Day 39: Sydney, Australia

After a perfect start to seeing Australia with the city of Sydney, we set out this morning with Peter & Pam to see some of the beautiful countryside outside the city limits of Sydney itself. We drove through some beautiful countryside on our way to ride across the Berowra Creek on the Berowra Waters Ferry. The coastline around Sydney is not beach, but a series of inlets, rivers, coves, and creeks that contains boats, marinas, trails, and picnic sites. It is truly much more picturesque that I had imagined before arriving.





After we crossed the creek we wound our way up the hillside and onto a route called the Pacific Highway (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Highway_(Australia)). For those that don't know, Peter & Pam are in a motorcycle club (gang) called Ulysses (their motto is "Grow Old Disgracefully"). The Pacific Highway is a popular route for motorcycle riders due to the nice winding nature of the road through the countryside. Needless to say, we were one of the only cars on the road, as most cars utilize the newer motorway that runs nearly parallel (and faster) to the Pacific Highway.

We stopped for a bite to eat and drink at an establishment called "Pie In The Sky", which is teeming with riders coming in for a break from their rides of the day. We met a great bunch of people, mostly from Ulysses, that talk passionately about all the rides they did, are doing, and plan to do. The weather was great as we sat, chatted, and ate typical Aussie pies.





Next we wound our way along the Pacific Highway toward a nice picnic area nestled in the inlets, coincidentally called none other than Brooklyn!, for a small walk along the water to stretch our legs.





Shortly after we wound through more stunning countryside with a stop in Spencer, which claims to be "the Hub of the Universe". The town center consists of just a general store, nothing else, but bikers and locals stop by to pick up a newspaper or grab a cup of coffee on their way through this sleepy little town.




(Ilana couldn't resist the kiddie park)

As we started to make our way to dinner at Amy's (Peter's daughter) place, we jumped on the Wisemans Ferry.



Amy and her husband Carl hosted a great home cooked dinner, with Peter's sister Helen and Helen's husband Roy in attendance. The eight of us had a fantastic meal and great conversations all around. Despite having met them for the first time we all talked as if we've known each other for a long time. Thank you all so much for your phenomenal hospitality and a great evening. We truly hope that you'll come to NYC and visit us!


(Left to right: Carl, Amy, Pam, Peter, Ilana, Helen, Roy, Frank)

Thank you so much to Peter & Pam for taking us in and showing us all the sites. It really is a treat to spend time with family that we don't see often. You both should start a tour company! Thanks so much.

FJ

Valente Family: What a great idea to have history lessons based on this trip. Let us know if we can take pictures of anything else along the way. We'll keep an eye out for all types of trains. Another interesting thing I never thought about while I was in school is that here in the southern hemisphere summer is in December, January, February so the school year starts around March which is the start of fall here! New Year's and the holiday season is very hot and right now Winter is slowly approaching!

Aunt Alice & Uncle Joe: after experiencing the beauty of Virginia earlier this year when we stopped by for a visit, I've often thought you both would really appreciate New Zealand & Australia, the countryside here runs a close second (& third) to your portion of the world.

Caragh: some guy in a New Zealand music store told me that Pearl Jam will have a new album at the end of this year! He said it will be like nothing they've ever done. Not sure if that is good or bad. Oh, and our trip is now 32.7731% complete.