Dragging Luggage, Eating Scallops, Meeting Firemen

Monday, April 20 was just a travel day - checked out of the YHA and took the shuttle to Queenstown airport - the tiniest and cutest airport ever (Julia wants to work at the café there, staring out the huge window at the amazing view all day, eating the best lasagna EVER. Mom had her first, and last, flat white.), flew to Wellington, then Brisbane. Had a funny taxi driver on the way to the motel who lectured Julia on not cooking, dragged our RIDICULOUS amount of luggage to our studio apartment and enjoyed our first really good shower in a few days. Jody hung out with a book while Julia and Amy hit up the motel restaurant - bread with dips and scallops over salad. As we were leaving we just had to ask the only other table of people - all men, all eating massive plates of meat - clearly co-workers of some sort, just what their association was. One immediately said, "We're doctors." Amongst the snickers another man asked us to guess. Julia went with, "Working men. The ones who wear the short shorts. It's the only job I know of here." They thought that was amusing so they gave us a hint - "We wear braces." Which Julia explained was usually something we would reserve for the handicapped and they clarified they meant suspenders. So Julia guessed fisherman and they said "close." Next hint was they drove a red truck so Amy guessed postal man and they REALLY thought that was funny. Turns out their all fireman (which we never did guess) and they were in Brisbane for training. They claimed they needed some volunteers to be rescued - our size would do - and also asked did we want to take a picture with them. We definitely would have, but didn't have the camera with us for possibly the first time ever, and didn't think Jody would want to let us in with a pile of fireman behind us...

all men, eating massive plates of meat