Week 4

November 8, 1997

Eric and I went to Taronga Zoo during the day!!! It was really nice coz we got to see the Komodo Dragon, Frilled Lizards, all the monkeys, gorillas, and orangatuans were out playing. We sat and shared a bag of crisps (aka chips) and a Snickers bar near the Flamingo and duck enclosure. The nocturnal enclosure was really nice. I got to see lotsa cute animals in there. The platypus were fighting over a yabba (aka crawfish). We had a nice walk around the zoo and got to see lotsa animals that had been asleep when we went to the night zoo.

Then we headed into town and went to Hard Rock Cafe!!! There was lotsa cool stuff to see there. Eric touched Eric Clapton’s guitar, so we are hoping the skill wore off on him!!!! Got to see one of Elton John’s costumes, lotsa Beatles stuff, Elvis stuff, Party Boys record, Guns and Roses guitar, jazz festival New Orleans poster, Joe Walsh guitar and lots more!!!

I had a medium rare bacon cheeseburger with Fries and Eric had a well done cheeseburger with Fries. He’s such a light weight!!! We walked around for awhile looking at all the memorabilia from the rock gods, then went to the gift shop. And of course, we got the t-shirt and a pin!!

On the way home, Eric pulled over into a street near ours and let me drive. It was weird to drive on the “wrong” side of the road and the “wrong” side of the car. I met a few cars. Thank God no one was on the roundabout!!!! We made it home safe and sound and my only problem was trying to find the blinker!! It was on the wrong side of the steering wheel!!! Oh well, next year I will get used to driving here, but the hard part will be changing my instincts about traffic conditions. I’ll have to reverse everything!!!!

We stayed at home for a little while then went to Warringah Mall and saw “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” It was soooooo funny!!! There was a queer in it that just made the movie!!!!!!

November 9, 1997

Eric and I went to Nanna’s for lunch. We sent Eric across the street to get sandwiches for us. While Eric was gone I showed Nanna our latest set of pictures. Eric came back with a Ham and cole slaw sandwich for me, and a Chico roll. We had a nice lunch and visit.

Eric and I then drove down to Bobbin Head. It’s real pretty and a great place to have a picnic or something. We walked over to the store and got an ice cream.

When we left Bobbin Head, we went to Dave’s. I got to meet Greg (aka Cock). Greg will be coming to our wedding with Dave. Played catch with Riley and Georgia.

For supper, we went down the street and had Mexican!! It was really good!! Eric had Chicken Burritos and I had Beef Enchiladas. Lotsa cheese on them. It was really nice!!

November 10, 1997

Relaxed around the house.

November 11, 1997

Freda came and got me at 9:30am and we headed off for a girl’s day out!! She gave me a tote bag that has the Opera House on it and is packaged compactly for travel!!!!!!!!! We drove down by Balmoral Beach. It’s really pretty down there and there was a huge tree that looked really nice. Great for having a picnic under. Then we went to Mosman and caught the ferry to Circular Quay. I exchanged $200 US for $258.10 AU.

Freda and I headed to the Rocks and went looking through some shops. Then we walked up to Garrison Church and went through the museum. Lotsa neat stuff in there. We went for a break and had a smoothie, then caught a bus to Centrepoint Tower. We went to the lookout at the top of the tower and the view was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!! You could see for miles!!! Or maybe I should say kilometres!!!!!!! Freda pointed out all the sites from up there, Darling Harbour, QVB, Hyde Park, Blue mountains, Royal Botanical Garden, and the list goes on and on. I took lotsa pix!!

Next we headed down and caught the monorail around the city for a closeup look at some of the sites we’d seen from Sydney Tower. It was a nice trip and we got off at the Hilton and walked to Queen Victoria Building. QVB is Magnificent!!!!! It looks wonderful from the outside and even better from the inside!!!!!! There is a beautiful stained glass dome in it and lots of stained glass throughout the building. We walked around there although we knew we couldn’t afford anything!! We went to the top floor and watched a Royal Pageant that showed among other things, the beheading of King Charles.

For lunch we went to Primos. I had Lasagna and Freda had Salmon. It was really nice. We were hungry and enjoyed a break after walking in the heat most of the day. It was very hot outside!!! I mentioned mine and Eric’s plan to cook cajun for Jan, John, Freda, and Wal and she said it sounded great!!

Freda and I caught a bus back to Cicular Quay. There we saw an aborigine playing the didgerido. I took a pic. I hope it comes out!!! We caught the Ferry back to Mosman and sat at the front again to catch the breeze.

November 12, 1997

Went to Mona Vale with Eric and got Chicken Kababs for lunch. I had lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and chilli sauce on mine. Eric had lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and chilli sauce. They were delicious!!!!! Yum yum!!! We drove down to mona Vale Beach and sat at a picni table to eat them. The breeze was cool, the view was gorgeous, and the meal was messy, but wonderful!!!

We went to Woolworths and bought our groceries. Then came home. I had a lemonade (aka 7-UP) and then made Sloppy Joes (aka Savory mince) for supper, we fixed mashed potatoes, and peas, corn, and capsicums. Eric liked Sloppy Joes, even though he told Dean it was an American dish based on a sweatshirt. After dinner we watched “Sea of Love.”

November 13, 1997

Spent the day looking for my boarding passes. Eventually called ANZ and found out that I didn’t have to have the boarding passes, my itenerary would be enough. Just need to mark the flight and write in a note about it. Started preparing for the weekend away!!

November 14, 1997

Eric and I had a great weekend in the Blue Mountains!!! The first two nights we stayed in Wentworth Falls in a mud hut. The hut had 12v solar lighting and a gas refrigerator, stove, and some lights. It was so cute!!!!!! There was a double bed in one room and a loft upstairs with two sets of bunk beds. We put out birdseed and were visited by some Crimson Rosellas and King Parrots. They were so pretty!!! It seems really weird to see those birds flying around in the wild!!!!

For supper Friday night, we got Chinese take away. We had short soup and BBQ stir fry. It was really good!!!!! Of course it should be coz I don't think there are any Asians in Asia, they are all in Australia!!