GETTING READY!

The day started early with breakfast at the hotel veranda overlooking the boulevard. Very nice indeed! Breakfast in Australia is just like in the US, except for the Vegemite of course! Vegemite is a spread very popular around here, it has this yeasty and sharp taste not appreciated by everyone! Of course we all had to try it! Apparently,  except for  Spencer and myself, no one in our group has the refined palate to appreciated it! I say Vegemite lovers, UNITE!

(Patrick, Herman, Carlos and Spencer during breakfast)

After breakfast, with our supplies lists in hand off we went shopping! We loved our Walmarts during RAAM! Now, it looks like it’s Target’s turn! It’s great to have a Target just a few blocks down the street!

 (Sarah, Herman, Suzy and Allen shopping for supplies)

Then is back to the hotel with everything! Now we need to sort, make piles, place things in bins etc.. And pray that we don’t forget anything! No Targets or Walmarts in the middle of the desert!

 (Sarah, Allen, Suzy, Carlos, Spencer and Patrick on their way back to the hotel)

HAVE LUGGAGE, WILL TRAVEL!

Beautiful sunrise arriving in Sydney!

WE HAVE ARRIVED!

Finally, after over 36 hours of airports, flights, missing flights, we have arrived in Cairns, Australia.

I met up with Carlos, Sarah and Spencer in DC. Then we met Allen and Suzy in San Francisco and finished our long journey together! It was quite an adventure itself! I can only dream what the Crocodile Trophy will be like!

We missed our connecting flight from Sydney to Cairns, and had to take a detour to Brisbane and wait there for a few hours , but we made it here safe and sound! Not one piece of luggage lost! All 9 of them made it!  Patrick cannot say the same, though!  2 of his bags were lost. We found one, the one with his bike wheels, spinning around at the baggage claim at the airport and brought it over to the hotel. Now we are keeping our fingers crossed that the rest of the bike will show up by tomorrow afternoon. 

The only one that is not here yet is Andrew, but he should arrive at some point tomorrow too! Then the Team will be complete!

We are staying at the Hides Hotel, a quaint building right in the center of the action. Nothing fancy, but very welcoming and close to everything, which will come in handy since we do not have a car to drive around yet.

We met Patrick and Herman at the hotel and had our first “meeting” over pizza just a few blocks away.

Tomorrow the agenda includes: meeting, shopping for supplies and setting up the bikes.

Right now… it’s time to go to sleep… because  no matter how you cut it, 15 straight  hours inside a plane going over the Pacific Ocean makes for a long night! 

HALF WAY THERE!

Just leaving San Francisco to the adventure of a lifetime!

Bon Voyage, and best of luck to Team Can Be Venture!

The shirts are in!

 

The Team Jerseys and the crew t-shirts have arrived!
Of course Carlos had to pick white! That will go really well with the Australian desert!
Can you all picture it? One of the crew members after a few days in the desert, all that red sand and sweat blended in a nice white t-shirt! I know I can!
So, I figured I better document that shirts were white one day!
 Next time you see these they are not gonna look this nice!