December 28, 2018 Sydney

Yesterday evening, after our walkabout, we stayed home and spent the evening on the deck overlooking the yard and harbor.  Melinda put together a tasty cheese plate and Ian ran out to get a pizza, both of which we all enjoyed while sipping beverages (of course!).  We spent a few hours having stimulating conversations before we moved inside for dessert.  And speaking of dessert, at the market on our first day, Melinda picked up a few Mangoes and told us that we were in for a treat because Mangoes in Australia are no comparison to those in the states.  They are what we ate for dessert.  She was correct.  Amazingly sweet and scrumptious!

Our cheese plate and pizza

Today started early (for me) at 6:30 when Ian, Ken, and I went fishing.  Ian picked up our fishing licenses before our arrival and last night he'd shown me how he ties his lines, and it was fascinating.  I'm going to try it out for sure.  So much easier than what I've been doing my whole life.

The light as we walked on the rocks before 7am was so warm

A marker point in the rocks

Can you imagine living here?!?

Ken and Ian 

This was probably about 7am - warm, sunny, and the beach was empty except for two kids fishing (There is a 4 - yes four - rod limit for fishing!)

Proof that I was fishing – I had a couple nibbles and did have one fish on my line (love it when the line goes sideways with those tugs that mean a fish is on!) but it spit the hook, darn it!

Peaceful, this is looking in towards The Spit

Ian on the rocks

Can't really see it here, but there is a puffer fish near the rocks - probably only 4 inches long

Nice moorings - it was about 9am when I decided to take a swim.  The water temp was about 21c Ian said (74 to us F folks)

When we were done fishing we came home and Ian had some mince (ground meat) for his resident Kookaburras.  

We got an earful and I took a short video just to hear their sound.

I'm on the deck above looking down on the Kookaburra 

Melinda and Ian's cats Stripey and Spot - very sweet cats

Kookaburra

We then headed out for a drive along the coast to look at the different beaches and coastal scenery.

We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant on a harbor and Ken tried another Aussie beer and I had an Australian Mojito with an Australian Rum (I don't remember the brand).

We happened to stop on the side of the road for a second and a Water Dragon was sitting right there!

Looking north along the coast

I'm pretty sure this was Palm Beach - but we saw a lot of beaches and I lost track of which was which.

This coastal cliff is called Lion's Head - and I can certainly see why.

After the drive along the coast we went home and relaxed for a bit before going to dinner in Mosman at The Fernery which is the restaurant inside The Mosman Club.  The food was excellent!  We started with two share dishes - flatbread and Kingfish ceviche.  For my main meal I had prawns (which are probably 8" long!) and Linguine. Wonderful!  All four of our meals were excellent.  The atmosphere was a bit unexpected for a rooftop bar/restaurant on a Friday night - many families with small children running around and jumping off chairs - and it was pretty loud.  But I'd go there again, that's for sure.

As we were leaving the sun was setting over Sydney Harbor so we grabbed a quick picture and you can see the bridge in the background.

Tomorrow we're all heading over to Greg and Yolanda's home.  It'll be great to see them on their home turf.