Hooray for Adventures! (At Last!)

Hi!

Well. That’s been an exciting, fun and bloody busy week! Sorry for not checking in last night. Was beat after Sydney. It has been all go since Mom arrived last Sunday. Hooray for visiting Mom’s! Hooray for vacation time!

So yeah. Monday we just wandered some more around the city. Looked at stuff, ate some lunch until Mom pooped out. Good ol’ jetlag. We rested a bit, then headed with Cindy over to Janette’s for a “typical Aussie bbq”. It was really nice. So I borrowed Janette’s car, and Tuesday Mom and I headed up to Australia Zoo. Since I was there last with Sheldon and Scarlett, well over a year ago, not a couple months after Steve checked out, the “Crocodile + Show” has gotten so absolutely cheeseball, we decided it was really for kids. Gotta say, I don’t think Steve would be too pleased. It was a really lame way to spend an hour (tho man it felt like a heck longer). I can’t say more than that really. It was lame. But ahhhhhhhh, the weather was absolutely perfect, there were no crowds to speak of, it was a most excellent day. Such a nice spot he’s set up there. Aussies should be proud.

And Wednesday….. hang on, let me think back…….. Ah! Wednesday, after staying the night in a really cool, really empty hotel right in the Glasshouse Mountains with views to die for, we headed through Maleny and up to the Eumundi Markets, apparently one of the most famous markets in Australia. Man, it was huuuuuge! Sooooo many stalls! There was no way to see it all in one go. Plus, it’s only open until 1.30pm on Wednesdays. But, it was really good and interesting and I bought my first art. A painting by a local guy of eucalyptus trees. Hmmm. I’ll have to take a good picture of it, hard to explain….. Then we continued on over to Noosa for a bit of lunch and a wander. Then it was on home down the Coast Highway…. I have to say, it’s nothing like 101 in California but nicer than the main, busy highway.

Thursday….? Thurs. Jan took us over on the car ferry to Stradbroke Island. It’s beautiful over there. Absolutely stunning. Even in the torrential rain, which it did pretty much all day. Didn’t matter tho, we had a great time. Had a picnic that Jan had prepared, complete with champagne. It was excellent. Even saw a (soaking wet) wild kangaroo running across someone's front lawn!

And Friday, Saturday and Sunday we went to Sydney! How coooool! I’ve never been (well, Mom neither). I liked it. It reminded me of a funny blend of San Francisco, San Diego and in some parts, of Lower Manhattan (The Village). It’s a nice city. Big, sprawling, but not too busy or intimidating or crazy. And then there’s the Harbour. Wow. They have a million and one things jammed into that Harbour, not to mention the Opera House and bridge. And it’s full of lovely little coves all tucked away and around cliffs. It was really nice. The beach suburbs are amazing. Nothing but old money and big mansions and BMW’s and Mercedes’ parked on the sides of the roads. To look at Sydney and gauge the country just on the city, Australia is a pretty prosperous country. They’re all happy, healthy and lively and get to live in a clean, lovely and sparkly city. But I wouldn’t want to live there. I’m done with big cities. But can’t wait to go back and visit time and time again!

Saturday we toured the Blue Mountains. What can I say – it was beautiful and not at all touristy (until we got to the main launching point for the easy walks and tram-ride and gift shop). But there are walking trails all over the place, unspoiled views and dirt roads. It was excellent, but far too much to take in in one day. That’s the kind of place that needs years to explore. And the weather was with us the whole trip. Bright blue skies, not too cool and certainly not too hot, nice breezes…… couldn’t have asked for better!

And so here we are at Monday. It’s been raining all day so we’ve decided to stay put, recharge the batteries, get some laundry done and just basically chill out. Ahhhhhh. So nice not to be at work! Not sure what we’ll do the rest of the week……. Mom leaves on Thursday morning….. so that leaves us Tues and Wed…… Well, this rain is supposed to go out to sea (to New Zealand probably!) and leave us with decent weather, so tomorrow and Wed should be good to get out and run last minute errands and souvenir hunting! And then it’s back to it Thursday……!

So there it is. See? Adventures can be had after all! C’mon down! I have maps of Sydney!

BYE!
J!