Our first expedition outside of Sydney on our first weekend was to Pearl Beach where we stayed with Jenny & Greg’s friends Scott & Helen and their kids Tom & Pip. There were a few family complications, and we had a hard time getting out of town on Friday evening, but eventually got the car packed, the kids drained and buckled in, burritos to go, and survived the traffic to arrive just after our hosts. On the first morning I went for a walk/run into the bush for some rock climbing and then to the beach. Some pix…

Then we went on a hike to Patonga another charming beach town over the hill. We had lunch at a nice pub before hiking back. That evening we had a great BBQ. Scott is in this set of pix along with some pelicans, a sign for fishermen, a brush tailed possum in their backyard, the Patonga Creek Lagoon, views of Broken Bay, and vistas from the hike…

 

Study Questions:

1. Research Pearl Beach & Patonga. Coolnesses?
2. Research Australia’s flora & fauna. Your favs?

 

Tomorrow we will have been in Australia for a week, and it’s been a busy one. We were greeted by two kangaroos, our friends Jenny Stanger & Greg Lekosis who are letting us stay in their house along with their girls, Sasha & Madeline (10 & 9). We’ve gone on several outings (just got back from the beach), and have enrolled the kids in school: Sydney Secondary College – Leichhardt Campus.

First however, here are some pix of Changi, the Singapore airport where we had a long layover on our way from Ho Chi Minh City…

 

Here are Jenny & Greg at the Sydney airport. Also, all four kids having dinner, Lincoln Street in Stanmore, the front of the house with Greg’s business sign (he’s running the renovation downstairs), and roasting marshmallows in the backyard…

Here are some pix of our first trip to downtown Sydney, including the Opera House, the Royal Botanical Gardens, History House, etc…

Street guitarist…

 

Study Questions:

1. Research Australia. Describe the geography of this country/continent.
2. Research Sydney. Describe the history of the city.
3. Research Sydney sites (see links above). What’s cool?

Strangely appropriate that our last two days in Vietnam fall on April 30th (Reunification Day) and May 1st (Workers’ Day). April 30, 1975 was the fall of Saigon and, known as Labor Day in the US, “May Day” is an international Socialist holiday. Some pix flying in and featuring the Saigon Skydeck, the tallest building in town (and a different kind of place to land a helicopter)…!

These pix of pix were found along Nguyen Hue, the large pedestrian street in HCMC. They commemorate Reunification Day and show how Saigon has transformed…

Here are some pix around our hotel, Huong Sen, and on the little motorbike tour I took with a guy on the street. These guys offer other services, but I just had him take me to the former/current American Embassy (next to the French one), the Reunification Palace (and museum), the Jade Emperor Pagoda, and some view spots of the city (note the shop displays of cigarette lighters and medals)…

Here are some pix of the Jade Emperor Pagoda which features a pool of turtles, a beautiful old tree, and several carvings, statues, and alters…

 

A clip (I may add more with more battery & wifi power)…

 

Study Questions:

1. Tell us about the Saigon Skydeck and/or the Jade Emperor Pagoda.
2. Research some of the links above. What is interesting or compelling to you?
3. What do these days mean? And, what’s your favorite holiday and why?