Neverlost? Really???

So the flight from LA to Sydney went remarkably well. Customs and baggage claim were easy. We upgraded our car to a minivan when we realized that a "booster seat" in Australia means a full child seat rather than something small enough to fit three-across in a sedan. Even that was easy. Travelling 28 hours with three children couldn't really be this easy, could it?

Of course not. I have begun to notice that small details we usually take for granted (like the definition of "booster seat") can become important. Small details like driving on the right side of the car, on the left side of the road and following the directions from Hertz's Neverlost navigation system was one of those details. The drive to Seaforth should take 30-40 minutes but our Neverlost provided an Australian driving baptism-by-fire by taking us on a circuitous route through the heart of Sydney rather than via the relatively easy and direct highway. After missing several turns, looking for streets that don't exist and holding a one-sided argument with the Neverlost, I finally pulled over and looked at a map of downtown Sydney to chart our course to Seaforth. It only took an hour and half. I'm sure the girls may have learned a few new words in the process.

All in all - even with our Neverlost misadventure - it was actually a very smooth 28 hour process. We've been here now for a day and I already have many more adventures and misadventures to share: Why do Americans have the cleanest windshields in Australia? Who has the right-of-way on a wave? What does "hang nine" mean? And what do Crabs and Crocs have in common?