And now for some perspective on the first 12 days. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words...
Sid and Philip upon first landing on these fair shores. Bright (well, almost) and chipper:

Sid and Philip with one of their offspring after a week on the road:

Its been a tough week & a bit. But things are looking up:

Although Emmett may have beaten us to the punch (bowl?):

How are the kids faring? Lets go to the videotape...
Once again, the start of the trip, everyone looking keen (chipper?):

But after a few days, things started to deteriorate. Or maybe it was the imbibing (cf Emmett above):

Of course, being the good parents we are, we threatened the kids with dire consequences unless they bucked up. Unfortunately, we found it necessary to follow through on the threat...

But its onward & upward for more weeks of travel...