Twelve Feet, Six Continents, One Year

First of all, is my math right? I know that we started on June 23rd but that was in the United States. Today is January 8th but that's in Australia. It's only January 7th in the US. Does that mean the trip is longer or shorter? Can anybody explain daylight savings time to me? Second, we've been having a really good week. Elise took the day off on Monday and regained some energy. We found a daycamp here that is effectively drop-in during their school holidays. For friends in Portland: this is like Campfire mixed with Trackers. In other words, it's awesome. We showed the kids the "menu" if activities on each day and the result was that Henry and Lily went on Tuesday, Ali and Cate on Wednesday and all four on Thursday. Arriving at St Kilda Park Primary School for TeamKids Camp We feel really satisfied and proud that our kids show up at a new venue with unfamiliar kids and adults and plunge right in. Henry made a friend, which led to a playdate and possibl...

When we wake up in the morning, it is six hours later but yesterday on the west coast of the United States. Because we're waking up at 3:30, 4 or maybe 5 (if we're lucky), it's morning in both places. Crazy. On Thursday (Dec. 12), we wake up in Sydney and fly to Hamilton Island ("Hamo"). This is a private island in an area of the northeastern Australian coast called the Whitsundays. It looks and feels a lot like a smaller city in Hawaii. The airstrip reminds one of James Michener's South Pacific: a single strip built out into the ocean at either end on the only part of the island that can possibly accommodate it. It's hot and humid and we're melting. The resort has sent Rodney to meet us and he whisks us to our hotel and an extraordinary hotel suite, overlooking the turquoise water of the bay. In the balance of the afternoon, we nap, swim, eat pizza and fall asleep by about 7pm. Our weekend is filled with tropical fun. On Friday and Saturday, des...

This post is probably not interesting to anybody except my future self. Feel free to skip this one if you visit this site to see pictures of our cute kids. I don't mind. Tuesday, December 10, 2019 (Santiago, Chile). Wake up with alarm. Elise's back hurts. A lot. Finish packing, showers, etc. Breakfast at excellent hotel buffet.  Discover flight is two hours delay. Reschedule airport shuttle. Kids watch more TV. Easy shuttle to airport. Easy time checking bags, going through customs, etc. except that Lily's visa is invalid on account of a typo in her passport number that I didn't catch. The application fee is mysteriously waived so, you know, whatever. The kids are getting pretty good at this. Even have time to change remaining Argentine pesos into Chilean pesos to spend on souvenirs.  Fail to mail postcards from Chile because 'open" post office in the airport is unstaffed (as warned). Eat lunch at Ruby Tuesday in Santiago Airport because, well, w...