Flight maps

I flew so far from the USA to Perth that the map has to be HUGE. You can see almost all the world.

View Drew In Oz in a larger map

Perth, Drake's Apartments: September 22 to October 6

Then we got another plane.  This time we flew for 10 hours and landed in Perth late in the afternoon.  We flew on Emirates Airline -- they had good games on the back of the seat! and all the movies you could watch plus silly TV shows.  When we got to Perth, it was much greener than I had expected.  I thought it would be a desert! but there were lots and lots of trees.  We stayed in a small apartment near the Swan River.  It had a giant bathtub which took half an hour to fill up to use the Jacuzzi jets.  We did nothing but look for a house to live in, and then a car.  House hunting was boring because I was not allowed to climb everywhere.  Car hunting was better because I got to sit in the cars and test them.  The arrival in Perth was hard, but it was mostly sunny.  We didn't take any pictures because we were very tired.

Dubai: 22 September

We flew from Scotland on Monday afternoon.  By the time we arrived in Dubai, UAE, it was the next day.  We drove around and around and around the airport in a bus that made me feel sick in the middle of the night.  The airport was full of people from everywhere all over the world -- Africa, Asia, the Middle East, UK, places I don't even know where they were.  Everyone had different clothing, which we got to see in the security line for a long time.  We did not leave the airport but the next time we go I want to go to the huge waterpark.

Scotland: September 11 to 21, 2009

We flew to Scotland overnight on Continental Airlines.   When we got to Scotland I went straight to bed because I had stayed up all night in the USA but it was morning in Scotland. Unbelievable! It was almost a nap.

We stayed at our friend Robbie's house where we got to play with his daughter Eve.  We went to see my other grandpa Minto several times where we got UK Pokemon cards and magazines.  We went hiking up a hill and ate ice cream afterwards.  We went to the beach in Aberdeen; we stuck our feet in the water but it was toooooo cold to swim, even at the end of the summer.  We went hunting for Gnasher at National Trust of Scotland properties.  I liked the garden at Pitmedden best -- we snuck apples off the fancy trees.  At Castle Fraser we saw an antique wooden leg.  If we find the photos I will post them.

Manahawkin, NJ: August 26 to September 10

We went to my Aunt Darby and Uncle Charlie's house in New Jersey.  While we there, I helped my aunt at the Church's "Ken's Kitchen" soup kitchen and food pantry, where she works every week.  We made 240 meals (chicken, mashed potato, rolls, etc.) to take away and served another 200 people in the dining room.  We also helped with unloading the vans from the food delivery, and sending pastries to other food centers and shelters in New Jersey.  The meals were fun to prepare; I was fast at helping.

I always like it when we go to Aunty Darby's house.  I get to be good "flying up to angel heaven good" and get a new Nintendo game in payment.  I also tried to finish watching every Avatar episode before we left the country.  Here is a picture of Uncle Avatar aka Uncle Charlie. 

Darby has two dogs:  Milo and Indy -- named for Independence Day because she got him on the 4th of July.  They are Labradoodle dogs -- half Laborador and half Poodle.  They are fluffy and silly.  Indy, the puppy, wrestles with Milo all the time.  He bites Milo's tail but Milo is very patient and lets it go for a while.  Then he attacks Indy.  Indy was comfy when he lay on your feet and took a nap -- very warm.  I liked it.

While we were in New Jersey, my grandparents visited from Florida.  They drove their RV motorhome and lived in Aunty Darby's backyard.  Then they sold the RV (boo hoo) and drove back to Florida.  You can see the RV in this picture behind the giant tomato plants and the grill.  We had to eat tomatoes every day, whether we wanted to or not.

Boston, Massachusetts: August 24 & 25, 2009

We drove to Boston to visit my parents' friend Louise & Pell (and their kids Annie and Will).  We went to the big ship Constitution but it rained so hard we didn't see it.  My rain dance didn't work (or maybe it did).  My dad and I climbed the Bunker Hill Monument (294 steps + 3 metal steps) but my Mom didn't go because she's afraid of heights.  That night we ate on their porch on top of the house.  Afterwards we walked to the North End and got tasty Italian desserts.  They have toilets on the streets of Boston that are sort of robots.  It was near a small plaque about a flood that happened when a molasses tank burst.

The next day we went to the New England Aquarium and took the Water Taxi back to Charlestown.

South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, August 22 & 23

We made a potato gun at "Uncle" Neil's house. He's not really my uncle; he is a friend of my Mom and Dad, and is a professor at the University of Massachusetts. The potato gun was very big and shot off several potatoes and apples. We shot them into the neighbor's yard, probably into their pool (which would be very funny if it clonked them on the noggin). It was hard to hold and my mother kept yelling "Stop pointing that at me!"

He had a huge garage with a million cars -- five cars, all with the name of "Old SomethingOrOther." For example, the one outside the garage was called Old Rustbucket. We drove around pretty fast in Old Blue; there is a picture of me pretending to drive it below.