Needing to do something other than think about our housing search, we decided to enjoy summer and hit the beach. We took the ferry over to Manly, a Sydney suburb just north of the entrance to Sydney Harbor. It was a gorgeous day and the ferry ride was a great way to experience the harbor.
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Who you calling a Ho? We watched a plane sky writing while on the ferry. It eventually said "Honda Sale" but the inital letters cracked us up.
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There are numerous ferries in Sydney; this one was about a 30 minute ride. Once in Manly, we got some lunch and headed to the beach. The beach was packed and the Manly Surf Carnival was underway. This is a competition between surf life saving clubs from beaches all over Australia. Having never seen anything like it before, we found it quite interesting to try to figure out what they were doing exactly. Teams competed in individual and team life saving events involving swimming, boating and even marching. The contestants were super-fit and rather amazing to watch compete. The Australian sun is no joke, especially to folks coming directly from a particularly cold winter. So, our beach time was limited but we all are looking forward to a return trip to Manly. We'd even like to live there but it is a bit far as far as a commute for Chris goes and is notoriously not dog friendly (for rental properties). Go figure. Bummer.
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Manly Beach, looking north.
One of the teams practicing their marching before the competition.
Had to practice using the new zoom lens.
Had to practice again.
These narrow kayaks are called surf skis.
Lots of sailboats were out on the return ferry ride. (for you, Rich)
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A few observations thus far:
Australians are just incredibly friendly - even the Customs Agents at the airport
Lots more smoking than in the US which the kids find bizarre.
The city and surrounding areas are gorgeous and we are loving exploring the area.
Next up: We're renting a car so that we can explore some different neighborhoods. Wish us (Chris) luck with driving on the left!
4 comments:
Hahaha! Glad that new zoom lens is working well ;) it looks like it was a great day at the beach. Nice to know you are enjoying discovering your new temporary city! Hope you find a permanent home soon. Continue to share this way! It is great to know what you all are up to.
I'm a sooo jealous! When we were in Manly, the only blokes we saw wearing those very manly swim suits/cossies, were a couple of fat old guys. The guys you saw were the first good argument I've ever seen for a Speedo! Oh, I'm jealous that you were at the beach and having summer too. Yes, those Aussies are friendly and fun, aren't they?
Jen
This is so much fun to read! Good luck with the hunt. BTW - it is in the 20s here in VA, so the warm weather is envoking much jealousy ;)
Keep those close-up shots coming my way :>)! Kara
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