On US soil...just.....

If you are wondering how we are...we are all good and here...yeh...finally...settled. Here is a little breakdown of the trip thus far, with internet connectivity a little thin on the ground and also quite costly we will be touching base every few days, so stay tuned for updates as we can get on line.

28/2- Leaving from Melbourne to Sydney was a standard domestic trip, the fun did not begin until we hit customs in Sydney. The official powers that be decide that Jan Tana tan is a dangerous enough substance to confiscate and no amount of insisting or pleading would convince the very 'switched on' individuals at Border Security of otherwise…travellers note that 100ml of any substance is allowed on board, I am just glad they allowed me to keep my full, new bottle of Calvin Klein perfume. Their reasoning of security is understandable, but comp color...guys really, the only danger this poses is to the dry cleaner getting the residue off clothes and sheets, hardly a matter of national security!
Virgin Airlines- great flight service was good, seats comfy, staff awesome. I am however, weary after 6 hrs sleep-2 x shows of Burn Notice and 2 in flight movies.

We arrive at LAX, finger prints scanned, swarms of blue clad official type people buzzing around everywhere. All was fine until Perry was asked to step into one of the interigation offices. Well you can imagine the thoughts running through my head…. ‘he’s getting sent home and we have not even been on US soil for 15 minutes yet’…. ‘I am going to have to go to Columbus alone and then head home right after, no holiday’….. ‘Why single Perry out?, I know we look rough but who doesn’t everyone after 12hrs on a long haul flight?’…...on and on the thought went.
So finally we get to the bottom of the issue and find that the Australian officials have not cancelled his old passport number since issuing the new one and basically the US feds want to know why he has 2 passports…as would I…nice one Australia, way to stay on the ball with your paperwork!...hardly something you check up on either, 1 passport expires another is applied for and issued, end of story, right…wrong! So after 40 minutes, thank goodness it wasn’t longer, we were on our merry way allowed into America with a slap on the back and ‘a sorry to bother you, enjoy your stay.’
So waiting to board the connecting flight to Charlotte, North Carolina before connecting to Columbus, Ohio. This has been a long and drawn out journey spiced up with a little too much excitement for my liking, but hey, without the spice I would have nothing to report back, right?...So I hope you enjoy, trying to keep the excitement up just for your amusement ..lol..

29/2-Arrived in Columbus Ohio our final destination. The Hyatt accommodation is comfortable and very neat and the staff are very helpful. Getting a cab from hotel to destination in this culturally void town is easy enough, but getting back rather tricky. Cabs seem to be fairly thin on the ground round here. Not the best when you consider the weather is a frosty 30 degree Fahrenheit, or 10degrees Celsius. We arrived to snow blanketing the ground and a very eerie haunting feel to our final stop. So having made a couple of trips to various Pharmacy-type stores (don’t say Chemist they look at you blankly) to stock up on supplements we can find for the final preparation into the show and making an emergency call to the very helpful Jan Tana about my confiscated tan products, we settle into our first evening in Columbus Ohio ready to wind into the show calmly. The gym here is a great setup with free and machine weights perfect for our needs and plenty of cardio equipment for those that need it, I for now am done with cardio thankfully.

So we begin with my water depletion tomorrow and so tonight I am enjoying my final water load intake ( 8 litres and counting). Looking for a very restful evening in a proper bed and ready to take on Ohio over the next few days as the rest of the competitions begin trickling into the town. Columbus is eagerly anticipating the influx, with all the cold weather, the highest snow fall in over 20 years according to news reports, many shops and retailers appear to have been suffering with little business. The extra 140,000 people coming to town for the next 4 days will help warm things up a little.

Till next time, stay cool and train hard.xxx