Day 13: ZOO DAY

ZOO DAY!!

Okay kids, so there are a LOT of pictures on this one. I had a hard time discriminating because they're all so good!! (If I don't say so myself). Anyway, Tanya was adamant that we visit Taronga Zoo, and I'm going to be totally honest, I was kind with my dad when he said "The Zoo? The Zoo is just a zoo." Let me tell you friends, this place is SO much more than "just a zoo". I'm SO glad Tanya took me. Not only did we enjoy a peaceful day with the animals, but the views were breathtaking. I'm not kidding, I could not stop taking pictures I was so stunned.

I honestly can't remember Tanya mentioning many details about the zoo. I'm quite convinced she wanted it to be a surprise. Basically, This is the first thing you see as you enter the zoo. (As you can see from the sign clearly marked ENTRY). At this point I was thinking to myself, wow, that is a very lovely view...but come along for a ride dearests for it only gets better from here.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day. Here, we have a majestic giraffe...with the Sydney Opera House in the background...no big deal. We walked around the zoo for a few hours and enjoying hanging with the animals (of which I have a billion pictures, but I think there is a point where a blog has too many pictures so I held back on posted all of them this time). Then we made our way over the elephants.

There were a few shows that Tanya insisted we MUST see before we left the zoo that day, and the Elephant training one was one such show. We went and paid far too much for a less than spectacular hamburger that had some weird orange sauce on it, and found a spot on a rock just outside the Elephant play area. Here I must pause to mention that Tanya is a zoo expert. She knows how to work the system. The rock we found to sit on was prime real estate because we were able to sit there and eat, but when the show started we could stand on it and laugh at all the people in front of of us who had been standing for the last 20 minutes to ensure a good spot :)

So the show started, and it was really cute. My little brother Brady, the elephant connoisseur, would have loved it. The trainers played all sorts of games with the elephants like soccer and football, plus the guy commentating on the whole thing had a beautiful accent, which I cannot complain about, AND there were baby elephants (need I say more?). Now fully nourished and refreshed, we continued.

So I'm realizing now that my pictures are a bit out of order, because we went to the bird show before the elephant show, but that is okay. One of the first shows of the day was the bird show, and it was located in a little amphitheater. As we rounded the corner to enter said amphitheater, we encountered this stunning vision. I remember turning to Tanya at this point with a look like "You live here?" "You have a pass to this zoo, and you can come ANY TIME YOU WANT?" And then a small amount of jealous rage swept over me, but then I looked over the harbor again and I was over it. It's hard to describe just how beautiful this place is. I wish there were words, or pictures that could do it justice, but there just aren't. So basically y'all will just have to go before you die and experience it for yourselves. I'm not kidding. If visiting Australia is not on your bucket list, or if you don't have a bucket list, pull out a piece of paper and WRITE IT DOWN, dang it!

So here's me just before the bird show started in front of the Harbor. I like to think of it as my "Sydney in Sydney" shot, thanks to a lovely comment by one beautiful Samantha Bertoni on my Facebook page :) I'm pretty much really jealous of the girl in that picture right now. I would go back in a heartbeat.

This is my artsy bona fide photographer shot. My dad didn't understand when I showed him. "Why did you take a picture of a tree?" said he. BECAUSE, Dad, it's a cockatoo, and the Harbour Bridge is in the background. It's artsy and bona fide, don't you know.

Once again, I love this shot because it's like mixing wildlife and a city skyline, and it's just so cool! I'm not sure, because I haven't been to every zoo in the world, but I'd bet this is one of the only places on the planet where you can see something like this.

This cute little gullah took the money from my hand and put it into the box. Pretty much a highlight of my day.

Next up was the seal show. This was really fun. The seals did all sorts of tricks, and were quite successful in drenching a few kids in the front row, which was entertaining. There's something about the zoo, I guess that just makes you feel like a little kid again. I'm a lucky lucky girl that I had such a great friend to show me around, because she knew exactly where I needed to, and exactly what I would love. We are pretty much the same person in a lot of ways...so that's good.

Here's another one of them artsy shots. I just couldn't help myself. I'm sure I wore Tanya out. I seriously had to stop like every five steps...oh wait! I see another picture! If I were her, I'd be thinking, "Sydney, you just took a picture of that, but from five steps back." And she'd be right. Mostly, I think I was afraid that if I didn't keep taking pictures that I would forget something, and I didn't want to miss out on reliving a single second of this day.

I know I have a million Koala pictures, but this guy cracks me up. Who do you think you are? King of the eucalyptus tree?

Same thing with this picture. This poor guy is obviously not totally sold on the idea of living in a caged-in area where a bunch a strangers come and gawk at him all day.

So here it is, one of my very favorite shots of the entire trip. It was kind of cool because there was this globe down by the seals, but it wasn't like one you might see at Hogle Zoo, for it was of the southern hemisphere, which is where I was. First time crossing the equator baby :). We spent nearly the entire day at the zoo, and boy was it a day well spent. I was awed and amazed at the beauty that was there. It was relaxing, and pretty much perfect. We were pretty spent after that, but the day didn't end there. Tanya had something else in mind...

Take a moment, friends, and bask in the awesome and magical place that is McMahon's Point. Here is where Tanya brought me after the zoo. We spend a while here. I couldn't bring myself to walk away from it, frankly. We sat and just watched, and laughed a bit at the fact that the very next day I would atop that bridge...above that large body of water...the Pacific Ocean, and we listened for a big to Hugh Jackman sing his heart out about how he still calls Australia home. I can understand why, Hugh. I left a piece of my heart there I think.

At the bottom there is a picture of me at McMahon's point, and for your viewing pleasure, the strange couple taking pictures by the water. They were there before we got there and stayed until after we left...we were trying to figure out their story, but they were just really strange and quite unreadable.

The view was just unbelievable. I mean seriously. You cannot buy that. After a beautiful afternoon/evening at McMahon's point, Tanya took me to this great little Thai restaurant just up the road (however, it was uphill the entire way, and it seemed a lot farther than it was, but the food was totally worth it). We took it back to the car, and it began to rain a bit, so Tanya decided to take me to another place wherest I might enjoy another phenomenal view and experience Thai food for the first time. Unfortunately, we got stuck in some serious traffic, but-Christmas Miracle-our food was still hot a delicious by the time we reached the little hill in the town Tanya grew up in to eat our food. Traffic wasn't all bad, anyway because we ended up driving across the Harbour Bridge which was definitely worth waiting in a bit of traffic.

It began to rain, but we managed to find a closed restaurant that had closed for the day and had a little overhang that we could sit under. The food was amazing, and the view was priceless, but the best part was just being in that moment with Tanya, one of my very best friends in this entire world. By far, this was one of my favorite days of the entire trip. It seriously was as near to perfect as you could get, and a lot of it was dumb luck and spur of the moment decisions that made for one simply amazing day. I don't know if any of you have made it through the forever long ramblings of this post, but Tanya, if you're reading, just want you to know that I love you, and I will always remember this day, and of course the lovely time I had on the bridge ;) That's all for zoo day. Tune in tomorrow when I climb the bridge (!)

Day 12: Meet the Fisks

So I'm back. I apologize for the long break in between blogs. I have sold my soul to BYU for the time being and have only just know found time to get some more blogging in two months later, at one'o'clock in the morning. But back to business.

So this day was actually rather spectacular. We woke up in the Blue Mountains to the sound of Kookaburras, and just lounged around for a while (although Tanya had naturally been up for HOURS as she does). There was a bit of a decision to make as we had meant to meet the Fisks, one of the other families my dad taught and baptized, and became really close to, but for some reason we had just missed them. BUT, Tanya, being the intuitive person that she is had the feeling that we should go back to her house that morning and try to catch up with the Fisks and see what their plans for the next few days were. So we packed our stuff up, said our goodbyes to the family and went home.

We settled in a little bit, and if I remember correctly I don't even think I bothered to put my contacts on before we left. So we called up the Fisks, and miracle of miracles, they were shopping at that very moment at the Blacktown shopping center just minutes from Tanya's flat. So I rushed to make myself presentable, as I was not about to meet these people my dad had spoken so much about in the state I was in.

And thus began part two of our adventure that day. Tanya was funny. She kept saying how strange it was to be in a shopping center on a Sunday...there were definitely more people there than you would see in a Utah mall on a Sunday, not really surprising, but something I was definitely not used to. We were to meet the Fisks outside of Big W. I remember walking kind of gingerly up to this couple thinking...I'm PRETTY sure that's them, but if it's not, then this could turn into a really awkward moment. Luckily, they mostly recognized me and we shared a moment of...I believe I am the person you are looking for, and we started into the hugs and introductions and stories. The Fisks are LOVELY people. Tanya, naturally became best friends with Sandra because that's just what she does. She looks at people, and they think "This looks like a person I could bear my soul to." And I love her for it.

I should probably put a little explanation into this picture. I really don't have an adequate description of what happening other than that this gesture was supposed to mean something to my dad. It's like a secret mission thing, but I love this picture. I think it's because it makes me think of my dad as a missionary, and I can totally see him having jokes like this...it makes my connection to these great people all the more real.

Arthur told me all about his family, his grandson that they're raising, we talked a bit of politics, and we talked about their hometown of Bathurst. He also told me that if I plan on finding myself an Aussie boy that I should start by looking for a "bush boy" like himself. We talked about my dad a little bit, and of the church. We really talked about everything. It was a beautiful way to spend the afternoon. It really brought home to me just how far reaching the church is. 

I mean honestly, had it not been for the church and the impact it had on my dad's life, so much so that he decided to devote his life to the lord and to a people thousands of miles away, there's NO WAY I would have been standing in that shopping center on the other side of the world meeting these wonderful people. I have this connection with these people because of my dad's faith and, I believe because the Lord has decided that I should. It truly is amazing. Tanya says her favorite quote is that "There are no coicidences in the gospel of Jesus Christ." I happen to KNOW that this is so. Stayed tuned for day 18 which is further proof of this.

So this last picture is a picture of a belt buckle that Arthur gave to me...and it is one of my most treasured possessions. He won it in...I'm going to feel awful if I get this wrong, but I believe it was '89 when he won an International Archery Competition. It has his name engraved on the back, and gosh. It is just super cool. Before we left, he said that he wanted me to have it because I'm just like a granddaughter to him. I seriously almost started crying.

These are two very special people, and I am very glad to have them in my life :) Unfortunately, I've waited a long time to post, and I am beginning to forget things but I believe after leaving the Fisks house Tanya and I just went home and had a girl's night-watched movies, ate junk food and talked. Pretty good day I'd say. However, it did hit me around this time that my adventure in Australia was half way over. But man, did we make the most of the next week...

Day 11: It's Beautiful in Katoomba

Wow. Okay so this will probably be the longest blog I will ever do in my life, and probably the most disorganized. You don't have to read to the end if you don't want to. True story: all these pictures were taken in one day, and they're only about a third of them. Anywho...we went a wandering the Blue Mountains this misty and rather chilly Saturday, and all I can say is: phenomenal. It's truly like a different world up there. The gum trees are unbelievable cool, and they are everywhere, and then you have parts that look like a little rainforest, and other parts look kinda similar to what you might see in Utah, only with flat tops, and no snow as it was, after all, winter.

Hey guess what? I love this lady. 

But before we began our journey into the mountains, we naturally had to stop at a few shops. This picture was taken at an antique shop in Leura. It was HUGE. Now, I like to shop, don't get me wrong. But Sam and Judith REALLY like to shop. Janne and Rob were the first to tire of the antiques, and as Tanya and I began to fade, we found things to amuse ourselves, including, but not limited to: picking out future wedding presents for each other, mocking the horrid Di and Charles wedding china, and talking to cute little children who seemed amazed by the shop. I also found this rather amusing conductor's hat, and tried it on for fun. Hot right? I know. It just comes naturally.

After the antique shop, it was time to sight see. I was the only "kid" going sight seeing. Everyone else had gone four-wheeling with Tony (bless his heart). Unfortunately, our sight seeing attempts we a little less than successful to begin with. It was SO misty that morning. Any attempt to see anything past the first row of trees was useless. Just to give you an idea of how incredibly difficult it was to see anything...look below. 

After a few hours of pleasant, yet unfruitful driving, we made our way down to Megalong Valley. This picture here, while seemingly random, is one of my favorites-for off in the distance, as was pointed out by Janne after the fact, is a Kangaroo Crossing sign. Not a joke. It's legit. You can barely see it if you look closely, but it's there.

This picture took me back to my childhood. Did any of you ever watch Rescuers Down Under? Remember in the beginning where it goes across the outback and then all of the sudden a random house pops up next to what seems to be Ares Rock? I like to think that there is a curious little boy living in this little hut who will one day rescue a giant bird with the help of his mice friends.

CODY!!

Here is the cute little "tearoom" as it was called that we ate lunch at in Megalong Valley. I'm pretty sure snow white lives here, but it can't be proven. We had some soup, I had something and leek soup. Although I can't recall it's name, I remember it being really good especially since the weather was so crummy outside.

I also enjoyed some delicious hot chocolate, and as you can see, hot chocolate does not always come in mugs in Australia.

An then, just some more beautiful scenery that we enjoyed. The shot on the left makes me think of Emperor's New Grove with the monkey on the branch. Like I said, a new world.

On the right is a waterfall called, funnily enough, Bridal Vale Falls. We saw this at a lookout point around Katoomba that had a really steep drop and a rather flimsy chain link fence between us and death, but the view was pretty.

This picture is of the three sisters, or at least it was supposed to be. It's kind of the big tourist attraction of the blue mountains. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a great shot of it, but what can you do?

And now...for your viewing pleasure...I present: The BLUE MOUNTAINS

And here I am in front of the Three Sisters...can't you tell? I mean honestly. Look harder. 

We found this guy in a shopping center in Katoomba where I actually bought the opals I brought home for my mom and me. Since Koala's are my favorite, I simply had to take a picutre with him :)

There's nothing better than a weekend with people you love in such a beautiful setting. 

After sight seeing all day, we went back to the house and headed pretty soon after for dinner at this great Chinese Restaurant in Wentworth Falls. Judy was kind enough to treat us all to some of the greatest Chinese food I have ever had, and I learned to rock a pair of chopsticks which would funnily enough come in handy later on in the week when Tanya and I became Thai experts. (Well...she was the Thai expert. I was just experiencing.)

This trip, while filled with regular family vacation tension, was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was laid back, but full of amazing experiences and sights that one could only possibly see in Australia, and specifically the Blue Mountains, making me once again grateful for the connections I have to this great country, as Judy actually grew up in the Mountain and Tanya, Sam and Janne lived there for most of their lives. They knew exactly where to take me. Back at the house, Tanya and I used the time we had left to book ourselves into the most Sydney-packed week there ever was. Details to come...

Day 10: Murder, Mountains and Milo

BLUE MOUNTAINS WEEKEND!!

So my wonderful family in Australia rented out a cute little house up in the Blue Mountains for family bonding time. It was in a cute little city called Wentworth Falls (which, of course, reminded me of Prison Break). The picture to the left is one of the views we had from the house. It was a blast! Getting up there, however, was...well...let's say an adventure. Tanya and I had a bit of a late start Friday morning before we made our way up the mountain. This, of course, caused us to be stuck in the most ridiculous traffic of all time. Sam and her family were amazingly luck, and just missed it all. At one point, Tanya just put the car in park, turned off the ignition, and we sat on the road for a good twenty minutes before anything started moving.

What could cause such a delay you ask? Well we were asking ourselves the same question when we came to a group of police cars guiding traffic away from the road and through a residential area that was swarming with more cops. They were going door to door asking neighbors about what I could only assume was a serial killer on the loose. It turned out only to be a gas leak...but I'm still not totally convinced that the leak wasn't just a cover for a brilliantly minded criminal whose weapon of choice is asphyxiation and/or exploding buildings.

Whatever the cause of the delay, we were now sufficiently lost and off the established trail, and thus began Sydney's tenure as Tanya's map reader. For the record: I am a fantastic map reader. Tanya, on the other hand, is a horrible listener. She never believed the map reader. No. She knew best. So after several dead ends and a lot of laughter, we finally found our way to the house. We were the first there, as everyone else who missed the traffic was in Leura eating lunch. We decided to meet them up there after picking our rooms and ate at a cute little cafe, which was aptly named: Luera Cafe. I had a delicious, decidedly HUGE and difficult to eat turkey sandwich, and then Tanya bought us the greatest brownies ever to grace the face of the earth. I'm not even kidding. I took like 15 minutes to eat this little brownie because it made me sad to think that it would be gone soon.

Then it was off to the supermarket to buy supplies for the next morning's breakfast. Which brings me to my next picture. Ever since I was little, my dad has had a can of this stuff in the cupboards. I never really knew what it was until a few years ago when my dad explained "Milo" as being Australia's hot chocolate. Now, that's not exactly what it is, but it's kinda the easiest way to explain it. It is also like the greatest drink on the planet, and Australian's drink it a lot, at least Tanya's family did, which I had no problem with whatsoever. My dad didn't introduce us kids to it until a few years ago, and I know it's because he didn't want to share his stash. They don't really sell it here. You have to hunt for it, and when you've found it, it's just not quite the same.

Turns out, in Australia, they don't just drink it. They eat it. In cereal form, in ice cream form, and in candy bar form. Naturally, I found this to be the most hilarious thing ever, as I grew up around the stuff, and had come to love it, but when I told my dad this, he did not believe it for a second. So I took a picture of an entire rack of the stuff in the Woolie's in Leura. Hence, the picture. Definitely one of my favorite "only in Australia" things. In fact, as I write this I'm drinking a mug of Milo in the style of Mrs. Samantha Bertoni herself for I meticulously watched how she made it. It's probably not as good, but I like to call it real life Australian Milo :)

So after our exciting day in the car, and exploring the shops in Leura, we went back to the house and just kinda hung out as you do with any great family vacation. The boys starting watching "football" (rugby) out in the living room, and the girls retreated to one of the back rooms to listen to music and play board games. We had a splendid time. Janne started playing songs on her laptop and had Tanya and I guess the artist. I'm pretty good at that game except when it comes to Australian artists. (Thank you Mom). Then we went to bed. The girls (Natalie, Eliza, Amelia, Lauren and I) all slept in the same room, and we of course talked for a while before any of us even thought about going to bed, so that was fun. Also, my bed had an electric mattress that was super warm. Then...we were woken up by Kookaburras in the morning...but now I'm getting ahead of myself. On to day 2 in the Blue Mountains.

Day 9: A Girls Day

Today was relaxing, and full of all sorts of fun Australian experiences. I woke up kind of late...and I'll blame that on the fact that we'd been so busy all week, although it was mostly because I'm lazy. We bummed around for a few hours (well, I did. Sam was cleaning and ironing and such) and then we headed out to do some shopping and get Sam and the girls' hair cut.

We were very lucky in that we were able to spend the entire day with the lovely and beautiful Judith Smith :) Our first stop was at Studio 10 (I believe it was called). I all of the sudden forgot the name, but anyway, it was a cute little shop on one of the back roads of Sydney. The closest thing I could liken it to here is like a cross between Ross, Plato's Closet and the Gap. It had marked down clothes, but a lot of it was almost one of a kind and really trendy. It was also a lot easier to find things here than in Ross.

I happened upon this really cute leather jacket while we were in this store, and sat and debated over whether I really wanted to get it and add to the bulk of my suitcase to take home, but I had been looking for a leather jacket, and this one was only $30, so I broke down and bought it along with a pair of warm socks for Tanya's apartment. The lady read the total to me, and when she said "$18.50 please" I felt like that was a personal justification from the shopping gods that this leather jacket was meant for me.

We left Studio 10 and made our way to the nearest shopping center. Now a shopping center in Australia is something rather amazing. When it was first explained to me, I understood it to be rather like a mall. It is far more grandiose than a mere mall. First of all, I think the smallest one I ever entered had like four stories and that was because it was a really long building and had been built in the Victorian Era. The one we were at on this particular day, I believe, had 6 levels.

Essentially every store you could possibly imagine, or anything you may ever want can be found in one of this shopping centers, and I do mean anything. A person could go in there, get all of their grocery shopping done, get their hair and nails done, buy things to redecorate their home, finish their Christmas shopping, buy some candy, and send it all in a package at the post office on the next floor up. It was unbelievable.

Now my first thought was that this was the most ingenious thing ever to happen to shopping, but as the weeks went on, I realized that it can be a bit of a burden. I mean, sure, while you're in the shopping center it's great. Everything is close (aside from the fact that you may have to go up and down the escalators a billion times if you don't plan your trip out first), but my biggest complaint would be that if you just had to run to the store because you forgot milk, it would be a hassle to have to go to these shopping centers for it. You have to park in this HUGE "car park" and walk through the shopping center to get to the grocery store and carry said groceries all the way back to the car. Yes. I am a lazy American thank you very much, and that would drive me crazy. It's kinda nice to have Reams just down the street from my house with quick access to groceries.

ANYWAY...I'm sure none of you needed that description of Australian shopping, but you have it just the same. Judith and I had a lovely time just wandering the shops and getting drinks while Sam and the girls' finished their hair, and then we rushed home for dinner so Sam and Judith could make it to Hairspray on time. (Sam had received free tickets from a work mate). So Tanya and I watched the girls, and I am now realizing that this picture does not go with this day, because we actually painted nails on Tuesday (Day 7), not Thursday, but it still kinda applies since we were babysitting and bonding and such. We actually played Harry Potter Uno before the girls went to bed, and then Tanya and I watched part of My Best Friend's Wedding while we waited for Sam and Judith. Then I tried to make sure Tanya didn't fall asleep as we drove back to her place.

I had so much fun staying at Sam's house, and I hope she knows how grateful I am to all the work she put in to keeping me busy and entertained, and for keeping me VERY well fed :). It basically solidified the fact that I now have a second family in Australia. Great Week.

Day 8: Walks along the shore

This 13th day of July in the beautiful city of Sydney was rather chilly (like maybe 40 degrees) which was kind of a bummer because it was my first experience with the beaches Sydney has to offer, and it was also Matthew's birthday, but it was still beautiful!! If anything, the blustery feel just added to the scenery of Cronulla Beach.

We got to the beach and walked around a while before deciding to eat at Hogsbreath Cafe, which is apparently an American chain, though I've never heard of it. After lunch, we walked along the coastline, and Janne and I took our shoes off and walked in the sand where I proceeded to write my name in it, and feel rather special.

I had only been to the beach once before in my life, so the contemplative look I have in the first is because the ocean is kind of massive and awe inspiring. Then I got brave and decided to go close to the water and got my jeans soaked. Brilliant. Turns out I really like the ocean though. I remember thinking the whole time how beautiful the place was and how much fun it was walking in the sand like I hadn't a care in the world.

The rest of these pictures are mostly just for your aesthetic pleasure.

Somewhere back in the recesses of Cronulla Beach, we found a cute little playground that Natalie and Eliza just adored. It had a little pail that you could put sand in and use a rope to lift up to a platform on the jungle gym. It also had a nice little view to look at while we watched them play, so it was a nice place to rest. 

There's Natalie all bundled up...at the beach. It was a little cold, but not that cold :)

After our adventure at the beach we went back to Janne's house and climbed all 497 stairs it takes to actually get inside, and there we celebrated Matthew's 19th birthday with birthday cake. We relaxed there for a little while before going back to Sam's and eating dinner, which we weren't really hungry for until we could smell her amazing cooking, and then ate to our hearts' content. Another magical day in Australia.

Day 7: A Day in the Olympic Park

Okay, so this one has a lot of pictures, but bear with me. So when I was just a little tyke of nearly seven years old in the year 2000, Sydney, Australia got the Olympics. I remember McDonalds was selling this blue backpack that said "Sydney 2000" on it, and my mom bought it for me. I carried it around my entire 2nd grade year. I felt super special that the Olympics were in "MY" city.

The quality of this picture is terrible,
but it looked a little something like this. 

Anyway, when I went down to Sydney, I knew that the Olympic Park was one of the places I wanted to see. Turns out, they've turned the whole area into a place where families can come and mingle, or have picnics and such while their kids play. We had a great vantage point from where we were of the Olympic Stadium (left picture). A few days earlier, I took a picture of the front of the stadium while Tanya and I were driving (middle picture).

The picture on the right is the MASSIVE park where we had our picnic and proceeded to play for the rest of the day. Below the flags on top are slides, and there is a big orange net that kids can climb on, swings to the right that you can't really see, and a spinning satellite dish of death that will be described in detail later on, as it was a major part of the day. It was a fantastic park, and we were literally there until the officials forced us out. We simply were having too much fun to stop.

Eliza, Amelia, Bonnie and I all sat down when we first got to the park and began searching for four leafed clovers. Me, being the pragmatically minded, or otherwise unimaginative, person that I am thought...there's no such thing as four leafed clovers you silly girls!! But I played along anyway. Turns out...they aren't as rare as you'd think. At least not for those who know how to find them, and who have the patience for it. Amelia found two within the first five minutes, and Eliza wasn't far behind. Finally it came down to me and Bonnie who had yet to find one. She beat me by a good five or ten minutes, and I sat there in the clover patch like an idiot, refusing to leave or go back to the table empty handed. FINALLY the gods smiled down on me, and I found myself a four leafed clover. I put it in my wallet, let it press and took it home with me as a souvenir. Best. Day. Ever. :)

Actually, yes, that is a real-life 4-leafed clover. Thanks.

So here we have the aforementioned orange net that we climbed on, myself quite unsuccessfully, as you can gather from my awkward position. At one point, we got so sick of crawling across the stiff ropes that we decided just to fall through the spaces between them. While not a far drop below, it was still a BAD idea. Amazingly enough, I fit through them, but only just barely. I remember at one point my head and arm being squished against each other, the other arm scraping against the rope as I hesitatingly dropped to what I thought was my death. I had rope burn for a few days...

After being worn out by the younger, more able children, I decided to sit down and look at the view of the Paramatta River we had from where our blanket was, and then Sam and I took a walk down to it, and beheld this vision of the sunlight on the water.

It was a lovely stroll, and we even saw a few people getting tickets because they apparently thought they could park wherever they pleased. Luckily, Sam is patient with my tourist picture taking, but I should also thank Janne for her incessant photography for without it, some of these pictures would not exist.

So here's the spinning satellite dish of death I mentioned earlier. Basically you pile as many people on as possible, and it spins in a diagonal-like fashion--tossing it's occupants to and fro, and every which way. We convinced Sam to get on it with us, and I'm not sure she will ever forgive us, but I know she had fun. As you can see, at several points I had strangers on top of me, as you have ZERO control over where you land when this thing spins. Some poor child kept getting smashed every time we went around by either Sam or myself, and we were helpless to stop it.

You see, another problem with this contraption is that is it IMPOSSIBLE to get off unless you happen to have abs of steel, and lightning fast reflexes to jump off as soon as your section hits the ground. I finally just gave up and watched Sam try to get off which caused laughter so hard that I could not move or breath. Amazingly enough, no one lost a limb or was significantly injured in the enjoyment of this ride.

As the day drew to a close, we had the most beautiful sunset bid us goodbye. It was a truly wonderful and exciting day full of laughter and, at times, relaxation and beautiful scenery. I think it was at this point that I realized how grateful I was for the good friends I have in this beautiful city for traveling is only as good as the people you share it with. Plus, they knew exactly the right places to take me to make my trip and enjoyable and memorable one.