Sydney

We headed to Sydney on Friday and by the time we got organized, we left a little later than we wanted! :o) It is a long trip--about 12 hours by car. Poor Zech ended up getting sick and we had to stop a couple of times to clean up. Goat milk is not a pleasant smell! We arrived late and went straight to bed.

SATURDAY

On Saturday we had a small luncheon to remember John's Grandma. It was nice and we got to meet a few more of John's relatives. We were still really tired. John and Zech went for a nap and I went on a walk with John's parents. They showed me a bit of the neighbourhood, which was nice.

SUNDAY

We went exploring. We went to Penrith (a suburb of Sydney) and caught the fast cat ferry right into the Sydney Harbour. It was really neat and a beautiful day for a ferry ride. From Sydney Harbour we caught a ferry to Manly Beach and spent some time walking around and playing in the water.

The famous "Coat Hanger" Bridge.

The Opera House

Some old building down by the Harbour (I thought it was so nice and festive)

The Boys and the Aboriginals. They were playing the Dedridoo--pretty neat!

A prison right in the middle of the Harbour.

Exploring Manly Beach and area.

Manly Beach - the only semi-nice day we had in Sydney!

MONDAY

On Monday John's Mom took us around to show us her old stompin' grounds. We went to the first place that she lived in Peakhurst. It was really neat to here her tell us about all of the people and shops that used to be there. It has completely changed, it is almost like an industrial area now. Her old place was situated on a large corner lot, and it was bought out by a Gas Station. The house was moved across the street and we think it was the same house, with a few reno's.


After she took us to her old elementary school just up the hill. It was still the same school and it is still being used today.


Next, we went to the beach where John's Mom used to go as a little girl. The name of the beach was Cronulla. It was a lovely little beach.


Finally, we went to the second house that Ann (my mother -in-law) moved and lived in. It was in a really nice area called Baulkham Hills. The house was completely redone, and looks quite lovely.





It was a really nice day and we really learned a lot about Ann's child hood. I think that she was really happy to show us around too.

TUESDAY

We relaxed and went to a couple of malls around the area. We also packed up and got ready to leave the next morning.

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday morning was the viewing, so all went down to the Funeral home. I stayed in the car with Zech, but John and his parents went and his AUnt. It was pretty hard for them, as the viewings always are. It never does look like your loved one and it is hard to see them like that--I guess it does bring closure though.

After the viewing we started heading back home. John's parents decided to come back up with us. They were originally going to fly or bus up closer to Christmas time, but everything was booked up or super expensive. So we said that we would stay a few extra days in Sydney so that we could drive his parents back up with us. We stayed the night in Coffs Harbour, a beautiful little town on the beach and then we headed home on Thursday.

THURSDAY

We finally had nice weather. It rained and rained in Sydney and it was really cold. We were not prepared for the cooler temperatures in Sydney, which is really unusual for this time of year. So we had a nice trip back and we actually dropped John's parents off in Surfer's Paradise so that we could go home and clean up before we showed them our place. We left it in a hurry and it was a bit of a disaster. So we cleaned up and then went and picked them up.


Now we are all back home and enjoying the beautiful sunshine and the heat. It keeps getting hotter and hotter and it will get a lot more humid.