Corndogs + Avocados

Day 1: Thursday, September 27 - San Francisco/In Flight
I departed San Francisco International Airport for Sydney via United flight UA 863 at 10:24pm. As we got underway the chatty flight attendant advised me that 747s are United’s oldest planes and many have mechanical problems. Furthermore, the San Francisco/Sydney flight is often delayed due to said mechanical problems. Excellent!

I flew coach in seat 35H which is an emergency exit aisle seat. It had tons of leg room but was close to the bathrooms so there were a lot of people loitering around. Not a big deal though as I fell asleep a few hours into the flight.

Day 2: Friday, September 28 - In Flight
I crossed the International Date Line in flight and said goodbye to Friday.

Day 3: Saturday, September 29 - Sydney
I arrived at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport around 6:30am, and had no problem getting through customs & immigration. I had set up a transfer with a local bus company and was advised to “look for the driver wearing a red hat”. Okay. So I walked outside and wandered around for 45 minutes looking for a driver with a red hat. No luck. So I walked back into the terminal and immediately bumped into a fellow wearing a red hat. Me: “Are you looking for someone called Darin?” Red Hat Guy: “No, but my colleague at the arrival hall is. I’ll call him on my radio”. Me: “Okay. I’ll wait here.” As it turned out there were two people looking for me. One was the red hat guy and the other was a private transfer arranged by the company that set up my tour. Oops. I went with the private transfer guy as his services were pre-paid and nonrefundable.

Mr. Private Transfer dropped me off at my first hotel of the trip - the Shangri-La hotel in Sydney. After checking in I took the elevator to my room on the 14th floor and was completely mesmerized by the view of the harbor. As you can see it was amazing! Every room at this hotel offers a similar view, so if view is what you are after then I highly recommend you stay at this hotel.

After stowing my gear I had a quick meeting in the lobby with a fellow from a local tour operator (I am always on the lookout for good business partners). After our brief meeting I took a cruise of the harbor on a small sailboat. We went in and out of the coves of Sydney Harbor, and the skipper gave us detailed information about the houses lining the waterfront. Very cool!

I had been on harbor cruises before but this one was by far the most interesting. The white building above is the Australian National Maritime Museum. Here we are approaching the Sydney Harbour Bridge:

Here’s a shot of Luna Park just before we went beneath the bridge:

Here’s the other side of the bridge:

Sailing past Circular Quay:

Below are two views of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge just after we sailed past:

Here are some of the HUGE single family homes we sailed past:

We also sailed past Fort Denison, a former penal site and defensive facility occupying a small island located north of the Royal Botanical Gardens:

We also passed a group of young children learning to sail:

Finally we reached the Headlands and the mouth of the pacific ocean:

This is the Watsons Bay pier:

The cruise dropped us off at Watsons Bay where we had lunch at Doyles, a seafood restaurant that first opened its doors here in 1885.

Here are some additional pictures of Watsons Bay, the park, and Doyles:

Following lunch we climbed into a Range Rover and enjoyed an afternoon tour of the Sydney suburbs and surrounding area. Again it was a lot of fun as we visited areas of Sydney that I hadn’t see before.

This lookout is called South Head. The cliffs in the distance are North Head.

Around 3pm the tour guide dropped me off at my hotel. I took a quick shower and then walked down the street to the Four Seasons Sydney to do a site inspection. After that I took the train to Gordon to visit McReynolds’ family while enjoying a barbecue dinner. It was so fun to see how the kids had grown. I don’t think I had seen them for 9 years.