Our Australian Adventure: September 2010

Only a few more days of spring break remaining... We just returned from our trip to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Sydney. Mike was a trooper and repacked for our trip the same day he returned from his U.S. trip. We left the following morning at 5:45 a.m. He was a bit jet lagged but we took it easy in Uluru. We took in the sights and did some hiking with the kiddos. He also took the boys on a sunrise tour of Ayers Rock, with an Aussie breakfast by the campfire included on our 2nd morning there. What a landscape! Very different from all the tropical beach vacations we've taken thus far. The boys enjoyed the hiking and also learned a lot about the indigenous aboriginal people of that area. It was definitely a worthwhile trip to the middle of nowhere. We got a firsthand experience of the outback. It was a good time of year to go, with very mild weather and esp. not as many flies! We were there for 3 days and took off for Sydney for 3 days.
Sydney is very much the big city experience. I was reminded how far removed we are from that lifestyle. It took me at least a full day to feel comfortable with the crowds, traffic, and being in the middle of a large city with the kids in tow. We walked everywhere, with the exception of a ferry ride in Sydney Harbour to the opera house. We hit the Powerhouse museum (great hands on museum for kids, and a special AC/DC exhibit for the big kid), the Maritime museum (we got to get on a retired naval destroyer and a submarine), the Aquarium, and Wildlife World. Mike and I especially enjoyed all the ethnic food at our doorstep (we had Korean food, awesome Chinese dumplings and noodles, and Italian food).
All went smoothly until we went arrived at the Sydney airport for our 1 hour flight home. The check-in area for Virgin airlines was packed. We found out their entire computer system had crashed nationwide and they had to do everything manually. Needless to say, they had to cancel a lot of flights. They called out each flight one at a time; which meant we had to sit there and wait to be called. Luckily, our flight was not canceled and we arrived home 6 hrs later than scheduled. The kids were great; thanks to their Nintendos and ipod. As long as they were comfortable, had food to eat, and their games, they couldn't care less that we were stranded in an airport for 6 extra hours.
Naturally, I think we are all adapting more and more things Aussie. Lucas enjoys his vegemite and both boys took advantage of the beans and toast at the hotel breakfast buffet. Yesterday, as he was cleaning up, Lucas proclaimed, "Done and dusted (a common Aussie saying). At the grocery store in Uluru, we ran into an American lady that asked me for some advice on choice of crackers after I told her we had been in Australia for over a year. She told me I had already picked up some of the cadence of Aussie speech.