Dear Dad,

Yesterday was my 34th birthday! It was such an amazing day. I can't remember having a better one in years! Probably since I was a kid and you and Mom spoiled me. Before I tell you all about my adventure, I'll tell you about my trip over.

The first leg was extremely bumpy but not too scary. When I was in the Louisville airport waiting for the flight, a guy sat next to me and called his mom on his cell. Immediately, I knew I'd be stuck with him beside me on the plane. He was complaining to her about how bad the day before was and how he hadn't eaten in 1.8 days. Yep, 1.8. How crazy is that? Well, sure enough I got in my seat on the small plane and here he came. He started talking before the plane even went down the runway! And didn't stop for an hour! He had a mild form of autism or something I'm sure. Everything was very precise and thoughtful and dreadfully boring! He was on to Frankfurt, Germany for his 38th trip. I found out everything about him, his work, and his frustrated wife who wanted him home. I seriously wondered if I could fit out my window and jump! Finally we made it to Chicago.

The trip from Chicago to Los Angeles was very uneventful. I had all three seats to myself and could just read and watch out the window. It got dark very quickly but I could still read my book. I had just under 2 hours to wait for my flight to Brisbane and it really flew by. On that flight I lucked out again and had an empty seat between me and the next woman. And she was quiet! It was very uneventful, we ate dinner, they shut off the lights and we slept. I woke up about midnight Brisbane time and watched movies for a few hours until others started stirring and they turned the lights back on. Rachel told me I would like the movie, The Duchess, and she was right! It was so good and girly! Then out of boredom and not being able to get into any of the other movies, I watched Twilight again. Yes that's 3 times now! I still enjoyed it but was able to drift in and out during it which was nice. It was so cool when the woman in the aisle with me asked if I was coming home from the US. I said no, I'm actually leaving home for the first time! She thought I was an Aussie and she actually was one! It made me feel so good, like maybe I won't stick out like a sore thumb here. We ate breakfast and landed in Brisbane 5 minutes behind schedule.

I was really nervous about going through customs and all that, but it was so fast! No one asked me about my visa or anything, it just all came up when they scanned my passport and I walked out. I was so fast that I beat Ken! But I only waited a couple of minutes before he came in and swept me off to the train. It was a little after 7 in the morning and so sunny and HOT! Sticky hot. I was hot and just nasty after being on planes for what felt like 14 days, and the humidity just wilted me. I can't really remember our train ride or how we got home. But then I took a long hot shower and changed clothes and that helped tremendously.

Ken made me some tea and eggs and toast. It all tasted so good! I knew I was just jet-lagged, but it felt like a feast for a queen. We sat outside on the patio for awhile and caught up. I don't really remember most of the day, but I knew I felt very much at home. Finally at 7 that night, I crashed and slept for about 12 hours.

When I woke up yesterday (my birthday here), Ken brought me a lovely card and a pass for the public transit service. He had coffee made for me and water to help me get over my dehydration. Then he made me eggs benedict. I'd never had it before, but it was so good! There were fresh yellow daisies on the table that he'd picked up for me. It was so lovely. After breakfast we got ready and went down into the city for the day. It was a rainy, cloudy day in Brisbane but still so beautiful! The clouds were probably best for my pasty, white skin! I did take some pictures and will try to post them today. We walked down the center of the city and saw banjo players in front of the Louis Vuitton store! It was so cool. I told Ken that you would like that! It must be an okay place if there are banjo players... We also saw a Border's bookstore and I took a picture for Mom and Mackenzie.

We walked down to Brisbane River and they have a beautiful river walk. We made the decision to stay on the river instead of going through the Botanical Gardens. That's for next time. But along the river, they have mangrove swamps you can walk through and of course the river is right there with its beautiful views. South Bank is really cool too. The kids would just adore it! There's a water feature they've built that has sprinklers coming out randomly and soaking you. They've made a beach in the middle of the city! Imported sand from the Gold Coast and a beautiful pool - again I could just see Maddie and the boys playing so wonderfully there.

We went on to have lunch in a really nice place overlooking the river. It had stopped raining, so we sat outside and the sun even peeked out a time or two! I had the most interesting salad, roasted pumpkin with rocket (a salad green), goat cheese and a vinaigrette topped with roasted pumpkin seeds! The texture and flavors were so well-suited. It was absolutely delicious. Ken had a smoked salmon "damper roll" and chips. Which is basically a sandwich and fries, but it looked good too and he liked it.

After the meal, we came back home and relaxed. We just ordered pizza in and I introduced Ken to the joys of pineapple on pizza. It was so yummy, even if he did have to deal with the internet tech assistance people during dinner. We sat up and talked for hours about everything under the sun. Until again, I collapsed for the night.

Today is going to be a quiet, peaceful day at home. Ken is stretched out on the sofa and we're listening to My Morning Jacket. How cool is that!? We'll be heading down to the shops later on for some supplies and ingredients for dinner. We're doing a roast chicken and vegetables later with a nice bottle of Australian Chardonnay.

I'll talk to you again soon.

Love,
Courtney