Day Three.. The Gold Coast.

We got busy & I neglected the blog. Sorry to leave you all hanging! School began this week... Nathan moved here... & oh SO many other things I need to blog about & catch everyone up on... Let me 1st start w/ Day Three.. I'll get to the rest, this week, maybe??

We decided spur of the moment to rent a car & take a drive up Aussie's Gold Coast. We rented a little red hatchback Corolla. It was such a trip because they drive on the right side of the road. We considered getting a Manual car, but opted to spend the extra & go with automatic, as all the shifting would have been opposite what we're used to. Even with the Automatic, we were all a little nervous as we pulled out and started our journey.. We all had a case of the giggles. I'm not sure why it was so entertaining..

Jeff drove, I'm still 'under-age' as far as car rentals are concerned, & he did an awesome job of navigating the countless round-about's that the Australian Department of Transportation seems to be so fond of..

The highway follows the beaches. Nathan claimed his little piece of Aussie beach.

It was gorgeous. I'm not sure what else to say. I think these few picture speak for themselves. I had a hard time selecting just a few for the 'blog'. I think these will suffice. 

Our destination was a small beach/resort town called Port Douglas. There were a ton of shops, restaurants and sites. We spent the afternoon there, shopping & eating. 

They have these amazing trees in Australia, not sure what their called, I'm sure my dad knows.. but they're huge, and they have vines or roots that grow down from the branches.. Nathan couldn't help but channel his inner Tarzan & take a swing on the vines.. 

This was one of our favorite days of the trip. A definite must do, if you ever find yourself in Queensland.

Stay Tuned..

We are back in Guam.. Have been for a few days, its just taking me a while to get the blog updated, for those eager, & anxious readers out there..

I'll finish the trip tomorrow!

Day Two.. The REEF.

Tuesday was Reef Day.. We booked a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef.. 90 min out.. hour & a 1/2 or so @ 2 different dive/snorkel stops & 90 min back in.. 

Here's our Boat.. the Tusa 5... it was big, but not too big..

i LOVE being on the ocean.. there is nothing better then sea air.. 

Jeff & Nathan are also fans..

Nathan went SCUBA diving, since he's certified.. Jeff & I went snorkeling.. We got to wear these lovely, super-thick wetsuit type things.. very flattering, as you can see.. 

We saw SO many amazing things... The highlights were a 6ft (or maybe bigger) white tip reef shark, and a sea turtle.. wish I had pictures of those, but.. I don't. You'll just have to take my word for it..

Meanwhile, back on the boat.. Nobody was steering.. I was REALLY tempted to commandeer the ship.. how difficult can it be?? 

We were SO worn out by the end of the day.. The trip back to port was SO choppy, which made it feel like a real adventure! I loved it! We ran back to our hotel in the rain, dried off, grabbed a couple of meat pies for dinner & crashed.. 

Day 1 Down Under..

We left for Australia Sunday evening.. The boys were excited to be on vacation.. As far as they were concerned, vacation started at the airport..  They treated themselves to some burger king..

We got in around midnight, took a taxi to the hotel, got checked in & settled.. We stayed @ the same hotel Jeff & I stayed at last time.. We loved the locale, the pool, & the beds, so we booked it again.. why mess with a good thing?? It didn't take Jeff long to get comfy & find his favorite spot..

Monday morning we decided to get up, head out & schedule our trip to the reef.. Nathan & I were pretty stoked..

We headed to the booking place Jeff & I had gone to before.. We really liked the people who had arranged our trip last time, & wanted to go through them again.. We booked our reef trip, & then just spent some time shooting the breeze w/ Daniel Collins.. He ended up giving us a free photo book of Cairns.. That makes him our Aussie friend, right?? 

We spent the rest of the day walking around Cairns.. We hit up the mall, did a little shopping, got some lunch at the fab food court, & kept on with the shopping for a bit.. Jeff found a great hat (as seen below), unfortunately there is little use for it in Guam..

We spent the rest of the afternoon poolside.. Nothing like relaxing by the pool.. 

For dinner we went back to a place near the hotel called "Outback Jack's".. its like a steak house chain in Aussie.. I had been craving their wagu burger and was SO stoked to have another.. They're huge! So big, they come on a platter..  it was DELISH!

The BEST Grad Present EVER...

My Parents, Jeff & I were all in on a little Grad Surprise for Nathan..

1st, We took him to Lunch..

Then we gave him his Gift.. A seemingly ordinary, Graduation Gift bag... The card said "Congrats & Goodbye"...

"This isn't a Graduation card..." He was perplexed...

He started to open it... 1 postcard... another postcard... and another postcard...

And then.. An envelope.. w/ a Continental Ticket Itinerary... to where, you might ask??

CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA!!

Postcards ALL from his next destination! We ALL leave on Sunday  & we could not be anymore STOKED then we are!!

And this picture, was just FUNNY!

More on our adventures!

Where America's Day Begins..

SO much to update everyone on in the last 2 days...

1st...

Jeff & I have completed our Master's! We'll get the official diplomas & pomp & circumstance in December. Yesterday we had a luncheon at one of the Hotels to Celebrate, our Cohort could not be MORE relieved/ecstatic/proud/shocked! We LOVE the members of our Cohort, we've become family! 

Then...

Nathan came to the Island! It was part of his grad present, we were equally as stoked as he was! 

Our Chamorro "Brother" David made sure Nathan received a true welcome! He made Nathan a Lei of Tea-Leaves, and met us at the airport with his cousin, a guitar, conch shell, and a hand-made shell necklace! As soon as Nathan came through customs, David blew the conch shell, I gave him the lei, his cousin played the guitar & sang, & Jeff took the pictures!

Today, after a brief final presentation up @ the University, Jeff, Nathan & I took the grand tour around the Island. We drove down south & grabbed lunch @ Jeff's Pirate Cove, a fav of ours. Jeff LOVES the Burgers... 

We also surprised Nathan w/ the rest of his Grad present... (see post above or below, or wherever the post ends up)

The End is Near...

and we could not be MORE excited! This week is the LAST week of classes... After Friday, Jeff & I will have officially completed our Masters Program... 

Perhaps ya'll will forgive the lack of updates, posts, & pictures... There hasn't been to much to share, but there will be in the next few days, promise...

Here's a Sneak Peak...

End of Summer School Luncheon TOMORROW

Nathan arrives TOMORROW!

Tune in later to find out more...