February 13- 15
Greetings from the “Land Down Under”. This is your roving reporter from Raleighwood
filling in for the now world famous and soon to be Pulitzer Prize nominated
Shar-Bear.
After an uneventful 25+ hour flight that seemed like…well…every
minute of a 25+ hour flight, I arrive safely and excited in Sydney to a
gloriously sunny day. After gathering my
bags and heading to customs, I am directed to line #2 – Quarantine! I knew I should not have checked the custom
form admitting I was bringing food into the country. As I hand the agent my form, he said…”you
have food?” I point to the airplane food
I had pilfered and he says…”No worries mate” and I was whisked through customs
unscathed. Alas, they had not discovered
my left over peanuts, cashews and the other nibbles I had packed.
After gathering my wits, I notice the money exchange at
which I am completely unable to mentally calculate the implications of the
exchange rate…after my 25+ hour flight…and I am quickly relieved of $32 out of
$200 in the process. “I’m not going to
like Sydney” I think to myself.
I head to the info stand and after the customary who, what,
when & where’s I am directed to the “meeting place” I notice a small group of people in the
general area the woman was pointing and amble over. “You guys waiting for the shuttle” I inquire,
to which several nod in the affirmative.
After a short drive we arrive at my appointed destination
and remembering my mission I am somewhat nervous about encountering my “prey” prior
to the pre-arranged “meeting place”.
After reading the reviews of the hostel, my expectations are…how can I
say…not that great. Several young
attractive women are checking people in and I ask if I can store my belongings
prior to check-in. I am handed a
skateboard with a key attached and I am told with a smile that keys have a way
of disappearing from time to time…great.
I am directed to a door at the other end of the lobby and told to follow
the signs. I meander down a musky
smelling series of steps until I am in the bowels of the hostel. I can see a room with bags past a couple of
guys standing in the doorway. “Excuse me
mate” I say as I enter the room. I
immediately notice an extremely attractive girl of questionable drinking age to
the side. Upon entry, she drops her
hiked up dress from her mid-section as we make eye contact…excuse me I
say. Being out of practice, I am unsure
if she is “putting on” or “taking off” her under garments. I find a spot to store my bags and she has
never missed a beat and is now working on the top portion of her garment
exchange. As I leave the room, I think
to myself…I’m going to like Sydney!
With a couple of hours to kill, I immediately start my
re-con of the area. I start my covert
operation as inconspicuous as one can be carrying a heavy backpack, wearing a
fanny pack and generally with a “tourist stamp” across my forehead. I am painfully aware that at any minute I may
turn a corner and run smack into my quarry and my cover will be blown. As the time grows near I find a perfect spot across
the street behind a tree with sight lines in all directions. They are late! I resist the urge to walk in the restaurant
to see if I missed a table on my previous walk-bys. Suddenly I see my mark approaching in the distance. Despite my preparations, I haven’t given much
thought to how I would actually orchestrate “the surprise”. Thinking quickly I cross the street and
approach from the opposite direction. I
pull out my book and keeping my head down I hide behind people until they are
only several yards away and oblivious to what is approaching. “Excuse me mate…Do you know where Westend
Backpackers is? To which there is the
reply of many shouts of joy, wide smiles, kisses, multiple hugs and some misty
eyes by me. After the initial rush of
emotion has dwindled, we enjoy a wonderful lunch of chicken wraps, Caesar salad
and garlic bread. The most common
repeated comment is…I can’t believe you spent 25+ hours on a plane.
Lunch is over and we head back to the hostel for
check-in. I am promptly informed that I
qualify for a 4 nights for the price of 3 stay, which unfortunately they do
not. It seems that I unwittingly booked
my reservation in a different “approved” site.
The Tharrington-Wiedmer clan is given a private sunny room with a
properly working AC. I, however, am
greeted with a sign that says the AC in my room does not work, with the cord
wrapped around the unit and a bigger sign saying “DO NOT PLUG IN” Humm…no wonder it’s 4 for 3 I think. I go back to the lobby and ask if there is
another room available with working AC.
This room appears to already have 4 inhabitants for the 4 beds in the
room. I try again and this time the room
has operable AC and tell-tell signs of 1 and maybe 2 female occupants (I had
reserved a 4 bed mixed room originally).
“Sydney is a pretty cool place”…I think to myself
The kids have been very patient during this prolonged
episode and I can tell they are becoming pros at this “traveling and
over-coming complications” thing. Time
for some sight-seeing. We head out and
catch the free bus they previously discovered and I come to learn we
essentially re-trace their footsteps from earlier as they were “killing
time”. We arrive at the famous Sydney
Opera House, mill about, take pictures and generally marvel at the architecture
and magnificence.
They have decided to go to Manly Beach tomorrow to catch a
major surfing event so since we are at the harbor we inquire about the ferry
pricing, departures, returns, etc. As we
aimlessly wander we encounter local Aborigine street performers beating sticks
together and playing an amplified didgeridoo.
In and out of shops, suddenly Hudson and Sam believe they have found a
“pot of gold”…”the winning lottery ticket”
They have found a vending machine outside of a shop and have discovered
that if they punch this “pushy thing” at the bottom a bottle of coke magically
appears. Hey Annie, they squeal in
delight, check this out!!! All is well
until we are about to leave and the merchant excitedly motions for us to come
back. “That will be 4 bucks a pop” we
are told. Smiles diminish to “I’m
sorries” and Mama is not pleased.
Thankfully I didn’t push that sucker… I think to myself.
It is getting late in the day and we decide to head back in
the general direction of the hostel. We
are all a little leg weary and hungry at this point when we see a “food court”
sign. A little something for everyone we
say. Upon entering the alley we happen
upon a Woolworths and follow the signs to the food court. We glance over the stairwell and look down at
what appear to be closed shops. Oh well,
we are at Woolworths and decide to pick up some supplies. I need a towel, Sharon needs a sewing kit and
Hudson needs a rugby shirt…Voila. We
then notice a sign to a café on the second floor and move in that
direction. We come across a café and
other edibles and the kids are stoked… (Earlier in the day, I had discovered a
“cheap eats” section on our city map and that there was a place on the harbor
that had $10 steaks)...As the grown-ups notice the pricing of the edibles the
kids are now salivating over, Paulie makes the most profound and astute comment
of the day. “I would rather have a steak
in a sit down restaurant looking out over Darling Harbor that costs less than
this dime store cuisine”…I think Paulie read my mind. With a couple of chuckles sad faces in tow we
head off toward the harbor in search of “the best $10 steak in Sydney” After much map consulting and walking and
stopping and walking and pointing and walking we happen upon the Cargo
Bar. It is obviously very popular with
the youngest set and I comment “if a busy restaurant is any indication of the
quality of the food” then we should be in good shape. We learn the deal is to find a table, look at
the menu and then go to the counter to place your order. We look around and find that all the tables
are occupied or have a “table reserved” card on them. We huddle together and try to formulate a
strategy. I ask a waiter how one goes
about getting on a waiting list and he says “most people reserve a table in
advance” and you’ll just have to wait until a table becomes available. Ouch!!
Sharon notices a couple nearby at a picnic table about ½ way through
their meal. She asks if we can have the
table when they are done and they say OK.
She then asks if we can sit at the picnic table until they finish (in no
way to encourage them to speed up). We
grab a menu anticipating our “soon to be available” table and it is decided…5
steaks and a cheese pizza for Hudson.
Sharon and I get in the line at the bar anticipating it will actually be
some time before we are served. Ten
thousand steaks they sold last month we are told as we place the order. As Sharon and I return, the table is now
ours…imagine that! The place is very
busy and much to our surprise the food arrives in about 10 minutes. “They want to get rid of us because we are
not drinking” Sharon comments. Who
cares, the food is here. Not a word is
spoken for what seems like 5 minutes as we all devour our food. It is great…a well-cooked steak, fries and a
nice mixed greens salad….what a lucky find we all agree
After dinner we head back to the hostel and I discover my
roommates are a young hairy couple from the UK and a guy from Ireland who has
been traveling Australia for the past 5 months and plans to continue for the
next 6 months. Dude puts my impulse pond
hopping to shame. I discover that my
co-inhabitants are not big fans of AC…bummer.
After several comments in jest, they reluctantly agree to turn it
on…..coolish….and on low. They appear to
be a little less than lively bunch with their noses buried in books or
hand-held electronic devices. I decide
to check back in with the Tribe to see what they’ve been up to in the modest
time we have been apart. I hang out in a
small spot in the coolness of their small room until the last possible minute
before it is announced it is bed time.
I reluctantly head back to my room, enjoy a quick shower to wash off the
wear and tear of what now is a 40+ hour marathon. My wonderful
journey has begun and I am completely spent.
As soon as my head hits the pillow I immediately fall out like a
rock. Despite the luke warmish room, I
enjoy a great night of sleep.
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