Sydney, Australia

Josh and I had a fabulous time in Sydney. The pictures above display a brief synopsis of our 10-day trip. When we first arrived in Sydney, it was late at night and I was only able to see bits and pieces of the Sydney Harbor. The next day, I awoke early and excitedly peeled back the curtains only to be stunned by what I saw (The first few pictures were taken at that very moment). We spent the next day at the Toronga Zoo learning about the different wildlife of Australia. We learned that the Wallaby is in the family of the Kangaroo, with the only difference being the size. We also learned that for many years it was taught that Koalas were lazy animals because it was believed that they got drunk off of fermented eucalyptus leaves (now they have found that it takes a longer period of time to digest the leaves which leaves the Koala in a constant state of lethargy ). The Zoo sits on a cliff that overlooks the harbor and the views are incredible... The next days were spent visiting and catching up with friends. Some days while Josh was in meetings I would take walks down to the harbor and peek my head into the various shops, bookstores and cafes. It is such a safe and clean city and all of the people are so friendly... The day before we left Josh took me to one of his favorite places in Sydney (now mine too), Watson's Bay. We spent the afternoon walking along the coastal pathways snapping pictures of the unbelievable landscape (we even spotted a whale off in the distance). It was so perfect and picturesque I had Josh re-propose to me... We ended the night walking through the South Heads National park. It was surreal to see the points where the military had carved out barracks and placed their cannons in order to protect the harbor of any unexpected attacks. After our hike up to the South Heads park , we ate at a historic beach front restaurant named Doyle's...Our time in Australia was such a blessing to both Josh and I. It was truly a spectacular trip and we are thankful for the experience. It truly is the most beautiful place I have ever seen.

Next stop.....Hong Kong

Hamilton Island, Australia

Josh and I just spent a lovely 3-day holiday in the Whitsundays on Hamilton Island. It was an unbelievable experience and words will not do it justice.
Some of the highlights: helicopter ride onto the island, chasing wallabies through the resort, massage and pedicure at the spa, trip on the dinghy to fish for reef fish, picnic on sandy bay, hike to the long island pier, sea turtle watching, waking up to a beautiful beach front sunrise, resting on the porch hammock, playing scrabble, battleship and various Australian board games (one game was named Tipayatung)

As we were leaving the resort, we brushed shoulders with Pink and her boyfriend who were staying at the resort before her Sydney tours begin. I had ro explain who she was to Josh as we boarded the boat to leave.

We had an incredible time and are already planning our next trip.

Australia!! Brisbane/Maloolaba

We have made it to Australia and it is beautiful. We first stopped into Brisbane (where Joshie was born) and then headed for the quaint coastal town of Maloolaba. After we settled into our beach front apartment, I took a two hour power nap and Josh surveyed the area (p.s..Josh slept like a baby through the 14 hour flight to Brisbane while I restlessly paced the aircraft...I know...typical). We spent the day walking along beach pathways and traveling to the nearby town of Noosa where we ate lunch and shopped around (Josh and I bought some awesome new sunnies). Australia is such a beautiful place...I keep telling Josh that I must be part Australian because I love it so much. It has all the charm of Europe with coastal scenes similar to that of the Caribbean. We ended the day catching up with the Jeff's family over dinner at a local seafood restaurant.

Stay tuned...

I am learning a lot of new words:

Sunnies= Sunglasses
How ya goin= How ya doin

Beverly Hillbillies

We drove from Bakersfield to Los Angeles and stopped in Burbank to have lunch with a producer who has worked with us in the past http://www.philcooke.com/ We ate greasy hamburgers, corn dogs, and onion rings and talked about being a Christian in Hollywood as well as the future of Christian media. I thought the onion rings and corn dog were enough to assuage Emily's hunger pangs, but I was wrong. She was fixated on visiting a cup-cake joint called "Sprinkles" in Beverly Hills. Let me tell you....you have not lived until you have spent $4 on a cupcake. It was a bad recipe for me because lets just say that Versace on Rodeo Drive doesn't exactly welcome tourists to use their toilet after binging on trans fat and chocolate.- I dont know why I have not learned this lesson.

We caught up with the Mounts who live in Los Angeles now. We saw some star homes and followed that with a salad to get Em and I back on track. It was a good day. Em wants me to let everyone know that even though I got sick from Sprinkles she LOVED it!

Heading to Brisbane tonight. 14 hours on a plane! Woo Hoo


- By the way.... The house we snapped is Dr. Phil's house (or so the star map said that some dodgy guy sold us on Santa Monica Blvd)
- The view/overlook is Mulholland Drive overlooking the valley Burbank/Studio City

HAPPY 4th.

JDY/EBY

Turlock/Bakersfield

We spent Thursday inland in the towns of Turlock and Bakersfield visiting with dear friends. We have included a few pictures here. We are on our way to Los Angeles today...stay tuned.

1. Visiting with Mrs. Marge in Bakersfield
2. Scenery from our trip inland

Our First Stop

We arrived in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon. We decided to spend our afternoon strolling down to Chinatown to find a good place to eat lunch. We found possibly one of the best Chinese restaurants I have ever eaten, House of Nanking,a real hole in the wall place where the chef himself takes your order (unbelievable sesame chicken!!) We stopped for a couple of pictures as we made the climb back to our hotel. We ended our time in San Francisco visiting with and old friend and stopping by one of the best French restaurants in CA, Cafe Jacqueline.

We have included some photos from our time in San Fran

1. Josh posing next to a street car (is that an 80's Patrick Dempsey on board?)
2. View of Chinatown
3. Josh eating at House of Nanking
4. House of Nanking
5. Josh posing before hiking to the hotel
6. View of Alcatraz from a friends San Fran apartment

Updates from the Road...

Josh and I will be on the road for the month of July. Visit our blog to stay updated on our travels abroad!