Garbos.
Shoutout to Brett for answering the all important question about who picks up the trash. Rubbish trucks, not garbage trucks, roam the streets of Australia, hauling waste to the dump. The blokes that drive the trucks are not referred to as garbage men, nor rubbish men, nor rubbies (I made that up). Rather, they are called garbos. Apparently, as Brett so eloquently pointed out, rubbishos had too many syllables for the Aussie language. Thanks Brett!

Bandidos.
To set the stage for this next story, I need to remind you of something. We decided to name our boat after our dog, Bandit, who we had to leave at home in the US with my sister. The boat’s name is El Bandito.

On Monday on my drive into work, I was listening to the radio news story about a huge drug sting on the Gold Coast over the weekend. One of the guys had been a member of the criminal bikie (like motorcycle) gang – the Bandidos.

My jaw dropped. My mind raced through all sorts of memories. The time that I contacted the boat decal guy and told him we wanted a decal called El Bandito. He came back with samples spelled “El Bandido”. He probably weighed the risk he had – completing a business deal with a potential drug king pin and therefore putting him at legal risk for his involvement vs pissing off a King pin and potentially risking his well-being. The poor bloke probably lost sleep over our request.
And then there was the poor boat mechanic, who thought that Jay was a nice guy, straight shooter. And then he found out what the name of the boat was, and he probably thought we were druggies.
Ugh. And then now I am worried that every time we go out on the boat, we will have a target on us. Either from the marine cops, actual bikies, or just random people that steer clear because of our assumed involvement in a drug ring. Lord. I guess this is the sort of thing you hear about in cultural awareness classes. Brett – how come you didn’t tell us not to name our boat after a major crime gang?!?! 🙂

Bach’s!!!!
Ty was so excited to come home and see Jeff and Rachel that he literally peed his pants. He will hate me for writing that someday… Jay took the day off to show Jeff and Rachel around. I had to go to work, and let me tell you it was so not fun being there knowing that they were playing all day. They have a packed schedule – lots of fun things planned! Is it the weekend yet?

Crab pot.
For those that don’t know, Jeff and Rachel are pretty much gourmet chefs. Jeff was more than a little stoked at the idea of catching crabs in the crab pot. They bought a box full of chicken necks and loaded up the bait bag. We will see if we have any luck!

Crab!
Tuesday night Ty couldn’t wait to get home and check to see if we had caught a crab. Jeff, Rachel and Ty ran down to the dock, lifted the pot out of the water, and THERE WAS A CRAB!!! Pinch me – am I dreaming or is there a crab on that pot?!?! Jeff had a classic look on his face. I think he was in shock that it actually worked. And then he realized that somehow he was going to have to get the crab, and all of its pinchers, OUT of the crab pot. And even though it had a mouth full of chicken necks, it was pretty crabby. So, back in the water he and the crab pot went, until we could do more research on what to do next.

Houdini.
The crab didn’t tell us his name was Houdini. If he had, we wouldn’t have put him back in the water. Sometime on Wednesday, that little bugger escaped. So they reloaded the crab pot with more bait and waited. Checked it later and they had caught ANOTHER crab. But, this one was a female and apparently we have to throw back the ladies. So they got her out of the pot (haven’t heard the story about how yet) and decided their crab fishing days are over.

Meals.
I really do not love cooking. I really like eating. And I really like eating the yummy food that Jeff and Rachel cook for me. :). We had lamb chops on Tuesday night and lamb sausages on Wednesday. It was fun trying out foods that we would probably never have ventured out of our comfort zone to try. My favorite dish so far was dessert. I had made applesauce this weekend for Lily, but added too much sugar for her. Lily’s loss, our gain. Rachel made these delicious caramel apple custard pastries. Might have been the best non-chocolate dessert I have ever had. She made the caramel and the whipped cream from scratch. Who does that? Rach does.
I think Ty is loving having them here. This is how Ty has eaten every meal. Joined at the hip…

Beached.
Jay took the day off on Wednesday. I, unfortunately, had to work. They were going to spend the day on St Helena island, which was the first penal colony in Australia. But they weren’t doing tours, so their backup plan was to go for a boat ride. I didn’t realize this. So imagine my major rush of jealousy when I glanced at my phone, saw Jay had tagged me in a post on Facebook, and saw a picture of Jeff and Rachel standing on a beach next to our boat. Damn. Should have called in sick… I don’t think I have ever played hooky, but if there was a day to do it, today would have been the day. They hiked to the other side of South Stradbroke Island on this narrow path through the bush, and on the other side was an amazing beach. Jeff commented that he has never seen anything like it ever before. They got hungry, hiked back, and had lunch at Tipplers bar and grill. Best fish and chips they have ever had. I wish I could give you a play by play of their day, but since I was stuck in meeting rooms and wasn’t there with them, I wouldn’t be able to do it justice. :).

Canal.
Tonight we saw two pelicans floating down the canal, and then 2 dolphins!!

More updates later!