Welcome to Drew & Amy Chaplin's Website. We will do our best to keep the world up-to date on our adventures in Australia. Please create a username by clicking 'New User' on the left. Once we approve you as a user, you'll have better access to our site. Most importantly, you'll be able to see the link for our home address and phone numbers at the top of the page. (Care packages are appreciated!! :)
The user approval process is easy. The next time we login, we'll approve you and the system will then email you a message with a password. Also by creating a user, the system will email you updates as we make additions to the website. You can disable them under 'Preferences'.
You'll notice that the newest story will always be at the top. If you want to read from the beginning, go to the last page and read the stories backwards. Feel free to comment on any any story, remember the whole world will see what you write! :) You can always email us privately, our emails are in the 'Mail & Phone Numbers' link.
This year I attended my first MTNA (Music Teacher's National Association) Conference which was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Albuquerque is one of those places I never imagined I would have a reason to go to so the opportunity was exciting. As happy as I was to attend the conference, I was even more excited at the prospect of going on a hot air balloon ride. Drew had already been to Albuquerque on business back in 2005 or 2006 and had gotten to go on one so he urged me to take the same opportunity. Albuquerque is the hot air balloon capital of the world so it is the place to go. I was reluctant to go alone though and I knew the two students I was rooming with would not be able to aford the extra expense. One day I decided I was going to go out on a limb and ask someone I had never met: one of my favorite piano teacher bloggers from Kansas. So, I emailed her and she said, yes she would love to go! We went with a company called World Balloon / Skyline Adventures (same company). One thing I liked about this company was that we had a smaller basket so it was more intimate with the driver. Other ballons had bigger baskets and some had much smaller ones. Our basket held 9 people including the driver. We arrived at 7am to watch them set up the balloon and then took of for what ended up to be about a 45 minute ride with a bit of a rough landing. As the wind was picking up we had to land and the field we landed in had power lines after it so we landed pretty fast and ended up on our side dragging for a little while. It wasn't bad and we were all very safe but we had to crawl out of the baskets laying on our side. I would recommend anyone to take this adventure once in your life.
I also had a chance to go up the Sandia Peak Tramway with the people from BSU that I ame with. It took you from 5,280 to 10,300 feet in 15-20 minutes. It was breathtaking and well worth the $17.50. Our last day we made it to Old Town, for a few hours where we got some beautiful hand-made jewelry (check out the outside vendors along the street) and we ate at a wonderful Mexican restaurant called Church Street Cafe. While there, we also ate at a Sushi restaurant on the corner of Central and 6th or 7th street. I could not find it on google but Yuka, my Japanese friend who was with us said it was good sushi. Albuquerque runs along Route 66 so we also ate at The Standard Diner which was featured on the food network's "Diner's Drive-ins and Dives" hosted by Guy Fieri. The food was so amazing we went back two nights in a row. I recommend the Burbon Butter Burger and the Roasted Beet Salad. Though we never made it to this restaurant, I heard great things about Tucanos Brazilian Grill where the waiters come around with skewers of meat that they put right onto your plate at your pleasure.
We stayed in a hotel several blocks from the convention center to save on price. Our hotel was called The Hotel Blue and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. It's an old motel but they have renovated the rooms and are renovating the outside this summer. It is not fancy but it is clean and new. The rooms have 40" flat screens, a marble countertop in the bathroom and Tempur-pedic beds. They offer free breakfast with Starbucks fresh brewed coffee and even a shuttle that will take you just about anywhere, anytime you want up to 10pm. They took us back and forth to the convention center, to the airport and toAlbuquerque's first neighborhood lined with wonderful shops and eating.
Albuquerque sits at 5,280 feet above sea level so my one tip is to make sure you have plenty of chapstick, lotion and water to keep yourself hydrated while there!
[slideshow:13]
1 comments Most Recent Post: 04/06 08:41PM by Otto Lowe
Yea! We are officially moved home. Our 20 foot container that was shipped sea freight has arrived. It was shipped out when we left on April 29th and Arrived here this past Monday June 15. This time it was much quicker than we moved over! It took 4 months when we moved over! We had to have everything unoloaded into mom and dad's garage. The moving company unloaded it for us and would have gladly unpacked it too but we chose to unpack it ourself. We basically had to go through and re--pack and condense things into as few boxes as possible. We took out some items we need and organized and re-boxed the rest. Nearly EVERYTHING has been stuffed into the front room of my parents house. It is stuffed to the ceiling! But the garage is finally empty. It took 3 days of unpacking but we're glad it's all done!
The time has come; the end is here, the Aussie Chaps in the Southern Hemisphere;
Have seen the sights, have trained a man, an Aussie that is, to continue in;
The job that Drew, for 3 years has done; 23 seminars that bloody man did run!
Kangaroo's, Koala's and Emu's too, our eyes have seen and eaten them too.
Sydney, Canberra, and Uluru; Melbourne, Adelaide and Yes, Tassie too.
Tasmania, that is, a state here in Oz. A beauty she is although a bit odd.
To Indiana we come, to continue our life; we’ve loved it, we’ve lived it now we’ll try
To find our way back to the good Hoosier State and find out what God has in our new fate.
Yes, the time has come!
Our flight arrived in Indianapolis last Wednesday 29 April. We've been busy this last week just catching up with immediate family and getting settled in. We will be living with my (Amy's) parents in Portland for the next few months until our shipment arrives and we know what jobs we'll have. It's hard to believe that this big life adventure has ended and yet we both were ready to come home. What an experience we've had these last 3 years. We were so fortunate to have been given an opportunity and look forward to what life has for us to come.
Many things have changed in the last 3 years. We missed the birth of two of our nephews, A.J. and Jack. We are looking forward to lots of Uncle Drew and Aunt Amy time with our niece and three nephews.
Please pray that we will have a smooth transition back to life in Indiana and that the reverse culture shock will be minimal. We don’t know what the future holds for either of us but we do know one thing…we’re now surrounded by family and many friends who love us and we’ve learned that there’s nothing more precious than that!
15,000 miles teaches you to appreciate the little things. That is what I know for sure.
P.S. We will still be keeping up our website so do continue to follow up with us! We love hearing from you. Feel free to make comments as often as you like! Even if it’s a Hello!
1 comments Most Recent Post: 05/25 07:39PM by Courtney Kephart
Next door to Drew and I live the sweetest family with 3 little boys. Their family is of Greek decent though the parents were born here in Australia and the grandparents in Greece. The boys are ages 8, 6 and 4. I teach Damon, the 8 year old piano lessons. The boys are just so cute and back by our garage there's a section of fence between their property and ours. They like to pop their heads over the fence to see what's going on once in awhile. Because of that Drew has named them Mr. Wilson 1, 2 and 3 (from Mr. Wilson on Home Improvement). The boys, of course, think it's hilarious.
They love to pop over randomly probably once every other day or every 3 days for no reason, just to say hi and talk to us. The littlest one, who speaks his own gibberish, loves to come knock loudly on our front door, come in and tell us something (which we can't quite understand yet-we just nod "uh-huh, really?") and then he walks through the house and leaves. It's totally hilarious.
As we are making preparations for leaving, Drew washed the car today and when I got home from work he was hand waxing it....right along with Mr. Wilson #2 (a.k.a. Alexander, Grade 1, Home for 2 weeks of school holidays).
He was out there with Drew for a good 1-2 hours rubbing down the car. It was just so cute I had to get a photo or 2 and a video of course so you can get a taste of their gorgeous Aussie Child Accent. He's the shyest one of the 3 so it was hard to get him to say a lot.
1 comments Most Recent Post: 04/10 07:28AM by sisteranne
My brother-in-law & his wife will be traveling abroad for the first time. They asked for some advise. I thought this may be useful or at least entertaining.
Outbound is relatively easy, getting back in is the hard part.
Outbound the ticketing agent will want to see your passports and will probably be able to check your luggage all the way through to your destination. The best thing you can do on checking is admit this is your first time abroad and ask about customs, bags, what to do where, etc.
There's really two parts to passing customs. The first is immigration then customs. Immigrations checks your paperwork, passports, visa. Then Customs checks your luggage.
After getting off the plane at the port of entry, follow the crowd. While waiting in line at immigration and when you reach the front of the line, look for a line on the Floor. DO NOT CROSS THE LINE UNTIL ASKED TO COME FORWARD. It's not like you'll get tackled for crossing this line prematurely, but it will keep you from getting dirty looks by the officers. When asked or signalled to come forward, both you and Anne can go to the counter together. Have your passport and immigration card handy. You will most likely get the immigration card on the airplane. The airplane may even show a short video on the immigration process. At the counter, take your hat and any sunglasses off so they can compare your face to your passport. Doing so at the counter shows the officer you have an idea of what to expect and that your are trying to cooperate. He may ask a couple questions to find out your intentions. He may ask where you are staying, what you are planning to do, etc. If you're caring anything that you need to declare, this is the guy. Things like food, nuts, plants, soil, large sums of money (as you know, I'm always guilty there, ha ha). The immigration card you fill out will prompt you for the things that may be of concern. I ALWAYS declare "food". They are mostly concern about fresh fruit and uncooked nuts, anything that can harbour insects. I generally have some candy or gum with me for the long flight and sometimes I'll take the goody bag that the airplane gives us. That's food, so I declare it. When/if they ask about it, most of the time they just wave it off as it's not a concern. I have heard of stories where people have kept their "airline complementary nuts" and get scolded because the didn't declare it. It's better to be safe. He'll then stamp your passport and give it & the immigration card back to you.
That's immigration then on to pick up your bags and then head towards customs where they may/may not scan and or search your bags. There will be an officer at the exit of the baggage area directing you. Sometimes I get lucky and get flagged directly out to freedom. Other times I've had a simple x-ray scan, but other times I've had a quick bag search. If/what you declare has some impact which route you take, but there's a lot of randomness in the whole thing as well. The last time I flew, I declared some "food" and was directed towards the lines where they were doing hand searches. As I got to the lady, she asked what I was declaring, I told her some nuts. She asked if they were uncooked or roasted and I indicate they were cooked. She then asked what was in the long tube I was carrying and I replied fibreglass cloth. She said thankyou and I left without ever opening the bags. The people in this area in both the US & OZ have always been very friendly. I think they realize it's invasive and people are more cooperative with someone friendly. The officer backing checking your passport tends to be more serious and dry.
The process is pretty much the same when you return into the US, but you'll have a US passport holder line that you'll be able to use. You'll need to ask the ticketing agent on the return leg about your bags. When we fly into the US at LA, we go threw immigration, pick up our bags, then customs. As we leave customs, our airline has signs or someone standing there re-collecting our bags for the next flight. If not then we have to go to the domestic check-in to check our bags.
Anywhere during the process you may see a couple people with a dog sniffing out food and/or drugs. If you have any backpacks or purses, set them on the ground so the dog can sniff it. They'll ask you to set the bag on the ground, but doing so before just shows your cooperation.
Have you checked to see if you need a travel VISA?
This procedure may be a little different going somewhere other than OZ, but it'll give you an idea of what to expect.
I hosted another training seminar this week where we entertained a few customers. We took them to really a fun place called Moe's
I had "Moe's BBQ". Aka (a Heart Attack on a Plate)
Starting at the saucer with BBQ Sauce and working clockwise.
4 BBQ wings under the flat bread
An Egg on top of a Hamburger patty (classic Australian)
2 snags (hotdogs)
several pieces of Bacon
Steak
Lamb Souvlaki
All on a bed of Chips (French Fries)
Amy would have been proud, I didn't finish it all off. I left one snag on the plate as I saved room for desert: Snickers Pie!!!
2 comments Most Recent Post: 03/20 10:02PM by Adam & Anne Rockwell
This recipe is dedicated to my mother-in-law, the queen of the Microwave :-) I expect you to try this Marlene!
5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUGCAKE
4 T. flour
4 T. sugar
2 T. cocoa
1 egg
3 T. milk
3 T. vegetable or canola oil
3 T. chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of good vanilla
1 large coffee mug
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (optional) and vanilla, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high.
The cake may rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow tocool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (This can easily serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).
Why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!
You are going to print this out straight away, aren't you...
