Australia, take 2

It took 32 hours from the time I left my home to the time I checked into my room in Perth. Ick! So long to be traveling and way too long to spend continuously with one's boss. Poor Nathan and Brad missed the connection in LA and had to spend the night and catch the next flight so they will hopefully me here this afternoon. But they came from DC so have had much more traveling than us so I guess I shouldn't complain. They were trying to bump people off our flight to reduce the weight of the aircraft due to weather. In exchange they woul dhave put us on the flight the next night and upgraded us to business class, those fabulous chairs that recline all the way and are like little cubbies. But Simon wasn't having it so here we are, just the two of us in Perth, which has made for some awkwardly silent meals.
I got a decent night's sleep last night and went for and early morning walk along the Swan River which leads out to the Indian Ocean. The weather is pleasant so far and I hope that it holds up. We will go meet with Stephan Wyche from the GSWA in a few hours to get our sampling permits, but there is not much else to do as we are not looking at cores this trip so that meeting won't take too long. I am hoping to drive out to Fremantle this afternoon for the Farmers Market. Supposedly on the weekend they have a really great flea market, but today is just the farmer's market and I am excited to see the local produce and get some decent food from the vendors. This will also allow me to get to the coast so I can put my feet in the Indian Ocean (yay), which I was unable to do last time.
Tomorrow we are off to the middle of nowhere to begin field work!