Laying flowers on my parents’ gravesite on our first morning
We arrived in Sydney the morning of December 21. As is our tradition, we stopped off at the cemetery to visit the gravesite of my mum and dad. After paying our respects it was off to check in to our home in Manly for the next two weeks. We are one block from the beach in an apartment we have stayed at twice before.
Ian’s family with us on the beach at Manly after dinner on our first night
We caught up with my brother and his family on our first night. We had takeaway dinner on the beach which was nice.
On the hike to Dee Why with Freshwater Beach in the background
On our first full day we did the hike from Manly to Dee Why which involves climbing over plenty of rocks as well as some beautiful beach walks. Lunch overlooking Dee Why beach and then a very cheap Uber ride back for some beach time on Manly. On Christmas Eve we went caught the ferry in to Circular Quay for lunch with Ian’s family.
Getting ready for presents on Christmas morning
On Christmas morning, we drove out to Robyn (my sister) and Mark’s house in the country. It is about a 90 minute drive from Manly but the last 30 minutes is driving over beautiful rolling countryside. As usual, Mark and Robyn put on an incredible spread, everything was so delicious. Afterwards we went into their bar/games room for some music, video games and we all took turns on Mark’s drum set.
What a feast we had at Mark & Robyn’s house on Christmas Day
Boxing Day was spent on the beach all day and watch the cricket where Australia was playing India in Melbourne. The next day we went on another hike that Marcy and I had been wanting to do for years: Manly to the Spit Bridge along the harbour shore and through Sydney Harbour National Park. It was another spectacular hike.
Walking through Sydney Harbour National Park on the way to the Spit Bridge
Yesterday, we met up with Mark and Robyn again as they came to Manly. We took the ferry in to Circular Quay as we had booked a jet boating ride. This is a high speed boat that goes all around Sydney Harbour, doing some sharp turns in the process and drenching everyone on board. Marcy and I decided to leave it to the kids and Robyn and Mark.
Jet Boating on Sydney Harbour with the Opera House in the background
Then, it was back to Manly for a late lunch and paddleboarding on Manly’s harbourside. Even though that side of Manly is protected from the water there was still quite a swell once you got out from the beach so it was tough going. But it was super fun to be paddling around all the boats.
Jude and Marcy paddle boarding around some yachts
That evening we went out for dinner at the local pub and Jude enjoyed his first legal alcoholic drink.
Drinks at the Steyne Hotel
The weather has been gorgeous pretty much every day with hardly a drop of rain. Today was another beach day where the kids took their turn at learning to surf. It has a long learning curve.
