Adelaide Day 2

This morning was nice and sunny so right after breakfast, Dave took Don out paddle boarding. Dave says he is a natural! Don enjoyed it, especially the sting rays that swam with him!

Later in the morning, we headed into the Adelaide hills to visit the Gorge Wildlife Park in Cudlee Creek, South Australia. This is a small animal refuge where you are up close and personal with the animals. You can walk right into the Wallaby and kangaroo habitats and feed them biscuits. At first we didn't know we were allowed to get off the path - due to our "American - there's a rule for everything to protect all the dumb people" upbringing. We soon got used to not only getting off the path, but walking right up to a napping kangaroo and giving them a snack. They are very docile and take the biscuit gently from your hand. The joeys in their pouches were adorable but some looked like they needed to move out of the basement - if you know what I mean! There were many albino kangaroos and wallabies as this is a refuge.

Of course the highlight of the day was when we got to hold the koalas! They have three times a day where you cna line up to cuddle with a koala for a few seconds and take a picture. they are so soft and cute! Don and I immediately fell in love with them!

 

 

Sydney pictures

Adelaide is Awesome!

We arrived in Adelaide on Jan. 30 with no problems - Quantus Airlines could teach United a thing or two.  Dave and Colleen were there to greet us and whisk us away to their place. I guess I should describe their place as a palace by the sea! They live in a third floor condominium that looks out on the Gulf of  Saint Vincent which leads to  the Southern Ocean. We enjoyed lunch at Joe's Kiosk on Henley Beach. Later Colleen and I went shopping in Glenelg the suburb of Adelaide where the Millers live and the boys...well I don't really know what the boys did. We met up with them at a bar later.  The weather is beautiful but you need to definitely need the sunscreen!
Note: While in a store the clerk overheard Colleen and I talking. She asked where we were from and said our accents were lovely and rich...what?

A lovely day in Sydney

We finally landed in Sydney around 9am. Our flight was delayed last night until 11:45 because apparently, 24 hours is not enough time for United to figure out a runway for us to take off from. The flight was uneventful although we didn't have a aisle seat and didn't get to move around much due to the fact that the little old lady at the end of our row had a bladder of an elephant. After we finally landed, they announced that we were going to have to sit for 40 minutes on the plane because there was not an open gate. Again, you think they would have had enough lead time to figure this out as well. Well, the powers at be must have felt the anarchy that was simmering and miraculously found a gate within 5 minutes. After clearing customs, we had just enough time to speed in a taxi to the bike tour company with 15 minutes to spare.

The bike tour was fun. It was 4 hours and we biked all around Sydney to major attractions like the Sydney Opera house, the bridge, some churches, parks, and monuments. The weather was perfect and it we are so glad that we got to do the tour.

After a nap and a much needed shower, it was a short walk from our hotel to Darling Harbor where there are many restaurants. We ate at Nick's and enjoyed some great seafood. We had great seats to see the fireworks that they shot off from the Harbor - unexpected entertainment!

We have an early flight tomorrow morning to Adelaide. Unfortunately, I just discovered things missing from my suitcase which was supposedly locked up at the bike tour office. Weird things are missing: a magazine, socks, chocolate, 2 chargers, my glasses...I guess I'm going to have to call the bike company in the morning. It's too bad that there are people in this world that have to resort to this kind of petty crime. Curiously, they didn't steal my knitting or jewelry - but chocolate? That is pretty low.

We're Still Here!

Our big adventure continues....Just when we were getting ready to board the airplane to Sydney last night, they made everyone get off so they could attend to a mechanical problem. At 12:30am, the flight was cancelled and you should have seen the stampede to the customer service desk to get rebooked and accommodations for the night! Poor Don married a person with too short of legs to keep up so we ended up at the tail end of the line. The saga continued when we arrived at our hotel at 2:30am and found out that they had no rooms. Luckily, a person questioned the desk clerk more thoroughly and found out that they had rooms but not at the United Airlines rate. Well I may be short but I'm able to whip out my credit card faster than most so we finally got a bed at 3am.

The good news is that we are now operating on Australian time and we have a flight out at 9pm tonight. The bad news is that I had to cancel our symphony tickets at the Sydney Opera House and our 4 hour bike tour begins 3 hours after we arrive.....no problem!

Things are looking up today - the sun is shining and the hotel honored our voucher. Also the United Club agreed to let us hang out there again today which means free snacks, drinks and most importantly Internet! Stay tuned....

More San Francisco Photos

Who remembers this movie?

The Chinatown Library Branch

Up One Hill, Down the Other

We successfully rode the BART train from the airport into downtown San Francisco. We were anticipating rain but were pleasantly surprised that it was sunny and cool. After seeing the long line for the cable car, we decided to walk through Union Square and to Fisherman's Wharf. Wow - we got our workout but no altitude= no problem! The Wharf is quite the tourist trap but we did find some great clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls. The last time we visited Fisherman's Wharf was when Paige was a baby and we were in town for a vet convention and Alex had stayed home with Grandma. We also reminisced about taking Alex here as a baby when we lived in Southern California. Time flies!

Of course we found our way to the Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory because after all, it is a long trip to Sydney! We definitely earned our chocolate after we walked back to the BART station - how can it be uphill both ways? Now we are recharging and hanging out until our flight at 10:40... See you down under!

Riding the BART

                                          Alcatraz

                                          Golden Gate Bridge

How about a Master Card?

We got up on time, Alex was ready to chauffeur us to the airport, Paige even got up at 0-Dark thirty to ride with us for a great send off. We said our goodbyes and made our way to the line to check in. All was going great until...."Do you have your Visas?" "Visas????" Come to find out, Australia is one of those wacky countries who require a Visa. Nowhere along the reservation trail were we alerted to this fun fact. Our hearts sank at the thought of having to call Alex to come pick us up or visit Sidney, Nebraska instead. Luckily a guardian angel named Tommie Garcia, a United Airlines customer service rep, took us under his wing and after much typing and visiting with his help desk, came up with two electronic Visas for us! He worked quickly so we got our luggage on the plane in time and made our flight to San Francisco! Ok we made leg one of our great Australian Adventure. Hopefully the rest will go smoothly.......