Scuba Class

Well, the internet is acting up again... so no pictures from today. Unfortunately you'll just have to read about our day.

We started our scuba class today and had half a day in the classroom, then spent the other half in the pool learning some skills on how to scuba dive. It was really fun and in talking to some people at our hostel, the reef sounds like it has many colorful and neat things to see. We're excited to go out on the boat and see it!

We enjoyed a BBQ at our hostel tonight and the exotic food they offered was kangaroo meat and cod that he had caught out on the reef (he hadn't gotten any crocodile). The kangaroo tasted pretty good, actually. They also had some fire dancers perform and we got to try playing the didgeridoo. It's really hard! And sounds so funny.

Well, we're off to bed now. Early start tomorrow for our second day of dive class.

~Tim and Deb

Safely in Cairns

We arrived safely in Cairns this morning and checked into our hostel with no problem. It's actually a really nice hostel, with lots of open windows and colorful wall paintings; it has a laid back, easygoing vibe to it. We've got a great room that even has a balcony attached to it! (this is a picture of the "common room" here).

We spent the afternoon walking around town and checking out the local scene. There is no swimming in the ocean here because it is pretty muddy and there are crocodiles in it. They have a "swimming lagoon" by the beach, which is basically a really big swimming pool. It was pretty crowded with lots of swimmers and sunbathers; I kept seeing skin cancer and was hoping that everyone was wearing their sunscreen! :) The marina is quite spectacular too, with the mountains in the background.

Tomorrow we start day 1 of 2 days for our dive course, then we head out to the reef on a boat for a few days. We discovered some yummy Cadburry Carmel Koalas that we've been enjoying. Tomorrow, we try kangaroo and crocodile at the Hostel’s BBQ. Gotta love that Australia.

Good on ya, mate!

~Tim and Deb

Day #6 in Sydney

Today was one of our favorite days so far. We started off by meeting up with Tim’s mom’s cousin Judith; what that makes them, we don’ know… but we’re family. She treated us to a lovely breakfast right on the bay, overlooking the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Then we caught a ferry ride over to Watson’s Bay ~ a quaint little town in Sydney ~ and explored around there. There was an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean on top of these cliffs there, and we probably spent a good hour enjoying the view and taking it all in. We ate some yummy fish and chips, then returned on the ferry and parted ways. The rest of the afternoon we spent lounging around in a park by the Opera House and ended our day at Harry’s Café de’ Wheels ~ a meat pie cart. They load up the meat pie with mashed potatoes, mashed peas and gravy. Lovely.

We head up to Cairns tomorrow to start our scuba diving adventure. Great Barrier Reef ~ here we come!

(The internet has not been nearly as readily available as hoped... but alas, we are at trusty old McDonald's with their free wifi to enjoy!)

Yesterday (Saturday) we went to Paddington Market and enjoyed a bunch of outdoor stalls selling clothes, food, and hand-made goods. Breakfast came first, of course, and it was fried eggs, grilled tomatoes ("tah-ma-toes"), fries ("chips"), toast, bacon and tea. Yum. We enjoyed a lovely dinner right on the harbor, with the Opera House in view behind us as we ate. Then it was off to our cultural experience at the Drag Christmas show. We were all rather entertained, to say the least. Today we said good-bye to our travel mates as they are on their way to Cairns now. Tim and I took in some free museums around town and read some leisure reading in a park near the harbor for the afternoon.

I have yet to see a real-live Christmas tree. All of the Christmas decorations and festivities are pretty lousy over here compared to American standards... The weather was better today, and we are still free from sunburn!

Our last day in Sydney is tomorrow (Monday); I think we are going to try to track down some meat-pies to try. (Can you tell that food is an important part of the experience...?) :)

Until we find some more free internet ~
Tim and Deb

Day at the Beach

For the past few days we have been at the Northern Beaches - the beaches on the peninsula that extends North Sydney. They have all been gorgeous! Our "travel guides" Natalie and Andrew took us around and showed us all of the good parts of town and the best beaches. These few days have been filled with lots and lots of walking. We've gone on some pretty incredible hikes, saw a moon rise (just like a sunrise, but with the moon), rode the ferry across the bay, saw some penguins, and done a lot of exploring. We also visited the Sydney Fish Market, and took a behind the scenes tour to see the bustling auction floor where all of the fish are sorted and sold. We weren't expecting Sydney to be so cold... It's probably remained in the 60's, dropping down lower with the wind and at night, getting warmer when the sun is shining. It has been a whirlwind of a trip so far, but we are both very much enjoying Sydney. Tonight, we are off to the Opera House to take in a rather "cultural" show. :) Oh, and they have some really interesting signs here too.

We Made It!!

We are here - safe and sound in Sydney. We hit the ground running too. After getting our stuff locked away in our hostel - we met up with our good friends Andrew Scandrett and his wife Natalie Thomson and headed out into Sydney. I think we ended up walking 10 miles today - ALL over. Enjoy some pictures from our day!

Off to Australia!

So yes - we know - it's been almost an entire year since we've written on our blog. 2009 has been an amazing year filled with so many exciting things. However, I will save a year in review blog for later. Right now the big news is that tonight, at 10pm, we depart on our hugely anticipated 3 week backpacking trek through Australia!!! We've known for years that Oz is a place we must see - and it just worked out this year. We'll be going with our good friends Sam and Ellen Wu. We land in Sydney and stay there for a week, then head up to Cairnes for a week diving the great barrier reef, and finish our trip out on the West Coast in Perth to hang with our good friends Bree and Lisa Dudek. We're going to do our best to blog along the way and post pictures of the trip. So check back in with us. Who knows - maybe I'll be able to post a video or two. Here are some pictures of our preparation.