Good Afternoon to all of our Family and Friends!
This post will be the last about vacation, with two more posts coming, one from myself and one from Diana about a reflection on our trip.
So we last left the two world travelers in Cairns, Australia awaiting their departure into the longest Wednesday ever! The day began with a 9am wake up call, with a 1030 cab to the airport and finally our first flight at 1pm from Cairns to Sydney. The flight was again with Qantas, and perfect as usual with full meal service! We had a 5 hour layover in Sydney before boarding our overnight flight to Honolulu! The flight was wonderful and we all at least got a bit of sleep! When we landed in Honolulu at 1115am (Still Wednesday now) we had to get off the plane, go through immigration, get our bags, recheck them and get to the gate in one hour and fifteen minutes. Alas, this connection was not meant to be. We did not make our connection and after a very frustrating and tension filled hour trying to find another flight (due to stress and a lack of sleep to start), we settled on a 905pm flight that night, with a very early landing in San Francisco! So we had about eight hours to kill before our flight. So Diana and I set off and make our first stop the massage chairs... the best ten dollars for thirty minutes we spent! Afterwards we had a few drinks and food and then pulled up a bit of carpet in the terminal and took a nap. Afterwards we grabbed some more food, we boarded the plane for our final vacation destination, San Francisco!!!
We arrived in San Fran about 430am, very tired, and made our way to the hotel, the Argonaut, located at the end of Fisherman's Wharf. We quickly found our beds and off we went into dreamland! We passed on driving around on Thursday and slept in, by my parents and Johanna (who had arrived safely Wednesday morning) went off to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Muir Woods! Diana and I arose and decided to walk the wharf, having lunch (and lunch Friday and Breakfast Saturday) and Boudin Bread Company, then heading down to pier 39 for shopping. We then settled into Players Sports Bar and Arcade to have dinner and watch the Phillies play the Giants! Johanna came down to join us for food, drinks and games and an excellent Phillies win! After a great night with our bartener Matt, we headed back to the hotel since Friday was an early morning!
Friday, all five of us got up early and headed to Pier 33, which is where the boats to Alcatraz depart from!!! We had pre-purchased our tickets, which you have to do in order to get tickets, so we boarded the 1030 ferry and headed to the island! It was amazing to be there after just seeing it in books and movies for so long!! Diana, Johanna and I toured together, getting the chance to have the audio tour in the main jail cellblock. I even had the chance to get locked up in a solitary cell...it was so dark and a bit scary!! After a few hours, we headed back to the mainland to get ready for the Phillies game that night. We headed to AT&T Park and had incredible seats where we could see the entire park as well as McCovey Cove! The Phils killed the Giants that night and we walked away happy to see the Giants lose!!
Saturday was another early morning as the Phillies had a day game....Our seats for this game were almost exactly the same as the night before and again seeing the Phils beat the Giants 2-1! After the game we headed to do some last minute shopping then had dinner for Johanna's Birthday at this great Italian restaurant on the Wharf. It was a great way to cap off the trip in San Francisco and the trip as a whole!
Sunday was another early day as we departed San Francisco for home. While we were so sad and not so ready to come home (still after a month we could have spent more time away!) the excitement continues as there are many exciting visits, events and parties on the horizon. We thank you for following us throughout or trip and we hope to have inspired you to start looking into your own vacation! Diana and I will each post our thoughts and personal comments about the trip this coming week to close down our blog. Thank you again and we appreciate all your love and support!
Xoxo
Stacy and Diana
Monday, August 8, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Wrapping up Australia!
Good Afternoon Blog Followers!!!
First a thank you to my wife for her excellent blog post while I was away at sea!
Well here we are, at the end of our Australian leg of our vacation. I arrived back in Cairns yesterday via a very small plane where I got to see the Great Barrier Reef from the air! The diving on the reef was great, but unfortunately limited for both my dad and me. After one dive, my dad came down with a bout of seasickness and did not complete another dive. I, after my third dive, ended up with a clogged ear, and in case you don't know, you cant dive unless you have clear ears. So while we did not dive as much as we hoped, we, in fact, did scuba dive on the Reef!
Last night was one of relaxation for us, with lunch out and dinner at the hotel watching some cheesy movies! Today we ventured out for last minute shopping and fun. We will finish our packing tonight, as tommorow is our big day of travel. We will be in the air for 18 hours, on three flights, arriving in San Francisco Wednesday evening (we hope!)...a tight layover in Honolulu might mess up the plans! So there will be no post here until Thursday Evening! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we embark on one very long travel day...and for my sister as well who will be arriving in San Fran Wednesday morning!
So to close the Australian leg, here are some more fun highlights and points of interest!
Love to All!
Stacy and Diana
1. We have tried Kangaroo (pretty much like steak, not gamey at all!) and Crocodile (Tastes like dense chicken...Diana said chicken would be more dense if they had more room to "workout"- like that Yo?!?)
2. We tried Vegemite...terrible from the word go... stay away from it!
3. There are no Burger Kings here...they go under the name Hungry Jack's... Diana had the Whopper, and it was exactly like the Whopper at home, just more mayo here! And the fries were better!
4. Bathroom= Loo (like in England)..Porta Potty=Portaloo...LOL
5. The casino across the street does not have quarter slots...reason?? No 25 cent piece here!
6. We received a full out meal on a three hour flight on Qantas....suggestion...fly Qantas as much as possible!
7. Appetizers are called Entrees... Entrees are called the Main Course
8. My mother has found that Bottled Water here is eerily similar to bottled water at home (this was a huge concern for her before we left!)
9. FYI..Uggs sold in the US are made in China...we were told all are fake!!
10. The people living Down Under are some of the most wonderful we have met and are sad to say goodbye tomorrow....we highly suggest adding Australia to your list of vacation destinations!!
First a thank you to my wife for her excellent blog post while I was away at sea!
Well here we are, at the end of our Australian leg of our vacation. I arrived back in Cairns yesterday via a very small plane where I got to see the Great Barrier Reef from the air! The diving on the reef was great, but unfortunately limited for both my dad and me. After one dive, my dad came down with a bout of seasickness and did not complete another dive. I, after my third dive, ended up with a clogged ear, and in case you don't know, you cant dive unless you have clear ears. So while we did not dive as much as we hoped, we, in fact, did scuba dive on the Reef!
Last night was one of relaxation for us, with lunch out and dinner at the hotel watching some cheesy movies! Today we ventured out for last minute shopping and fun. We will finish our packing tonight, as tommorow is our big day of travel. We will be in the air for 18 hours, on three flights, arriving in San Francisco Wednesday evening (we hope!)...a tight layover in Honolulu might mess up the plans! So there will be no post here until Thursday Evening! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we embark on one very long travel day...and for my sister as well who will be arriving in San Fran Wednesday morning!
So to close the Australian leg, here are some more fun highlights and points of interest!
Love to All!
Stacy and Diana
1. We have tried Kangaroo (pretty much like steak, not gamey at all!) and Crocodile (Tastes like dense chicken...Diana said chicken would be more dense if they had more room to "workout"- like that Yo?!?)
2. We tried Vegemite...terrible from the word go... stay away from it!
3. There are no Burger Kings here...they go under the name Hungry Jack's... Diana had the Whopper, and it was exactly like the Whopper at home, just more mayo here! And the fries were better!
4. Bathroom= Loo (like in England)..Porta Potty=Portaloo...LOL
5. The casino across the street does not have quarter slots...reason?? No 25 cent piece here!
6. We received a full out meal on a three hour flight on Qantas....suggestion...fly Qantas as much as possible!
7. Appetizers are called Entrees... Entrees are called the Main Course
8. My mother has found that Bottled Water here is eerily similar to bottled water at home (this was a huge concern for her before we left!)
9. FYI..Uggs sold in the US are made in China...we were told all are fake!!
10. The people living Down Under are some of the most wonderful we have met and are sad to say goodbye tomorrow....we highly suggest adding Australia to your list of vacation destinations!!
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