Will try to add one more photo. Sorry for the delay!

It is near happy hour and my friends are getting restless, so I am sitting here waiting for the photo to upload while they are in the bar!!! Oh well, I shall catch up! R

Photo maybe?

Photo

It takes forever for a photo to upload. Will do my best. Don't think the high speed is that high here. Guess we are really down under! R

Sydney, Australia

We have been very busy since we arrived in Sydney. It has been sunny and warm with an occasional light shower, not to interfere with any activities.
The opera house, the Aquarium and the Sydney Harbor and bridge are simply amazing. We have all had a great time. We are learning a lot about how other countries operate, what works and what doesn't. According to our guide everything is bigger better and first here in Australia, however I think he is a little biased!

We ran into Cindy Ridgeway and Ron Fair twice in Cairns and then at the airport on our way to Sidney. Had a quick nice visit. They are having fun as well. We all made it out of the Cairns airport before the Cyclone came through, but had some torential rain prior to take off. Much relieved after arriving in Sydney, have had no further weather problems.

Tomorrow we leave for New Zealand. They say it is less expensive there and also cooler. We are prepared for both!!! Will attach a couple of pictures. Hope the ice has melted and that there is a hint of warm air in your area as I will be sending some along with these photos!!!

Love to all, God bless, and we are one third through our trip!
RNR

Pictures!

Leaving for Sydney in 1 hour!

We will be heading to Sydney in a short time. It has rained all night. They say Cyclone Olga is heading back our way, so hopefully we will be out of here before it comes. This is the monsoon season and it rains everyday, but stops enough to do the things we are planning to do. Our trip to the Barrier Reef was awesome, and yesterday we flew in a Hot Air Balloon over the country side. It was a close second to the reef. Carl and Mary have chosen other options, so we are doing it all. It is hot and humid here and we love it.
Talked with Charlie from CCHSV this am and he told us about the ice!! Too bad for you! We talked using Skype and it was pretty amazing.
Anyway, I will keep you posted! Will try to attach a photo.
Thinking of you, but not missing the cold weather.
R

A couple more pictures!

We have a very nice room with a view of the ocean. Tomorrow we will be in it!! Hope to do a lot of snorkeling. Have my underwater camera ready to go! I need to get some sleep, so will make this entry short. Our luggage isn't here yet! I was kind of waiting for it to arrive.
Anyway, I will post a picture or two! We are blessed, we are safe! Same to you!

By the way, Quantas gave us some pajamas and some toiletries to cover us for a day, and our travel insurance is supposed to give us emergency spending allotment! Not sure when! Actually, we are to pick that up at the airport when we leave Cairns in a couple of days!

Bob's luggage came, Carl and Mary's came, mine will not be here until tomorrow! We will make it. I will swim in my tee shirt pajama top!!! I am still blessed!

R

We have arrived!!

After a very long and trying journey, we arrived in Sydney late afternoon having had very little sleep and a day ahead of our regular time. Our luggage did not arrive for all four of us and one other lady on the trip. After 36 hours here, it still is not here, but luckily we brought one extra change of cloths in our carry on. Our luggage is to arrive by 11 pm tonight, but we will see. Tomorrow we are going to the Great Barrier Reef and I want to be able to swim!!

Anyway, today we were out and about for a very full day of touring from the wildlife in the rainforest north of Cairns to a cattle ranch. It rained off and on all day, our bus had to travel thru an overflowing creek thru over a foot of water. No worries mate! Will upload a couple of pictures. I am on my way to a zillion with 257 take today, plus some video and I even have Bob taking some pictures! He is doing very well.

There is another Cyclone, Olga, heading our way, but we should be out of here by the time it hits. It just went thru the day we arrives and is now turning around and coming back over some very warm water. As they say, this is a land of extremes!!!

Food so far has been very good, however, everything is very expensive. I must pay for internet access by the hour, so I won't be on line much nor will I have time to be. I will try to update every few days, so stay tuned. R

One week to go. Busy week ahead getting ready. Heard from GCT that the ship we were supposed to cruise the Figi Islands on has been damaged by a resent Cyclone, so we are upgraded to a larger ship "The Endeavor" since the one we were to be on will be in repair for several months. Hope that takes care of the Cyclones for awhile!!! Life is about timing a lot of the time. Hope our timing is good!! Keep smiling. Stay peaceful!

Count down!!!

Travel is getting closer!

Well, we are mentally getting ready and trying to get all the new things in our minds. With the recent Christmas Day Terror Threats, rules for flying are changing and it is difficult to know exactly what to expect, except tighter security. What to take and what not to take is also a question, as we may not be able to have a carry on when reentering the USA. Anyway, we are being optimistic and looking forward to a great adventure.