Where to start?

Every good project needs a to-do list to give it purpose or at least direction.  I guess I could begin with the Lonely Planet Queensland guidebook that's been sitting on my bookshelves ever since we arrived.  It certainly lists all the reasons tourists come here.  But I've met New Yorkers who've never been up the Empire State building and still say New York's the best place in the world, so I know there's more to it than just the famous sites.  Plus, I can admit that Queensland beaches rival (and probably even surpass) any others in the world, but as I've made abundantly clear, I'm not won over by the whole state.

Let's start with stereotypes.  Provincial.  Country.  Outback.  Backwoods.  Small town.  Desert.  Flies.  If you need some more key words, ask anyone from Melbourne or Sydney to tell you about Brisbane.  But even a Victorian will add, "But they do have nice weather up there."  So maybe that's on the Embracing Brisbane To-Do List:

1.  Love the weather.

But I hate the weather.  It's hot and humid and feels like Mississippi in the middle of July but without central air conditioning or even a decent summer storm to cool the place down.    And have I mentioned the flies?

1. (revised) Find ways to appreciate Love the weather.

I'll keep working on that list, but it's going to be diverse for sure.  The guidebook spots and the local hideaways.  The local pasttimes (though lets face it, with 2 toddlers and little time for a social life this definitely won't be a Guide to Brisbane Nightlife).  And of course, the food.  A different kind of Australian adventure (less glamorous perhaps than the guidebooks and certainly lower budget than the movie, but who knows, you might get a laugh out of hearing how a Mississippi girl who's afraid of the water learns to surf).  And if any Brisbane readers actually stumble on this blog, maybe you'll even discover a thing or two with me that even you didn't know about your hometown.