawberries, summer how we missed you) and then set off on our greatest adventure yet.... Wes driving on the right aka wrong side of the road!
Wes drove for the rest of our errands, which included a stop to drink coffee and eat ice cream (guess who did what) at Mt. Coot-tha, which is certainly the tallest thing going in the area. After some sightseeting fun it was home for lunch and naps, and then off on the train to the Stadium Bar to check out what an Irish Session in Australia is like.
While nobody took any pictures,session this afternoon was a blast. It was a 4 hour chunk that was loosely divided into something like a song circle for the first 2 hours (though not the teaching/sharing kind, more like someone starts a song and people who know it sing and play along, and almost everyone played an instrument along with the singing, and turns were loosely taken) and then more tunes oriented for the latter half. Which Zara danced along to for several jigs and a bit of a reel. She was, as you probably could guess, dear reader, a real crowd pleaser.
In the songs half there was a bunch of Aussie folkish songs we didn't know though we may learn and bring "back to the States" as well as songs like "Draft Dodger Rag", "Sloop John B", "Shook Me All Night Long" (I believe AC/DC are at least part Aussie) as well as Carrickfergus, Ordinary Man (Christy Moore), Dirty Old Town, Whiskey in the Jar and more typically Irish faire. Instruments also varied greatly, many guitars in the song part as well as double mandolin, banjo, harmonica, fiddle, accordion, recorder, metal flute, and my fave, trombone!
The ride back on the train was largely uneventful. We spent the evening having dinner (BBQ, and SO much more) with M and P's friends S and P, who served up a most decadent spread (Australians love to entertain and they do seem to go all out) and provided us weary traveling parents with a nice mental break by putting on a post-dinner DVD for our over-tired and cranky children. Everyone we've met so far have been such wonderful and delightful hosts. We're getting spoiled.
We found a little playground just a short walk from our house swap. The kids enjoyed romping about, and I explored "Baz & Shaz Fruit & Veg" market, picking up some frozen juice pops for the kiddos and a bunch of grapes and stone fruit for our ride back to Brisbane. Since we didn't quite have our act together and there was no real rush to get back, we had some take out Indian food and shared several pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (a rarity in Oz) for lunch. Amity slept through this ice cream excitement, but Zara was introduced (by Uncle Brian) to the concept of eating directly from the pint. She's ready for college now!
The ride back was uneventful until we got a text from Phil and Bri saying there was a traffic jam up ahead. Never ones to sit through traffic when we can take a scenic detour, Wes re-routed us (thanks, iPhone) through some very interestingly named places such as Mooball (many things in town decorated with cow print, including light posts and gas stations), Murwillumbah, and Nerang. Somewhere between the latter two we encountered "Zara Road" (which turns out to lead to a town called Zara, to which we did not go). You can see Zara posing with the eponymous road.
The alternate route lead us on a crazy adventure wherein we encountered a "road closed" sign, but after turning back we noticed another car pass us by. After a few minutes of waiting, they did not turn back so we figured we'd give it a try. Less than 1 km past the road closed sign we encountered a flooded causeway, and a sign that told us in no uncertain terms "do not cross when water is over causeway." Since we'd already began to embrace the spirit of adventure, rather than heed the sign's warning, Wes got out and did a little reconnoitering. He determined that yes, there was water on the causeway, but it wasn't so deep the car couldn't easily pass. So Wes walked across and the rest of us followed in the car. Wes got back in on the other side and we drove along on our merry way, congratulating ourselves on our ingenuity and bravery.
We made it to the Queensland border (and we may or may not have still been in the possession of fruit from New South Wales), and soon realized that no, we had not dodged the proverbial bullet. Those rain storms they have been having didn't just leave behind a mildly flooded causeway, but apparently there had been a rather large avalanche/mudslide on the road we were taking. Seeing some trucks actively working on the scene, we drove past the barrier that warned us "road closed, do not enter" to merely ascertain the best way to proceed, having encountered what seemed to be an unsurmountable obstacle. The friendly gentleman we spoke to let us know that yes, the road was closed, but that if we just proceeded with some caution and waited for the truck in front of us to be loaded with debris, we could follow that truck on through. For the second time that day we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat (and are starting to believe all road signs are cautionary rather than absolute!) and so, after a few minutes wait we were on our way once again.
The rest of the drive was considerably less eventful. As in, not at all. We made it back to the M1 and it was a straight, not super traffic-ful shot on into Indooroopilly. We went out for Mexican food (mmmmm...Sangria!) and then... yup, you guessed it. After all that adventuring it was straight to bed (though we're all on Brisbane time now).
The kids managed to sleep until sometime between 4 and 5 am, so we are definitely adjusting. In the morning Wes and Bri went off for surfing lessons while Zara, Amity, Marmee and I went to the playground in town. The above pictures show what Wes and Bri were up to (thanks to Phil and a telephoto lens) while the following pictures show Zara teaching Amity what she had learned during her surfing lesson the day before. So really, everyone was surfing, again.
We met up with some friends of M and P in the late afternoon for some beach playtime, which was followed by a fish and chips picnic.
The kids enjoyed the musical stylings of a bunch of hippies playing guitar right next to where we were eating (see photos below, guitar playing hippies in background), and charmed the players with their own singing and dancing. In return, one of the guys played the Israel Kamakawiwoʻole version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Totally cliched, but awesome, too.
