An Update From Hawaii Before Camping

We've had a good few days here in Hawaii so far. You may think that means we've been hitting up the beaches everyday or doing something outdoors to enjoy the warm weather. But that really hasn't been the case. Our friends Becky and Brian were kind enough to let us stay at their place while they were away visiting family for Thanksgiving. So we've just been staying in since it's just been nice having a place with a kitchen, bed, internet, etc. In fact, 2 out of the last 3 days the main thing we got out for was to go to a few grocery stores to find supplies for lasagna and tacos. 

We did get out yesterday though more than we thought we would. When we were here last our friends took us along to their church, and we got to meet some of their friends there. And given that what we miss most right now is being part of a community, we ventured off on Sunday to go back to that same church with the hopes of seeing some familiar faces. And we did! And on top of that we got invited along to go out to brunch and hangout at the beach afterwards. 

Brunch was extra fancy. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet at The Officers Club at Kaneohe Bay, which is a military base. Normally we can't get into such places, but the folks that invited us along work for the government/military, and they are able to sponsor people to bring them on. It's pretty cool. I had forgotten how much of the Hawaii island life is impacted by the military. I wonder how much one would miss out on without having some kind of military connection here. Maybe more reflection on that some other time.

Fancy fountain outside The Officers Club.

Where we ate brunch

The view from the club house overlooking an ocean-side golf course.

We did not take any pictures from our beach outing. It was kind of a gray day. Plus we figure we're here all week. We just wanted to spend time with these new friends. We had some great conversations about careers, hobbies, and just general life stuff.  It was just what we needed. 

And today Becky and Brian return from their travels. We're quite excited to see them! We've been looking forward to seeing friends for quite some time. As a result of their return we will be giving back their place to them. So that they can recover from their travels and have time/space to settle back into a normal routine, we're going to be doing some camping for the next few days (maybe for a full week).  

We're hoping that we'll be able to spend some evenings with them still, but we're not sure at this point how much we're going to see them. This is a bit of a bummer to us since our expectations when we initially planned this part of the trip were that we were here to spend time with them. We knew before that we'd be doing some camping to give them some space, but we never really worked out the details of how that would impact our time with them. As it turns out, only private campgrounds (not state or county) on Oahu allow camping on Wednesday and Thursday nights, which we need, and these are all the way across the island from Becky and Brian. So as a result of that and a few other things camping + spending time with them might be more complicated then we thought. *Sigh* 

On top of that an event that our friends back in Grand Rapids do every year called The Firewalker Film Festival (where we watch 3 terrible movies and vote on which one was worse) ended up getting scheduled the weekend before we return. Even months ago we were pretty that we were going to miss it, but given that we're really missing our friends and that we're missing the event by just a few days makes it a little bit harder.

As a result of all this, the past few days we have done some research into changing our flight to leave a few days earlier, but as you might expect the price to do so is quite high. It wouldn't have been as bad if there wasn't a flat $125 per person change fee. But given that there is that fee plus the difference of the ticket price, it's really hard to justify given we're on a tight budget.

We still might keep an eye on flight prices, but we're doubting anything will change. So for now the plan is to stick it out here. I know, I'm sure you are all rolling your eyes given that sticking it out in Hawaii doesn't sound like much of hardship. We totally agree. This is a pretty awesome place. I'm sure we'll still have a great time with some beach days, hikes, maybe some more rock climbing, and many other things. We would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for the camping part though. We usually enjoy a good few days of camping, but a full week of sleeping on the ground sounds a bit brutal given the state our aging bodies. (Again we didn't think that one through when we made our plans many months ago... *sigh*) Plus we've grown spoiled with access to the comforts of a kitchen, WiFi, and even electricity. So now roughing it may be, well... a bit rough. But in the end these hardships we're choosing to do to ourselves to save on money, so we can't really complain. I think we're going to try to treat this as a time to really unplug for a bit, relax, and reflect on the past few months. As a result, we may not be posting any blog posts during this next week. We'll do our best to still take pictures and post an update either next weekend if we can find some WiFi or when we return.

Thanks for a listening ear. Many of you, our readers, have been in our thoughts a lot recently. We hope and pray you are all doing well. We look forward to seeing many of you soon after we return. 

Cheers

A Review of Flights: Jetstar, AirAsia, and Thai Airways

We have taken many flights on this nearly three month adventure to the Asia-Pacific region. Nine flights to be exact. Our international flights were done on three carriers: Jetstar, AirAsia, and Thai Airways. How did they all stack up? 

Jetstar: 

Jetstar was our primary budget international airline. We flew Jetstar on the following journeys, which were all direct flights: 

• Honolulu to Melbourne
• Melbourne to Phuket
• Bangkok to Melbourne
• Melbourne to Sydney
• Sydney to Honolulu 

As a budget airline there is a base ticket price with extra services requiring additional fees. Picking a seat, provision of a pillow or blanket, in-flight entertainment, all food and drink, and any baggage over 7 kilograms (about 15 lbs) would cost you more. 

We paid extra to be sure we would sit next to each other on the longest flights. On some shorter flights we did not pay extra and we were still seated together. We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and brought granola bars and a Nalgene bottle of water, so we never paid for food or drink. However, some of the food looked quality and was not as exorbitantly priced as we expected, competing with airport food prices. It looked as though Jetstar was developing relationships with healthy food providers, such Sumosalad. We paid for in-flight entertainment on our long flight from Melbourne to Phuket, which at $10 AUD ($7 USD) was well worth it with several new release movies. Other times we attempted to sleep or listed to audiobooks/music on our phone. 

We pre-paid for either 20 or 25 kg of checked luggage each time we flew on Jetstar. The amount was still low enough to make the budget flight price well worth it. Jetstar was vastly cheaper than any other airline flying in/out of Australia to the regions we were looking at. However, it is important to book your luggage amount before arriving at the airport to avoid a hefty fee; this is typically done during the online ticket booking.  

We were not sure what to expect of Jetstar with it being a budget airline. As it turns out, we were impressed. The check-in process at the Jetstar desk was very efficient, moving quickly with even long lines of people. All representatives were polite. 

Check-in at the Melbourne Airport was the fanciest. We did not interact with a customer service agent once. We printed our own boarding passes and luggage sticker at an electronic kiosk. Then we used an electronic system to weigh and send our checked luggage off on our own. Pretty slick. 

In the air, we had kind of expected the flight attendants to pester us with trying to buy stuff. This seems like a thing some budget airlines do. Luckily this was not the case. We did not interact much with the flight attendants, because we did not pay for in-flight extras. However, on the few occasions we asked for assistance the flight attendants were kind and responsive. For some reason, Bangkok airport security forced every passenger to dump their liquids for a second time, even those bought or filled in the airport, before entering a secured gate for boarding. This was outrageous, because the gate area did not have access to clean water. Thankfully, the flight attendants gave out free water without complaint when asked. 

If you cannot tell from the information above, we would definitely fly with Jetstar again. Unfortunately the only location Jetstar services in the United States is Honolulu. We wish they would expand their United States network more. 

AirAsia: 

AirAsia is the budget airline of, well, Asia. Go figure. We flew AirAsia once direct from Krabi to Chiang Mai. Like Jetstar picking a seat, provision of a pillow or blanket, in-flight entertainment, all food and drink (even water), and any baggage over 7 kilograms (about 15 lbs) would cost you more. 

Since our flight was short we did not pay to select seats, but we were still seated next to each other. We brought our own food or drink, which was good because the offerings were pretty slim and unappetizing. As usual, we paid for 20 kilograms of checked baggage. 

It is hard to know if we were dismayed by AirAsia or by the strange set up of Asian airports or both. In the Krabi airport we went through checked bag security, then got our boarding passes and dropped our checked bag, then went thru carry on bag security, and then reached a waiting area for our gate. You could not go to the actual gate until the flight was called. It was an odd, highly inefficient system. Also, in Krabi and Chiang Mai we respectively entered and exited the airplane on the tarmac. Passengers were jammed into a shuttle bus between the airplane and the gate. This seemed to be done only for AirAsia flights. 

As a budget airline, AirAsia also flew to the smaller domestic airport rather than the large international airport in Bangkok. We needed to leave from the large international airport in Bangkok to Melbourne with Jetstar. As free shuttle service is provided between the two Bangkok airports, but we were not in the mood to test it out. In looking at other carriers in Thailand we were surprised to find many options that did not claim to be budget airlines, but had lower costs. In fact, Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways were only a little more expensive than AirAsia. When factoring in that they had free baggage allowances up to 30 kilograms, they became nearly the same price. The tipping point was that Thai and Bangkok Airways flew into the large international Bangkok airport and provided free meals. Goodbye AirAsia, hello Thai Airways. 

The moral of the story is still check AirAsia prices to see if they are far lower than other carriers. Be sure the budget airline really is budget. Carriers with more amenities can be more competitive in Asia. 

Thai Airways: 

We flew Thai Airways direct from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. As mentioned above, we discovered that Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways were competitively priced with AirAsia. Free baggage! Woot! The only reason we chose Thai over Bangkok Airways was that the flight time was better for us. 

Our Thai Airways was only an hour long. Maybe less. Service was impeccable. A meal was provided throughout the whole plane immediately and efficiently. Yes, a meal. On an hour flight. Let me re-iterate. A meal! This is so shocking for us Americans who are used to peanuts and a drink on a multiple hour flight if we're lucky. The meal consisted of a chicken sandwich bun, juice, and dessert pastry. Hot coffee or tea followed. Another round of beverages was offered afterward. All in just one hour. We felt like royalty, and we were just in economy. FYI there are actual "royal" classes on Thai Airways, called Royal Orchid and Royal Silk. I wonder what kind of treatment they get! 

Yes, we would fly Thai Airways again provided it fit into the budget price bracket we desire. 

American domestic flights: 

Of the nine flights over this three month journey two take us to and from Honolulu and home. These flights are not direct, because that would cost us a fortune. From Detroit to Phoenix to Honolulu we flew US Airways. In a little over a week we will fly Honolulu to Seattle to Chicago on Alaskan Airways. There is not much to say about these flights. Most, if not all, of you readers should know about American domestic flights routines. Enough said. 

All of our airfares combined: 

We are not home yet. We have that one final flight ahead. But, we have paid for all of our flights. All of our painstaking hours upon hours upon hours of searching for budget flights paid off. The grand total was under $4000 for Brandon and I combined. Not too shabby for three months of travel in Hawaii, Australia, and Thailand. It helped to have exchange rates in our favor as well; the American dollar is currently strong. Throughout the good and bad flight experiences we are thankful for the capacity to do these travel. 

Sydney to Honolulu

Another day of travel. Our flight left Sydney around 6 pm on Friday, so thankfully we didn't have to get up super early. In fact, we had most of the day to enjoy Sydney still. We started our day off by video chatting with my extended family since it was Thanksgiving evening in Michigan. In Australia we live in the future. It was chaotic, but nice to catch up with everyone. Brandon was also able to give Thanksgiving wishes to his parents. 

Since we'd be sitting in an airplane for awhile, we decided to get outside and go for a hike. We had heard of a coastal walk from Bondi Beach south to Bronte Beach, so we walked from our place over to Bondi to start. It was a beautiful, cooler day since the wind had changed from coming from the North to the South. 

Rose Bay to Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach walk

The coastal walk began at the South corner of Bondi Beach. There was also an impressive swimming pool there at the ocean edge. The wind and waves were high, so seawater was crashing into the pool which was fun to watch. 

Bondi Beach

Seawater pounding the swimming pool

We continued our walk taking in views of Bondi Beach. We walked through a few public parks and around Mackenzies Bay. We ended up being more tired than we thought, so when we made to Tamarama Beach we turned back. We could easily see Bronte Beach from there, so we decided that counted. 

Coastline walk

Bondi Beach beyond us

More cool coastline rock

Sculpture in a park

Senior picture pose

Mackenzies Bay

Panorama of Tamarama Beach with Bronte Beach beyond

On our way back we picked up some tiramisu gelato from Gelatissimo, a popular Sydney franchise. It was a good pre-lunch treat. Upon returning to our guesthouse we made lunch, packed, and then headed out for the airport. 

Tiramisu gelato

We didn't want to top up our Opal card and pay the airport access fee of $10 each to enter the airport via train. So, we had found a few blogs with instructions on how to get off the train one station earlier and walk to the international airport. We set off determined to find our way. We caught a bus from Rose Bay to Edgecliffe and then a train from Edgecliffe to Wolli Creek. The fares worked out perfectly and we only had 50 cents left on our Opal cards. Success! 

Following the instructions from this blog we exited the Wolli Creek station and made our way to the international airport. The path was paved the entire way and part of it went through a nice city park. It was also flat terrain, which was a relief with our bags; Sydney has surprised us with how hilly it is compared to Melbourne. On the way we saw a few airport workers who weren't keen on paying the airport station access fee either. At one point there was even a sign clearly directing backpackers to the airport! Sydney must have decided that if people were going to take the trouble to walk and avoid the fee they might as well direct them. In all, the walk was about 30 minutes from station to Jetstar's check in desk. Not bad since it was cool and breezy. We wouldn't recommend the walk if it was scorching hot or raining. 

Signs to help backpackers like us walk into the airport

As we flew out of Sydney we were able to get some awesome aerial views of the city below. 

Skyscrapers of the Sydney city center

Sydney Harbor. A white speck of the Sydney Opera House can be seen in the upper right.  

Brandon snapped an artsy profile of me

Everything went smoothly with our flight and we arrived in Honolulu around 6:30 am on Friday. We crossed the international dateline, so we get to re-live Friday! We're no longer in the future. In fact, we're now living in the past compared to our family in the Midwest. We're trying not too sleep too much so that our bodies adjust as quickly as possible to the new time. 

Arrival into Honolulu 

We're looking forward to returning to Michigan and Midwest friends and family and a more Christmas-like feel. But, for now we'll enjoy our 10 days back on American soil in tropical Oahu! 

Bondi Beach

After our extensive adventures around Sydney yesterday, and having both been not feeling the best the past couple days, we decided we needed a much more restful day. So we let ourselves sleep-in, relax, and enjoy a slower-paced morning. It was quite nice and just what Katie and I needed. We both feel a ton better. So this afternoon we sun screened up, put on our swimsuits, and took a stroll to check out the famous Bondi Beach, which is only a 25 or so minute walk from where we're staying in Rose Bay. 

A cool looking Physical Therapy clinic we came across on our walk to the beach. We actually came across several. Apparently the Bondi lifestyle is prone to injury.

It started out a little rough because as soon as we finally stepped outside we were greeted with a blast of heat. As it turns out it was over 100F! But we trekked on knowing that our hike wasn't that long and was mostly shaded. And eventually we got there, found a spot to set our stuff down on the massive Bondi Beach near the designated swimming area, and then jumped in the water. Yes, even Katie got in the water despite recently developing a slight "fear" or concern of sharks due to some beaches here having nets to prevent shark attacks. This beach did not have shark nets, but there were enough people in the water that she thought her chances of survival were good enough to test the waters. The water was quite frigid. Colder than what we experienced in Melbourne even. But on the plus side this made the extreme heat much more bearable. 

Left side of Bondi Beach

Right side of Bondi Beach

After playing in the water a bit, we decided to lay out like all the cool kids were doing. This was quite the challenge after awhile since the wind started to pick up significantly and we were getting pelted with sand. We knew that a cold front was supposed to eventually come through since tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70's F. Well as it turns out, the cold front was coming sooner than we thought. That was okay though. We got in a good hour of really hot beach time before it became overcast and cooled down. We jumped backed in the water to try to get the sand off and then took a little beach walk. 

Taking a walk along Bondi Beach

The weather system moving in brought lots of cloud cover.

By the end of our walk on the beach we actually started to feel cold. There were bursts of cold air coming from the south now. We decided to turn our walk up towards the city to find some food. 

A cool looking skate park we came across on our walk to find food. It made me wish I had a skateboard with me. But then again that pool/bowl section is way past my skill level. I probably would have just chickened out.

This is where we wanted to eat. We had heard they had really interesting and unique tacos. And they had the whole facial hair theme going. Maybe I could get a discount? Sounds perfect! Well sadly they were temporarily closed due to some mishap with their license. 

But we didn't let that stop us from our mission of finding tacos. We wandered around Bondi and eventually found another quality taco place: Beach Burrito Company!

It was a very cool setup. They had an interesting mix of surfer/skater and Mexican themes.

3 of the 6 kinds of tacos we tried. All were tasty in their own way, but our favorite was the pork taco. 

We then debated whether to try to find dessert in Bondi or to head back to our place. Katie had really been wanting some gelato and Bondi had a few places to choose from. But given that the weather was still turning colder and windier, plus some sprinkles of rain, we decided getting home sounded best. So we did just that, got showered, and rested a bit more. But before the night was done we walked down the street and checked out what the nearby grocery stores had to offer. That's right, we have 2 small grocery stores within 2 blocks of where we are living again. These Airbnb places have been awesome. Anyway, back to my story. We eventually found some ice cream that would fulfill Katie's sweet-tooth craving, took it home, and partook in the deliciousness as we wrapped up our night with a few games of Hanabi. 

The temperature drop that happened while we were out today. Australian weather be crazy.

Triple Chocolate Brownie. We both agreed that this was the best grocery-store-bought ice cream we've had here in Australia! 

And that's all. Overall it was a great way to spend our last full day in Australia.
Cheers Mate! 

A Full Day of Postcard Perfect Sydney

We only have two full days in Sydney, so we hit the ground running today. Well kind of. My last night in Melbourne was feverish followed by a stomach bug/headache for at least a day. So, we ventured off at a slower pace. 

We saw a seaplane land as we walked through Rose Bay

We started by taking the ferry from Rose Bay to Circular Quay in downtown Sydney. The ferry ride was fun and refreshing. We enjoyed the sun and wind and views of Sydney from the harbor. Sydney looks as amazing as the postcards. Really. Postcard perfect. We decided we definitely wanted to take a ferry again.  

The ferry approaching the Rose Bay dock

Ferry ride towards Sydney skyline with several huge cruise ships

Wiping my glasses from the salty spray

The fancy life of Rose Bay and Double Bay residents

Sailboats everywhere on a Wednesday. Are people paid just to sail and make Sydney look like a postcard?

The Sydney Opera House and The Harbor Bridge

A harbor-side view of The Sydney Opera House

After disembarking the ferry we walked over to the Sydney Opera House. I think it deserves its iconic status. The architecture was even more impressive up close and in-person. We checked at the ticket box and were surprised to see the symphony was playing that evening. We had looked online a few weeks ago and not seen this. The only tickets remaining were $69 apiece and right behind the conductor. The ticket seller kindly informed us these seats did not have good sound, which confirmed even more to us (besides the steep price) that tickets were just not in our future. 

The first building we saw outside of Circular Quay had a big Christmas tree in front

Proof we were at the Sydney Opera House

Proof we were at the Harbor Bridge

Here is the spot where all the measurements for the angles of the Opera House were made. So we took our pictures at the steps from this spot. 

Me atop the Opera House steps

I had no idea there was a geometric design on the arches

Between the Opera House arches

Interesting mathematics behind the Opera House design 

Bustling Opera House area

From the Sydney Opera House we ventured into the Royal Botanic Gardens. We wandered around a bit, but my energy was low so we did not get too far. Eventually we found a nice shady spot to sit and eat lunch. 

View of Royal Botanic Gardens from the Opera House steps

Brandon insisted we put this photo in. He was trying to make me pose like I was 200 years old. I refused. But as I was running away he snapped this awkward picture. It makes him very happy.

"A Folly for Mrs. Macquarie": A gazebo-like architectural piece depicting the follies of white settlement. It includes a dagger, an ax over the door, a ceiling animal bones, and barbed wire

Though the folly was a bit morbid, I did appreciate the bone depictions

Interesting sculptures

Rawr!

Royal Botanic Garden pond

Flowers of subtropic Sydney

Drinking from a water fountain from a fountain

Fancy Botanic Garden gate

Next we ambled through the city center taking in any sights we happened upon. St. Mary's Cathedral, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Hyde Park, Sydney Tower, and Queen Victoria Building were the major sights before reaching Darling Harbor. We had heard of Darling Harbor, but did not know what to expect. It looked very touristy and carnival-like, complete with an IMAX and Hard Rock Cafe, so we moved on. 

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Sphinx across from the art gallery

St Mary's Cathedral

View of the cathedral through a fountain in Hyde Park

We liked the spitting turtle in the fountain. I named him Leon.

Sydney Tower

Tree-lined path through Hyde Park

Ritzy Queen Victoria Building

Swarovski Crystal Christmas tree

We're mirrored under the opulent tree

We were amused by an intersection downtown Sydney where all pedestrian signals are green at once. Everyone walks right, left, or diagonal thru the intersection in a free for all. Probably actually quite efficient. 

Touristy Darling Harbor

Since we had enjoyed our ferry ride so much and our Opal cards (for public transit) had a $15 per day cap we decided to go to Manly. We took a train back to Circular Quay, but found that the ferry to Manly was going to be another 28 minutes. We had just missed the previous ferry. This was a theme for the day; we "just missed" most of our public transportation all day. Alas. 

I was feeling good, so we decided to head toward the Harbor Bridge. I had heard there was an Olympic swimming pool under a portion of the bridge. It seemed like a worthwhile thing to see. As it turned out, the pool was on the other side of the bridge. But, we appreciated the immensity of the bridge and enjoyed resting in the shade of the bridge pylons. As we rested we saw trains crossing the bridge and determined we should catch one of those at some point to check out the view. We also noted once again how Sydney looks like a postcard. 

Postcard view of the Opera House from The Rocks

Luna Park can be seen under the bridge from here. 

Windblown and resting next to the artillery under the bridge. 

We walked through The Rocks, a historic area of Sydney, on the way back to catch the Manly ferry. We did not find it very exciting or interesting, but there is a market there Friday thru Sunday which probably significantly adds to the allure. 

The Manly ferry ride was all we had hoped. We were able to see more of the harbor as well as the exit from the harbor to the Tasman Sea. We had gone to Manly on a whim, so we stopped in the visitor information center upon arrival. On the free map was an advertisement for Four Pines Brewery which we were familiar with from the beer festival we went to in Melbourne. We found the brewery, but decided we did not need a drink right then. Instead we went to Manly Beach. 

View from the Manly ferry

Sailboat and city skyline

More sailboats and Shark Beach (where we hiked yesterday) in the distance

The harbor opening to the Tasman Sea

Manly Beach is on the ocean side rather than the harbor side. This makes the wind and waves more fierce. Thus, Manly Beach is known for surfing. We found a shady bench and did some people watching. We watched people in a surf school try to surf. We were also amused by watching people try to eat on the beach, because the seagulls were vicious. Two men eating fish and chips were harassed by seagulls multiple times. As one of the men put a bite of food on his form, a seagull stole it from the fork. No joke. It was crazy. 

Manly Beach

After getting our fill of people watching we decided returning to Four Pines and splitting a beer would be a good splurge (Aussie craft beer prices are so high!). The brewery produces mostly light beers, but they had had some one-barrel releases on tap so we were able to try a Breakfast Porter. It was not Founders Breakfast Stout, but it was pretty good. We realized it had been over a month since we had had a quality craft brew. 

Four Pines Breakfast Porter

We hopped on the ferry back to Circular Quay and then a train to Lentil as Anything for dinner. We had been really excited for Lentil as Anything after our delicious experience in Melbourne. Unfortunately Brandon started to get a severe headache and then nausea on the journey. As I was feeling better, he was feeling worse. It seemed he had caught the bug I had. 

Lentil as Anything was super busy and hectic. Brandon was not in the mood to eat, understandably. Thankfully we were quickly seated by a window for some air. I ordered and ate quickly so we could leave. I had a Sri Lankan dish with pumpkin dahl, creamy potatoes, savory chickpeas, salad, and rice. All the different flavors meshed together well. It could not compete with the lentil burger we had last time, though. And, it was a bummer that Brandon was not feeling well. 

Despite feeling ill and wanting to return home to lie down, Brandon said he was okay to ride the train across the Harbor Bridge. This was the last thing we had wanted to do for the day, and it was difficult to skip it because we were not planning on returning to the city again (tomorrow will hopefully be a beach day). We found the correct train headed in the direction of North Sydney and looked forward to the bridge. To have the best vantage point we made sure to sit on the side of the train closest to the water and on the top deck of train. Yes, top deck. All the trains in Sydney are all double-decker! 

Double-decker train

You can choose to sit down below or up top 

I had fun crossing the water and taking in the views as the sun was setting. The pictures from a speeding train cannot do it justice. As we crossed to the north side of the bridge, Luna park was close and we could see the Olympic pool under the bridge we had been searching for earlier! 

Train speed views of the harbor

The sun was setting over the harbor 

At the North Sydney station we exited and waited for a train to return. On the return trip we could see Sydney Opera House, but admittedly the view had been better on the other side. We reached the ferry to Rose Bay just in time (the one time we did not "just miss" something) and settled in for the journey to our house. The sun had set and I was able to capture some pictures of Sydney. There was a full looking moon. Once again, postcard perfect. Way to go Sydney! 

Sydney Opera House beyond the Harbor Bridge 

Leaving Circular Quay after sunset 

Sydney Opera House with a full moon

Harbor Bridge with Luna Park all lit up underneath

We made it safely home and hoped a good night sleep would return us both to good health.