Greetings from the Land Down Under

After saying goodbye to our Dutch Star on November 3rd we made the trip from Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort to LA without any hiccups. We stopped at a Taco Bell near the airport to change into fresh travel clothes, and then dropped off the Jeep at LAX Park on Bellanca near the airport and jumped on their shuttle bus. I was a little anxious leaving the Jeep, but the place looked reasonable in a decent business area close to the airport. A short ten minute shuttle ride and we were safely in the airport with well over 3 hours to departure. My heart could slow down a bit. Thank you Lord! The Fiji Airways check-in was quick and easy so we headed to the gate to wait for our 10 and a half hour flight to our stopover in Nadi, Fiji. The flight left on time and was smooth for the majority of the time. The plane appeared to be relatively new with all the latest features 110v outlets, USB power, TV screens/game consoles at each seat, but the food was just okay. We landed in Fiji at 5:15am (Fiji time), got off the plane, and then stood in line for an hour as one person checked every person in. Ugh!! The airport was what you might expect in a small island country, not real great. One restriction we weren’t happy to hear was that you could not take any water on board. We were familiar with not being able to take water through the TSA security check. However, our experience has been that after you clear security you can fill up your container and take it on board the plane. Not so in Fiji. We ended up asking for water frequently on the flight because they give you these miniscule cups. (On the return flight at the end of our trip, we got smarter and had the stewardess fill our personal containers as soon as we got on the plane.) The flight from Fiji to Sydney left on time and we arrived in Sydney at 11:45am. The Customs line was pretty long and probably took a little over half an hour to get through. Once through there, we headed to the baggage area where we were greeted by Kelly running up with a half dozen helium balloons in tow struggling to keep up. She looked wonderful! Real lives hugs and kisses ensued. Chris, Kelly’s fiancé, was also right there and respectfully let the three of us finish our greetings before stepping forward to welcome us to his homeland. Our luggage was actually off the carousel and waiting for us when we finally went to look for it. After about a 20 minute ride we arrived at Chris’ mum and dad’s (Denise and Peter) house in Malabar to the Tiffany and Bear greeting committee. Time to relax with an Aussie brew!

Not a mirror image

The Bear and Tiffany greeting committee

Dad & Mum Lonergan (Peter & Denise)

Soon to be Mr. & Mrs. Lonergan

Bear at his favorite place in grandma & grandpa's house - at the front window

Kelly & Princess Tiffany

Relaxing on the patio before crashing the first day

Our first Aussie brew

 After crashing early the night before, we woke up Thursday (11/6) refreshed and ready to tackle some touring - Sydney style. Due to the difficulty of parking in Sydney, Denise recommended we take advantage of their excellent public transportation. So we took the bus down to Circular Quay (pronounced ‘key’) where we boarded a ferry to cross Sydney Harbour over to the Taronga Zoo  The ferry docks within sight of the Sydney Opera House and took us right by it on the way to the zoo. So cool to see this world renown building from land and then the water! The zoo was very well done and the setting on a hillside overlooking the Sydney Harbour was hard to beat. The giraffes were my favorite. One appeared to be over 17 feet tall! After riding the ferry back to Circular Quay we walked over to and around the Sydney Opera House to get an even closer view. Quite the impressive place with multiple venues (theater, concert hall, convention hall, various private party halls) under the same roof(s?). Enough walking for our first day. We took the bus back to Malabar where Peter grilled steaks and kabobs on his new barbie. Yum!!!

Kelly making us breakfast our first morning at Peter & Denise's

On the ferry to Taronga Zoo

Cuddly Koala

Just don't get him ticked off 

Cute little Tasmanian Devil

Oh! What did I say to tick you off?

I'm so pretty, oh so pretty!

The long blue tongue was a surprise.

View of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from Taronga Zoo

Back in Sydney after our trip to the zoo

From the Opera House veranda 

Aboriginal street performer in Circular Quay 

View of ocean from Peter & Denise's upper balcony

Now that's a steak!

The puppies want a piece of the action

Friday morning we woke up early to watch the sunrise from Peter and Denise’s upper balcony which has a view to the ocean. We stayed up as Kelly and I had a meeting to attend. We were scheduled to meet with a group of about 12 other people and CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE! How cool is that? Mum and Chris drove Kelly and I downtown and dropped us off at The Bridge Climb building. After watching a video regarding the experience we were about to partake in, we were released to a live trainer who reviewed safeguards to which we had to strictly adhere. We could take almost nothing up with us. The company that runs the tours is a private concern that spent, as I recall, almost 10 years jumping through hoops to satisfy all the authorities that a safe climb could be created. So everything we took up had to be tied to us so that nothing could drop on the vehicles below and cause an accident. We had to strip down to our underwear (in private changing booths, of course) and put on one piece jumpsuits they provided. We could take glasses or sunglasses attached by straps to our jumpsuits. We were all given hats to keep with a strap hook sewn in. Finally, we were all issued a harness that would be attached to a cable running the entire length of the walk. We would be attached 100% of the time that we were on the bridge. I guess they don't want bodies falling on cars either. That would be bad for business. The end result was the experience of a lifetime! Over the next 3 and a half hours we climbed up the southeastern arch to 440 feet above the Sydney Harbour, crossed over the top, and then walked down the southwestern arch. At one point near the end as we climbed back down to the walkway beneath the railroad surface, a passenger train roared past about 4 feet from my head. Wow! While Kelly and I were on the Bridge Climb Chris and Denise took Lisa shopping at Paddy's Market, a huge flea market in downtown Sydney. After the Bridge Climb Kelly, Chris, Lisa and I went on a very informative walking tour of The Rocks where we got a good history of the start of the settlement of Sydney. After that we got a bird’s eye view from the Sydney Tower, the tallest structure in Sydney. It helped us get a better perspective on where the famous landmarks of Sydney lay and where Peter and Denise live. That evening we went to dinner at a Coogee Beach restaurant very near the apartment that Kelly lived in while she was here for her study abroad program in 2007. Two of their friends, Mark and Lisa, joined us.

Sunrise from Peter & Denise's upper balcony

Bridge climbers as viewed from Sydney wharf area

Walkway under bridge leading to ladder to ascend to arch

Starting the climb

Getting up there

Our climbing mates

Crossing over the TOP!

Back down to earth

Waiting for our Rocks walking tour

Part of the Rocks walking tour

The Garrison Church founded 1840

Inside the Garrison Church

Lisa got to go up on the Sydney Bridge Pylon Lookout

View of bridge climber from Pylon Lookout

Pylon Lookout

Pylon Lookout

Reflection of Sydney Tower in nearby Sydney building

Sydney Tower

We got to view a 3D movie as part of our Sydney Tower entrance

View of Sydney Bridge and a bit of the Opera House from the Tower

I believe this shot looks toward Malabar in the distance where Peter & Denise live

View toward Sydney Harbour headlands

Photo bombed on Sydney public transit

Coogee Beach

Kelly's Coogee Beach apartment building from her UNSW days

Barzura in Coogee Beach

On Saturday we were treated to a special day at the Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club. A good friend of Denise, Liz, is a member of the club and suggested Denise bring us out for a day. As part of the day Liz’ husband, Ron, took us for a boat ride on the Sydney Harbour. It was a rather windy day and the bay was pretty churned up, but we still thoroughly enjoyed the ride. The highlights of the ride were passing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and making a slower pass of the Opera House with views of the Bridge in the background. After the boat ride we enjoyed a delicious meal from the club’s kitchen accompanied by a few VB’s (Victoria Bitter) on tap while enjoying the harbor views. We were very grateful to be able to spend a day as very few visitors would ever be able to do.

Denise with Ron & Liz, our gracious hosts at the Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club

Getting ready to board the Scarab that would take us around Sydney Harbour

View of the yacht club from the boat as we pulled away 

Captain Ron at the helm

Looking up at the Sydney Harbour bridge

Admiralty House - residence of the Australian Prime Minister

Enjoying a little bubbly at the club

Looks like Chris had enough bubbly

No, no, I'll get my feet wet and it's cold

We haven't got enough pictures yet

You always win

Yes, I do 

Cute young couple

Old copy cats 

All that playfulness made us thirsty

The north Sydney Harbour headland viewed from the south headland

Climbing around on the south headland rocks 

Kelly has done some outdoor/beach yoga sessions. She has sent us some cool pictures of them. Here she shows how to do a proper yoga tree pose while I do something close

Here she demonstrates a proper crow pose while I do something

Kelly does a nice royal dancer. I'm done.

Do you see them yet? When are they going to be home?

We woke up at 5:15 am Sunday morning to catch another sunrise over the ocean, this time down by the water, just a short walk from Peter & Denise's. This is also where Chris proposed to Kelly. After breakfast, Kelly, Chris, Lisa and I drove to Bondi Beach to take in the exhibits of art displayed at the annual ‘Sculptures by the Sea’. Every year artists from Australia and around the world come to the coastal walk between Bondi Beach and Tamarama Beach, and turn it into a 2 km long temporary sculpture park featuring over 100 sculptures. The art varies widely in materials used, quality, method of presentation, abstractness, and size. It is one of the world’s largest free events estimated to be viewed by over 500,000 annually. Based on the volume of people there the day we attended I have no reason to doubt that estimate. Lisa remembered enjoying this beautiful peaceful coastal walk back in 2007 when Kelly was attending UNSW, but it was quite different this time with people lined up for the whole 2 km. After returning to Peter and Denise’s house we packed up Kelly’s Escape and drove up to Newcastle to see their house for the first time. We were very impressed. The kid’s chose well. The home is somewhat older, but nicely updated in a well-kept neighborhood. The yard is multi-tiiered due to the hilly area with very nice plantings. There is a nice deck up on the second tier of the backyard that looks over the roof toward the sports stadium. Reminds me of a Hollywood Hills type neighborhood. They are about a 15 minute drive to ocean beaches. We all went to the grocery store to get some supplies, so Kelly let me drive. Yes, it was my first ever experience driving on the left side of the road. With Kelly’s firm guidance I made it without any head-on collisions. However, she did say something about buying her new windshield wipers. It seems every time I wanted to signal for a turn the stupid wipers came on. Okay, I know the wipers weren’t stupid. I don’t wanna talk about it anymore!

First glimpse of the sun in Malabar

Bondi Beach

'Sculptures by the Sea' along the Bondi to Tamarama beach coastal walk.  Just to the left of center are Czech artist David Cerny's world renowned 'Babies'.

Closeup of one of the two 'Babies' on display..  Each figure is almost 8 feet high and 10 feet long.

The 'art' varied widely.

This one was cool because the poles at the top swiveled in multiple directions depending on the wind direction.

Look at all the beauty. And Kelly looks nice, too.

This counter was at the Tamarama Beach end of the coastal walk.

Kelly and Chris's Adamstown Heights home

Master bedroom

Dining area

Living room 

Guest bath

Guest room

View from top tier of their backyard looking north

Front porch

View from front porch

Looking down from deck to first tier of backyard

Kitchen 

Happy new homeowners enjoying their deck

Looking east from the deck

Wild cockatoo across the street

Same cockatoo mid-flight

Cockatoo gabfest down the street

Are we ready for this?

Monday morning Lisa and I drove Kelly to work, and dropped her off. Uh oh, we were on our own. Not to worry though. Chris had gotten me a Telstra SIM card for my iPhone. So we had a variety of functioning maps apps. We made it back home, with more wear on the wipers. After lunch we drove back to Kelly’s office and met most of her coworkers. We picked her up and went for her first wedding dress fitting. I may be slightly biased, but I think most would agree that she was breathtaking and I was immediately struggling hard to hold back the tears. Yes, already. After driving Kelly back to work we headed off to their local shopping mall to do some shopping. All was well and good until my phone battery died. Now we were in trouble. We had no maps. We hadn't gotten a feel for the lay of the land yet. Lisa’s dumb phone was in the Jeep back in LA and would have been useless anyway. We had no phone numbers other than on my dead phone. Our savior was a set of written directions that Kelly had given us to get us back home from her office in case my maps died. Although we were in a different area we managed to find one of the roads on the directions and made it back to their house. Chris and Kelly made us a nice dinner to end the day.

Kelly's desk

The next week or so was spent doing a lot of wedding prep legwork for the kids. The challenge was that all of the stores over there close at 5:30, except for Thursday evenings when they are open until 9:00. Lisa and I scoured stores at two different large malls and other standalone stores for an assortment of last minute items so we could direct Kelly and Chris during their precious little shopping time. We also managed to watch them play volleyball a couple times and get to the beach ourselves a couple times. Kelly and I went to HOT Yoga (about 105 F) classes on three occasions. I think I left two pounds of sweat on the floor, mat and my towel each time. And she normally does this multiple times a week. Now I know how Kelly maintains her petite figure. We also found Lifeway Lutheran Church less than 3 miles from their house and attended on Sunday, November 16th. It was a very welcoming satellite congregation associated with the larger Lifeway Lutheran Church in Sydney. 

Kelly putting up a set during the first night we watched them play volleyball

Chris in action

Kelly and Chris' favorite Newcastle area beach

Bar Beach

Merewether Surfhouse where Kelly & Chris will have a wedding celebration for the Aussie contingent in February

View from Merewether Surfhouse veranda. Sorry Kelly, your Michigan party venue won't be quite the same.

Harvesting sand for the wedding sand ceremony

The secret behind black sand

One of Kelly & Chris' pet spiders

Lisa enjoyed this Bird of Paradise and all the other flowers in Kelly & Chris' yard

Second night of volleyball

The Chalkies originally started as a team of school teachers

The Brewery on Queens Wharf Newcastle

Play with black sand and this is what happens

On Wednesday, November 19th, Kelly and Lisa started the day with manicures and pedicures. Then we packed up both of the kids’ cars with all of the requisite wedding attire and accompaniments, and headed to the Ridgeview Winery in the Hunter Valley. Peter and Denise were already checked in and at their cabin when we arrived. Lisa and I settled into our cabin next to Peter and Denise, and Kelly and Chris did likewise in their cabin on the opposite side of the compound. At shortly after 2:00 we met with the official celebrant who would be performing the ceremony the following day. We instantly took a liking to the friendly bloke, Nick Sivertsen. For those of you that don't know, Lisa’s maiden name is Sivertson. And better yet, his roots actually do trace back to Norway as do 100% of Lisa’s and 50% of mine. After Nick had left after the rehearsal the six of us sampled several of the vineyard’s wine. It was nice that we had the place all to ourselves. And nicer yet that we walked out of their cellar door (Aussie for wine tasting room) with a couple complimentary bottles courtesy the outstanding pourer. We all ended the day with a BBQ at Kelly and Chris’ cabin as it was the largest of the three. The highlight of the evening was seeing our first kangaroos in the wild. They had come out for dinner and were crossing the vineyard compound within a couple hundred yards of the cabin. One even had a little joey in its pouch. Very Cool!!

Mani's & pedi's for the bride and her mom

Our cottage 

Ridgeview's cellar door

Pre-rehearsal meeting with Nick Sivertsen, the celebrant

The first practice walk 

Now tell me again why I have to walk you down, Nick

What's so funny Chris? Never seen two guys arm in arm?

Peter getting coaching on his ring delivery

Good thing the wine tasting ensued after the rehearsal

Too much time in the cellar door?

Grillmeister at work, ay mate

Our first roo sighting at dinnertime

Look close for the little joey in the pouch

WEDDING DAY!!!! Kelly and Chris started out the day at the pool. We met them there along with Denise. While at the pool we all FaceTime’d with Kristy and Bree back in Michigan. At 11 AM we met at the kids’ cabin and had a nice brunch. The highlight of the brunch was a visit by a large goanna within 6 feet of the deck we were eating on. He was every bit of 5 feet long and probably closer to 6 feet. At one point he felt somewhat threatened and started up a tree, but stayed about eye level with the deck for perhaps the next half hour allowing some cool pictures. After getting bored with the goanna, the girls kicked us guys out so they could start getting ready for the wedding. The wedding was set to start at 5:30. So a little before 5:00, Chris, Peter and I went to the main winery building to verify everything was in order. Then it came time for me to fetch Kelly, Denise and Lisa. I had forgotten how emotional it is the first time you see your daughter in her gown on her wedding day. I almost lost it the instant they opened the door and I saw how beautiful my baby girl was, but I quickly averted eye contact and walked right past her into the living room where I regained my composure. My actions probably confused Kelly, but they were entirely necessary to avoid a blubbering mess. After a few last minute pictures with Kelly the photographer, Nicole, released us to head to the main building. The ceremony went off without a hiccup and was indeed wonderful. After the post ceremony photo session we sat down in the cellar door’s fine restaurant and enjoyed an exquisite 4 course meal that seemed more like 7or 8 courses. Yum, Yum!! For those that might be interested there are plenty more pictures available at the following website: http://nicolebutlerphotographyblog.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/kelly-chris/

Chris trying to empty the upper pool into the lower 

Goanna brunch guest/entertainment 

Feeling surrounded he decided to go up the nearest tree

The successful result of the sand ceremony

Friday morning Lisa and I got up at 6 AM to go roo hunting. The minute we opened our front door we spied two kangaroos less than a hundred yards away over by the pool. We followed them around to the other side of the compound and ended up seeing several more in the process. We all left the winery about 10:30. On the way home we stopped at a few other wineries, most notably, The Peterson House (primarily bubbly products) and The Peterson Winery. Of course we had to buy a few bottles because of the name. The fact that they tasted wonderful didn’t hurt either.

Saturday we helped the kids clean and get the house ready for a house warming party they were throwing that afternoon and evening. We had the pleasure of meeting about 30 of their friends. It was comforting to find that they have such a great group of people to not only hang out with, but to depend on in our absence.

Part of the housewarming gang

UNSW friends

Sunday and Monday we primarily chilled out with Kelly and Chris savoring the last few days of being with them. We played ‘Heads Up’, an Ellen DeGeneres iPad game favorite. We cleaned out and organized their garage so that Kelly could get her car in. We all sat in the living room playing on our individual iPads. At least we were together. Lisa did finally get to drive on Monday as we drove Kelly's car to a repair shop to get her transmission shift cable replaced. Then Monday evening we said our goodbyes to Chris as we wouldn’t see him anymore.

Kelly worked for a few hours Tuesday morning. Then we packed our luggage in her Escape and headed for Sydney. Kelly started the two hour drive, but I took over about half way there. The highlights of the drive for me were driving across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and surviving a drive through the heart of downtown Sydney. We stopped in Bondi Beach so I could buy a shirt and to have dinner. We then stopped in Coogee Beach and had a beer at one of Kelly’s old haunts. Got to Peter and Denise’s about 8 PM.

Driving across the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Coogee Beach

Wednesday morning, November 26th, Peter made us an omelette breakfast to send us off with a proper meal. After saying our goodbyes to Peter and Denise, I drove Kelly’s car to the airport. Kelly came in with us. After checking in our luggage, we said goodbye to Kelly. No tears this time as we would see her in Michigan in less than a month. Our first flight left Sydney at 1:15 PM, a half hour late, but they made it up in the air. The rest of the flight home went fine. We arrived in LA at 11:15 AM, Wednesday, November 26th. Huh? By 1:00 we were at the Jeep which was dirty, but other than that safe and sound. Getting out of LA was much more painful than coming in had been three weeks earlier. Must have taken four hours to clear metro LA and really start moving. Driving at or over the speed limit the whole time it still took us 10 hours to complete what should have been a 6 hour drive. We got home to Casa Grande at 11 PM, still Wednesday, November 26th. The November 26th that lasted 42 hours. You do the math.

See ya in less than a month, Honey!

Last view of Sydney

I know it sounds like whining here at the end, but to set the record straight, I’d do the whole trip over again in a New York minute!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention something. You remember how Kelly's Escape had those stupid windshield wipers that come on when you try to signal for a turn. Well, guess what... it's catchy. The Jeep's got the same problem now. It happened twice. I know... I don't wanna talk about it anymore!