First stop, Sydney

After a speedy drive in the boot (see attached video),we spent almost a week in California swimming and hanging out at with my family (Nathan's Family) and consuming large portions of sushi (thanks Jerad and Raquel). Monday arrived and we boarded for our 13 and a half hour flight. Since Matt was a slacker and didn't purchase his ticket the same time as me, we didn't get seating next to each other. We did both get to sit next to native Aussies that gave us the low down on all the things we should do and see. We left at 10:30 p.m. on July 27 and arrived at 6:30 a.m. on July 29th. Thus, we did not get to experience July 28th this year. However, we are living in the future and tomorrow will be warm and sunny but you might want to take a light coat because it will be a little chilly in the evening. We have walked all over the city, rode the ferry, and took a bus out to Manly beach. The opera house is pretty sweet. It seems that it is constructed of cement and then covered with tiles.. the kind you would put as a back splash behind your bathroom sink. The harbor is crazy busy with ferry's coming and going from different bays around the harbor. They are some of the main transportation for people commuting to and from work. We spent our first night in a Hostel since we didn't know where else to stay. They are a bit nicer than expected. We both crashed at about 7:15 being dead tired. There were 8 of us sleeping in one room (4 bunk beds). The bunk above me had some girls crap stung all over it when we went to sleep so her and some other dude ended in the bunk above Matt. Then he wondered why there was so much tossing and turning going on above him... This city has just about everything to see. There is a large section that is just the Botanical Gardens. Some of the trees there are pretty crazy looking. Some of the tree limbs will grow so far and touch the ground and actually take root. Supposedly there are giant fruit bats that come out around dusk that we have yet to see. We ended up with some amazing hook ups out here. It turns out that I knew someone that lives in Sydney. Once upon a time I taught snowboarding with a guy named Aaron Torline. A few years back he married a girl from Sydney and moved over here for good. Him and his wife were leaving town on a snowboarding trip so he kicked us back the keys for a few day. This means we have beds, a bathroom, a kitchen, and even some great Aussie television. I think they are a little behind the times however. They are just getting some of the shows that have been canceled in the states for at least 5 years or more. Who watches Hogans Heroes anymore? In the short, the scenery is beautiful and the people are super nice and way friendly. We'll spend a few more days in Sydney checking stuff out and then it's off to the blue mountains and Katoomba for a week or so. We will still be hit and miss with our blog due to the period of time that we will have the Internet. Thanks for checking in.