Oct – Nov 2017

Australia & New Zealand trip

A 38-day adventure by Sallee Read more

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Trip start
October 5, 2017
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Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at 8:48 PM
🌙 11 °C
Altitude: 249 ft
United States Porter City Park 44.578819, -123.2722744°34’44” N 123°16’20” W
One week countdown
October 4, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 11 °C
Meet Beber (German for Beaver), our trusted travel mascot. His first trip with us was to Germany 9 years ago. He is just as ramped up for the trip as us. Wish he’d help us with the packing. Our goal is to get what we need in these two suitcases and two backpacks.
Ready-set-pack!Read more
TravelerI get the big suitcase. 😉
10/4/17Reply
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Day 7
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 8:01 AM
🌧 6 °C
Altitude: 207 ft
United States City of Corvallis 44.56585, -123.1943244°33’57” N 123°11’40” W
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Wood Castle partial day (David)
October 11, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 6 °C
Getting way ahead at work so I can really enjoy the vacation.

Bit of a rainy morning to start.
David Sallee This is Buckbeard the pirate Beav-arrr. Our office mascot and distant relative of our travel mascot.
10/11/17Reply
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Day 7
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 11:32 AM
☁️ 10 °C
Altitude: 266 ft
United States City of Corvallis 44.56813, -123.275344°34’5” N 123°16’31” W
Pre flight lunch
October 11, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
Loaded Soup at Qdoba
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Day 7
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 1:11 PM
⛅ 12 °C
Altitude: 262 ft
United States Adair County Park 44.67311, -123.2122844°40’23” N 123°12’44” W
Last Minute Disc Golf
October 11, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Round at Adair
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Day 7
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 3:51 PM
🌧 12 °C
Altitude: 249 ft
United States Porter City Park 44.578751, -123.27224444°34’44” N 123°16’20” W
All packed and ready, but...
October 11, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 12 °C
Our flight to SFO is delayed. Crossing our fingers we are still okay to make connection.
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Day 7
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 5:48 PM
⛅ 11 °C
Altitude: 217 ft
United States Booneville Channel 44.530596, -123.26760744°31’50” N 123°16’3” W
On way to Eug airport
October 11, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
On road now, just got another update. More delay. We now have 30 min to get to our plane leg to Sydney. 😞 in another terminal.
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Day 7
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 7:46 PM
☁️ 8 °C
Altitude: 397 ft
United States Mahlon Sweet Field Airport 44.119393, -123.21203544°7’10” N 123°12’43” W
This is such a sad situation...
October 11, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
Next available they say is Saturday!!!!!! We are still at airport trying to find a better situation. ☹️😖😣😧 many emotions, none good.
TravelerYep, I am a mess!
10/11/17Reply
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Day 7
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 9:26 PM
⛅ 7 °C
Altitude: 213 ft
United States Porter City Park 44.57806, -123.2722244°34’41” N 123°16’20” W
Home until tomorrow
October 11, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C
So, here's the current situation . . .

Tomorrow we will be going to the airport for a second try. Both Brenda and I will be flying from Eugene to San Fran together (Econo Plus).

We are leaving Eugene early enough to avoid the delay issue that we had today.

When we get to SF Brenda has a First Class ticket on the 11pm flight. I am on Standby for a First Class ticket on that same flight. There is a seat available but "on hold" for some reason, so not sure how it's going to go.

Best Case - We are both on the same flight and in First Class
Second Best Case? - We are both on the same flight, Brenda in First Class, me . . . on the plane somewhere.
Worst Case - Brenda takes the flight tomorrow in First Class and I take the next day's flight in First Class as well.

Even the worst case is still better than the original option of waiting until SATURDAY to fly (which would put us in Sydney on Monday, missing about half of our time in Sydney).

So, all we can do is hope for the best.

Wish us luck! ~ DavidRead more
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Day 8
Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 10:13 AM
🌧 8 °C
Altitude: 207 ft
United States Millrace 44.540791, -123.26643444°32’27” N 123°15’59” W
On our way to Eugene airport again
October 12, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 8 °C
We are gonna try it again today. Wish us lots of luck.
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Day 8
Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 11:58 AM
🌧 9 °C
Altitude: 397 ft
United States Mahlon Sweet Field Airport 44.119568, -123.21194844°7’10” N 123°12’43” W
Negotiations at the counter
October 12, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
Still trying to get him on my flight in Business class. No luck yet.
David SalleeThe United App really came in handy. I was able to see that a first class ticket became available and had him do some checking
10/12/17Reply
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Day 8
Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 12:35 PM
🌧 9 °C
Altitude: 338 ft
United States Mahlon Sweet Field Airport 44.11991, -123.2139144°7’12” N 123°12’50” W
Eugene Gate
October 12, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
Waiting for our flight

So, finally good news!

We are both flying First Class from Eugene to SF AND we are now going to be on the same plane and both of us in First class there as well.

Took a picture of my Economy Seat next to my First Class one. Glad I have the better seat.

So, we're where we were supposed to be, just one day behind.

Special shout out to my folks for being kind enough to bring us down to the airport and being with us through the crazy times.

Looks like it's going to work out.Read more
TravelerI almost cried (for joy this time) when the agent (Jacques) found us at security and handed David his first class boarding pass. We are not sitting together in first class, but we can deal with that. Jacques, you’re the man!! Thank you for helping us, each of the many times we visited you at the counter.
10/12/17Reply
David SalleeThings are going much better!
10/12/17Reply
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Day 8
Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 1:45 PM
🌧 10 °C
Altitude: 312 ft
United States Harrisburg 44.28038, -123.16056844°16’49” N 123°9’38” W
1
First Class leg 1
October 12, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
Here we go!
TravelerThe pilot was really nice. Told me Sydney is his most favorite city to fly to. We started chatting about places to eat and various benefits of different airplanes and cabin pressure. He invited me to chat in cockpit so we didn’t block traffic. Nice guy and he got us to SFO safely.
10/12/17Reply
David Sallee Real glasses 😃
10/12/17Reply
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Day 8
Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 3:40 PM
☀️ 15 °C
Altitude: 5,046 ft
United States Plaskett Ridge 39.70166, -122.8809839°42’6” N 122°52’52” W
California Fires
October 12, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
On the way.
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Day 8
Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 4:18 PM
☀️ 20 °C
Altitude: 89 ft
United States San Francisco Airport station 37.61823, -122.3919437°37’6” N 122°23’31” W
1
San Fran Global Lounge
October 12, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Our home until flight time
David Sallee Beber is a Cubbies Fan, so he was happy with the outcome of the game!
10/13/17Reply
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Day 8
Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 9:47 PM
⛅ 13 °C
Altitude: 89 ft
United States San Francisco Airport station 37.618312, -122.39200137°37’6” N 122°23’31” W
Getting ready to board soon
October 12, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
I think this is really gonna happen!!! Whoa, get ready for the adventure. 😮
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Day 10
Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 6:30 AM
⛅ 14 °C
Altitude: Sea level
Coral Sea -27.44179, 154.6754727°26’30” S 154°40’32” E
Coming into Sydney
October 14, 2017, Coral Sea ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Just about there!

Some recaps from the trip.
I managed to move my seat once again, so this time I was in row one of Polaris class, two seats away from Brenda.

The nice man sitting next to me was kind enough to switch seats with Brenda, so we were able to sit together.
The start of the trip was fine. Had a nice dinner, I even found a bowling game on the entertainment system to play while waiting for the food.

After dinner we watched Spiderman Homecoming. Really enjoyed the movie.

After that, we got ready for sleeping.

My seat worked fine, but Brenda's would not lay flat :-(
They tried to fix it, but it just wouldn't work. It would recline a fair amount, but was still not what we were hoping for.

So, we tried to make the best of the situation as we could. I got some sleep in my seat, then traded off with Brenda so she could get some sleep in the flat bed.
Makes for both of us being a bit tired on arrival, but not as bad as we would have been in coach.
United did give Brenda some airline miles as an apology for not having the lay flat seat.

We really hope that things will go much better on our way back.Read more
David SalleeTo add to the entertainment of the Polaris class, I got dribbled on from the landing due to the A/C unit and I also managed to lock up the entertainment system about 45 min before landing.
10/13/17Reply
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Day 10
Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 9:00 AM
☁️ 17 °C
Altitude: 30 ft
Australia Alexandra Canal -33.93715, 151.1647333°56’14” S 151°9’53” E
Landed and ready to go to the place
October 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Brenda hooking us up with Uber

Customs was super easy.

Most of it was electronic since we have the passports with the chip. You go to a self serve station, scan the passport, answer a couple of questions. No, I haven't been to Africa in the last 30 days . . . and then go to another station that takes your ticket and does a facial compare live with what they have for your passport.

On the customs question card, I was able to answer "no" to 10 out of 11 questions. The only one that I was unsure about was the food question. The only food I had with me were a couple of pre-packaged Cliff Bars. Talked to a roving helper at baggage claim and he stamped an "ok" stamp on it. When talking to the nice lady at check in, she asked about it and I told her about the Cliff Bars. She was totally unconcerned and let me through "no worries". Brenda was right behind me and had no issues either.

We thought there might be another checkpoint to go through but that was the last one.

Brenda did try and take some pictures before being done with customs and apparently that's some sort of no-no, so she was asked to stop. Hence the only picture at the airport that we have is the one of Brenda taken AFTER exiting customs :-)Read more
TravelerIt was our first Uber experience and it was pretty easy once I figured I’d need to use my cellular data to connect at the pick up area outside of airport.
10/13/17Reply
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Day 10
Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 9:45 AM
⛅ 17 °C
Altitude: 33 ft
Australia Kings Cross Railway Station -33.87432, 151.2278133°52’28” S 151°13’40” E
Our Sydney Home Base
October 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Our main location for Sydney

We got the tour from our super awesome host. She even was nice enough to discount the day that we were unable to make it, so now we have a little bit of Aussie $$$ to walk around with.

We're staying in a small apartment.

It's very cute and has such a great view. Plus, it's really quiet.

One of the first things we have noticed is the simple fact that the critters sound so different. There are a lot of birds we would consider tropical, so we can hear much different noises.

There is also a school tennis court nearby where some young ladies are playing tennis on grass. Don't really see that in Oregon either :-)Read more
TravelerThe fig tree here in the window is massive. The owner says there are all kinds of native birds that stop by like cockatoos and parrots. David just saw one. We are about to do some exploration about town. This place is in a suburb of Sydney so not in city center itself. We’ll post more later.
10/13/17Reply
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Day 10
Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 10:10 AM
⛅ 17 °C
Altitude: 16 ft
Australia CYC -33.87458, 151.2329833°52’28” S 151°13’59” E
First Walkabout
October 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Checking out the bay

We went for quite the walk. Saw an intense cricket match, lots of excellent views of the bay including a long distance view of the Sydney Bridge. Plus, our training to use the "correct" side of the road extends to the pedestrian / bicycle lanes. We will get it figured out eventually.

An interesting side note, Thor opens here BEFORE it opens in the US (sometime early Nov.) I'll try not to spoil the movie too much for everyone.Read more
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Day 10
Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 1:45 PM
⛅ 17 °C
Altitude: 33 ft
Australia Kings Cross Railway Station -33.87451, 151.2277633°52’28” S 151°13’40” E
Pies for lunch!
October 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Tandoori Veggies for Brenda, meat pie for me.

We also got some chips that seemed to be Aussie inspired.

Visited the grocery store and had fun picking up a few items for our week. Brenda wanted to get some cereal and I just wanted to see what kind of interesting things I could notice.

First off, Aussies must love the flavor of Chicken. There are a lot of Chicken flavored crackers and chips including some Fried Chicken flavored Doritos.

Speaking of Doritos, they don't have Nacho Cheese flavored (or is that flavoured? ;-) it is Cheese Supreme.

I did manage to locate some Pepsi (seems to be tougher to find that Coke) and it's chilling in our fridge. I hope this increases my chances of staying up late enough tonight to adjust to the time zone. My goal is 9:30 pm. Right now I'm not sure if Brenda will make it to 6:30pm :-)Read more
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Day 10
Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 5:27 PM
⛅ 17 °C
Altitude: 66 ft
Australia Kings Cross Railway Station -33.87453, 151.2271733°52’28” S 151°13’38” E
Dinner Walkabout
October 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
In search of Elvis.
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Day 11
Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 7:39 AM
⛅ 16 °C
Altitude: 33 ft
Australia Kings Cross Railway Station -33.87431, 151.22779833°52’28” S 151°13’40” E
Public Transit Day
October 15, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Let's check out the city! But before heading out we got to enjoy the Aussie version of ‘Lassie’. ‘Skippy’ the kangaroo. Older show, about same time as Lassie. Very cheesy with fake animal paws doing the things animals can’t do.Read more
TravelerCheck out this link to get a nice feel for how hilarious Skippy is. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r3HkUKoGoc4
10/14/17Reply
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Day 11
Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 9:12 AM
⛅ 19 °C
Altitude: 72 ft
Australia Rose Garden -33.863407, 151.21514933°51’48” S 151°12’55” E
Sydney botanical garden
October 15, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
We only got to see a corner of Gardens. They are huge.
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Day 11
Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 9:46 AM
⛅ 19 °C
Altitude: 30 ft
Australia Sydney Cove -33.858662, 151.21308933°51’31” S 151°12’47” E
Sydney Opera House
October 15, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Of course tons of pictures
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Day 11
Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 11:28 AM
⛅ 20 °C
Altitude: 33 ft
Australia Circular Quay -33.86044, 151.2114133°51’38” S 151°12’41” E
Manly Ferry
October 15, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Time to cruise the harbour
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