Sydney

G'day Mates!! Crikey and How ya Goin'. We had a good stretch of days off at the end of August and since Kyra seemed to be a good traveler we thought we'd see just how far she could go. The plan was to head back down to Cairns for a few days, get adjusted a bit and if Kyra was doing ok, then we would continue on to Sydney. The first day was a bit rough, but once she got back on her routine Kyra did surprisingly well. The trick for us was to keep her on her schedule by not really planing to do too much and just soak up the good weather and scenery. Traveling with a baby that needs to be breast fed every 3 hours has its challenges, but its completely doable and can be totally enjoyable. The picture below is pretty much all we did in Cairns. That and drink coffee. I think Vicki is going to turn in to a cappuccino, she at the very least has it running through her veins after this trip.


We were lucky to be in Cairns during one of their art festivals. It was ok. Lots of street performers, musicians and art stands. We really like Cairns, the people the atmosphere, its all just really nice. Kyra was so observant and seemed to really like looking at all the new faces and places. It was a tough decision to continue on, but after 3 days Kyra seemed well adjusted to being in Australia and we decided to press on to Sydney. Sometimes flying with a baby can really pay off. Since the only seats left on our Quantas flight to Sydney were in the exit row, and since babies aren't allowed in exit rows, they were forced to upgrade us to First Class. It was a nice treat for us since we thought it would be years before we sat in First again because Continental doesn't allow it. Going to Sydney was already turning out to be a good decision.

The first day we took a stroll around the Opera House and the Royal Botanical Gardens. We were given unseasonably warm weather and the people of Sydney were all out enjoying it as much as we were. It seems to be a very young town with lots of coffee drinkers and socialites. Starbucks has made its mark, and rightly so since Sydney resembles Seattle in many ways. But its a lot like San Fransisco too with all the water and bays and bridges. Initially we thought the Opera House was going to be ultra touristy, but we really liked it and couldn't seem to stop looking at it. Here is Kyra acting totally not interested in anything other than my shoulder.


Kyra woke up at the end of our stroll along the bay. Here is one of the rare awake shots we have of her and the Opera House.


The Royal Botanical Gardens above were a really nice place to relax with a not too shabby view. There were tons of birds and animals running around. And lots of Bats, which we weren't expecting, especially during the daytime. They were flying all over the place, nocturnal schmocturnal. Somehow we managed to escape without getting guanoed on.

Another shot of Kyra chillin by the bay.

The most touristy thing we have done in quite a while turned out to be pretty fun. Sydney has something called Sydney Tower, its basically just like the Space Needle in Seattle. It was getting kinda cold and we had about an hour to kill before Kyra went to bed so we thought we'd give it a shot. We were really glad we did. It provided us with really good views of the bay and many peninsulas around Sydney and also a glimpse of the nearby beaches. Surprisingly, an aerial view of the Opera House is not possible due to it being obstructed by buildings, but we were pleasantly surprised at the enjoyment we got out of seeing Sydney from such a vantage point. To the top left of this picture is Manley Beach and to the top right is the famous Bondi Beach. We went to Manley for the day and had a swell time. The waves were small and the water cold so we didn't venture in, but it was a great place to relax, have a few drinks and down some fish and chips.

Sydney's Fish Market is second in size only to the one in Tokyo. And they seem to be a bit more aware and conscientious about the kinds of fish they sell so as to protect the endangered species. While they do have tuna of all kinds you won't find shark fin for sale here. Above we find Kyra wanting nothing to do with the lovely spread of octopus they have on display.

We were told by almost every person we ran into that we needed to go to Darling Harbor. So we did. It was ok. Its basically a harbor with lots of restaurants surrounding the bay. It does have a really cool park nearby as well as a Chinatown. And there is this place called Paddy's Market which is basically an over sized and upscale flea market with just about anything you could want. We spent most of our time just sipping on some coffee and enjoying the bay and park.

After Darling Harbor we went on the "Bridge Walk" across Sydney bridge where you can get really good views of Sydney Bay and the Opera house. It was really windy but Kyra seemed to enjoy it. We are really lucky that she is so observant and likes to look at everything with an inquisitive eye. Being in new places doesn't seem to bother her and we hope that she is taking it all in and storing up memories and making those brain connections that are so important at this stage of her life.
A not so common view of the Opera House. My attempt at being artistic. Its cool that you can get up close and walk all around it and even touch it if you want. Much like the Arch in that way. Their philosophy and the way they run the Opera House is really interactive and community oriented. They don't have any dress code in many of the theaters and its open to all types of performance artists. While we were there they had several different acts going on simultaneously. They had a play in one theater, the musician Ben Folds in another, an orchestra and a rap style smack down geared towards keeping kids off drugs. It was a very diverse lineup and they were living up to their commitment to using the Opera House as a community performing arts center available to people of all ages and interests.

On our last evening in Sydney the temperature dropped quite a bit but we were still able to manage an outside meal for dinner with a pretty good view of the city. The heated lamps were a nice bonus. It was a great way to say farewell to the city.

On our way home Kyra broke down until we got to our hotel. Then she discovered my beard. And we had an interaction that was by far our most special to date. She just laughed and laughed and played with my face for 5 minutes or so. It was so funny. The above picture is not the best but it captures the moment.

The day of travel home was relatively uneventful. We were only gone 10 days but it felt like a month. We were missing the comforts of home and it was good to be back. Your comments please.

Australia-Queensland-Cairns

Since the arrival of Kyra, we naturally haven't been able to travel so we were really excited to see how she would react to flying and being away from the comforts of home. We were eager to get back on the road again and thought a quick trip down to Cairns might be a good way to get her feet wet. It's about a 4 hour flight and she did really good. Better than we expected. A little fussy when we boarded, but once the engines started up she calmed right down. She conquered her first flight with only a few select moments of crying and only one dirty diaper. Sounds like a typical day at work. Ha. We took turns holding her throughout the flight, but Vic had the window seat and is the source of never ending food supply so Kyra was all about sitting with Vic.

We couldn't resist capturing a few moments in the cockpit after we touched down. We had a great crew with guys I've flown with so we took advantage of their work space after her first flight ever.

Kyra and daddy in Matt's office.

We didn't really have any plans upon arrival. We simply wanted to take the opportunity to see how she would travel and just get off island for a bit. The Cairns Zoo is pretty cool. They have all sorts of animals besides the obligatory Kangaroos and Koalas. But Kyra really seemed to be relaxed around the kangaroos.



Cairns is a extremely nice little town. Right on the waterfront with lots of parks and boardwalks. A ton of public space with pools and beaches for everyone. The town is so clean and just serene. This time of year is great as far as weather is concerned, very California in September. But Cairns is mostly just waterfront cafes, shops and backpackers looking for a little R&R. We found ourselves just wanting to sit and people watch all day. We did take a little road trip that proved to be a bit too much. We headed up to this area about an hour an a half outside Cairns called the Atherton Tablelands. We were on our way to a Dairy Farm where you can watch them milk the cows and then make cheese. I thought Vic would be in heaven, but alas, all the milking and cheesing had been done upon our arrival, so we just bought some good eats and had a picnic. It was a little too much driving but the scenery was really pretty. We came across a pretty cool lake that we relaxed at for a bit and a waterfall that didn't meet the guide book hype. We decided the scenery reminded us of a mix between the Vancouver Islands and the New Zealand countryside. What more can you want. Very pretty but we were actually more fond of Cairns than of the nearby Tablelands.

Kyra doesn't mind showing off her bum in public parks. We will have to work on that one in the future.

Typical Cairns evening just outside our hotel. Since we didn't have big plans on this trip we splurged a little bit on the hotel and got a good one with a great location and ocean view.

The Zoo had a whole section on baby Koalas. They were seriously about the most adorable things I have ever seen. I hesitate to use the word adorable, but seriously, they were so cute I can't even describe it. We also saw some pretty big Crocks. One named "Sarge" who was captured a few years back after he was found to be the culprit in the disappearance of some 50+ cows. We saw some more Wombats, but no poop. The Cassowaries had to be the most interesting things we came across. Crazy birds. Really weird looking.


Kyra is not too sure if she likes Koalas yet.

Had to stop for a breast feed. Why not do it on the beach.

Kyra slept all the way home. She didn't make a peep from the time we left the hotel in Cairns to getting in our car on Guam, 7+ hours. We were so amazed and lucky.

It was a nice little trip. It gave us a lot of confidence in that traveling with Kyra, at this age at least, is really doable and that we need not worry about traveling with her. Maybe there will be more in the near future. We were glad to get her to her first continent and overall we had a swell time.