September 24-27, 2023 Our Australia-New Zealand adventure begins at Bondi Beach

Sunday 9-24 to Tuesday 9-26 We actually did it!!  We left for Sydney, Australia.  Even though we left Brunswick, GA 90 minutes late, we made it to Sydney at 6:30 am on Tuesday.  That meant about 20 hours in the air, but about 30 hours of travel.  And we lost a day crossing the date line.

interesting shop in LAX airport.  You had to enter a credit card to go through the door/gate.  Then as you left through the exit door/gate, all your items were charged to your credit card

 We planned to spend a few days at Bondi Beach, outside of Sydney, to get used to the time change.  We booked an airbnb starting on Monday so we could go there right after we arrived on Tuesday morning.  We took a taxi to our airbnb and crashed.  I can't believe I didn't take any pictures inside the airbnb, so I took a few off of the airbnb site.  It was cozy and nice to have an apartment instead of a hotel room.

front door of the building our airbnb was in

 

After a nap, we took a walk along the beach and had lunch at Hurricane Grill.  Our waitress was from Minnesota!!  You can get a work visa for one year.  Then if you want to stay longer, you have to volunteer for a year at an agricultural job.  I think that was the right time on the years.  We later found out that working on a dive boat will apply to the agricultural job.  

 

 

We picked up a few groceries and headed back to the airbnb for another nap.  Up for awhile, but not dinner,  then back to sleep.  

I like trying different flavored potato chips and local beers

 

Wednesday 27 We woke up early, but starting to get on schedule.  We walked the beach again and ate at a restaurant in the Pavilion on the beach.   Yummy salad.  There was a sign saying "Sunny seating in the rear". Just after we read the sign, a lady walked by in a thong swim suit.  We got a chuckle out of that, but thought it might be creepy to take a photo. 

 

fried squid

beautiful flowers in spring

We walked along the cliffs on the ocean near or airbnb.  We saw 2 whales just off shore.  We did some research and booked a Harbour Tour in Sydney for the next day. 

looking back at the beach from the cliff near our airbnb

 

July 20-September 23, 2023 Summer highlights at Brunswick Landing Marina

July 28 Birthday celebration at the clubhouse for my good friend, Nancy Arnold. 

July 29 Previous dock mates, Dale and Sherry Hicks, were back in the area.  We saw their new boat and had a nice dinner together to catch up on things.

 

August 18 We made poke bowls on the boat with Pete.  He had great suggestions for ingredients.  

 

 

Then we spent some time on Jekyll Island.  The beach on the west side of the island faces the Intracoastal Waterway.  It's much calmer than the ocean side.  But the water/beach seemed dirtier because of the boat traffic. Still peaceful afternoon.

 

 

 

 

beautiful ending to a beautiful day

 

September 6 Hurricane Idalia passed west of us.  We always prepare for the worst.  But I have learned that if they don't call for evacuation of the city, we'll be fine.  We had strong winds and rain, but had the boat properly prepared.

We are at the blue dot in the path of the storm on the left

We are at the red dot on the eastern coast of Georgia

One of my favorite Facebook posts during hurricane season

 August 31 Dave replaced the gear shift knob on for our inboard engine.  The old one was cracked and torn.  He does many projects while we're in the marina.  But if I don't take pictures or make notes, they don't appear in the blog.

 

 

 

 

September 17 We had a low country boil with friends on our dock.  Dave was the main chef for the event.  It turned out great.

 

 

September 21 We replaced the mirrors in our two heads.  Moisture at the edges causes the brown around the edges.  Dave had already removed the one on the right.  We took the to a local glass company to replace the mirrors.  When we first picked them up, they had put clear glass on them by mistake.  REALLY?  This is your profession!  Of course they did a rush job to replace the glass with mirrors.

 

July 13-19, 2023 Home to GA via MN and TN

July 13, 14, 15-We returned to Woodbury, MN to Joe and Erin Claussen's for a few days.  Dave helped with more boat projects.  Erin and I had fun shopping.

We drove along the Mississippi River as we headed south.  We spent the night in Prairie Du Chien.  We stayed at a great local hotel, River district Hotel.  We hiked along the river and returned to the hotel for free ice cream with toppings at the hotel lobby.  They had an amazing hot breakfast buffet including omelettes to order, French toast and bread pudding.

We found this rock garden/grotto at a church in Dickeyville, WI

I finally convinced Dave to stop in Nashville, TN for a night on our way back to GA.  We went out in the afternoon, early evening to avoid the rowdy crowds.  Our hotel had a free shuttle.  Must be getting old!

I had to take a line dancing class while in Nashville at the Wildhorse Saloon

Great afternoon band playing old country music at Layla's