Master and Commander (Lieutenant) of the Far Side of the Earth

Wow! It’s been a long time since the last post - our apologies.

Let’s see…what’s happened since we last wrote?

Rachel got promoted to full Lieutenant - her commander and I got to pin on her
new rank during the ceremony. That’s my sailor!

We had a good holiday season - albeit away from family. It was nice, though,
to have the videophones. Felt like we were ‘virtually’ (pun intended)
at home. We had our first anniversary as well! Rachel found some
diamond earrings and opera tickets (see below) under the tree and I (just arrived
today) got a

Rancilio Silvia espresso machine and Rancilio Rocky grinder. Yeah. It’s what
you think. Each of these machines is industrial grade. Made from stanless steel
and a lot of love, they weigh over 20lbs each. Things of beauty. Now to learn
Italian so I can read the manual….

Just got back today from Australia as well! We toured Cairns
(for a real short while - one morning to be exact), Melbourne for 2.5 days and
Sydney for 4 full days. It was a blast. I can’t say enough good things about
the Aussies and Oz in general.

We went to see an opera at the Sydney Opera House - it was a little Mozart number,
‘Cosi fan tutte’. One of the lesser known operas, the story was a bit weak,
but the orchestra and performers were incredible. Not to mention how neat it
was to be at the opera house itself. Yes, this is a pic we took from the bank
of the Sydney harbor and not a cheesy postcard.

We will be posting much more pics and commentary on our journeys in a travelogue
here shortly, so be sure to stay tuned in!

At one point in our trip, we were 10,242 miles away from our last home in Washington,
DC. I just had to bring the GPS along to find out for sure…. The only
real disappointment was the toilets - I was so psyched to see them swirl in
the opposite direction - they just went straight down. With quite a fury, too,
I might add. Recommendations are to not get in an argument with an Aussie toilet.
You will lose the battle. These devices are made for business only, folks.

Cheers!

–dan