Everything is as it should be...

Well I had one of the greatest 4th of July's that I have ever had in my life. I spent the day with Liz. She is a wonderful English girl that I met here at Bondi Beach House. The night before (Sunday) we watched Casablanca (one of my favorites) and talked till 2AM. Yesterday I managed to drag myself out of bed shortly before noon and after a quick shower/shave Liz and I headed down to Bondi Beach.

After 2 weeks of being here where I can see the ocean from my room I finally made it down to the beach. We walked along the beach and went jumping around on the rocks (large boulders) like a couple of kids. When we finally got to the beach proper we lied down and relaxed a little while to enjoy the sunshine. That lasted until a cloud got in the way at which point we decided to head a little further down the beach to a cafe. We each got a cup of hot chocolate and shared a brownie, how sweet (the brownie that is). As we walked back we stopped at the stairs that lead away from the beach and noticed a guy catching a fish to which I said how cool, but he won't catch another one while we are standing here. Sure enough 30 seconds later he pulled out another fish (Dave would have loved it). We decided to sit down a little while before leaving the beach. We found a nice little bench formation in the rocks surrounding the beach and pulled up a seat. We made a little sand castle and posted a flag (not much bigger than my foot).

Our big plans for the evening were to head into the city and cross the harbor on a ferry so we could watch the city lights come on. Well everything went according to plan. We got there a little before the sun went down so we walked from Circular Quay where the bus dropped us over to the opera house because we had 30 minutes to kill before our ferry took off. By the time our ferry took of the sun had just gone down which provided us with this wonderful view of a golden sky against the city skyline over the water. We got off at Milsons Point/Luna Park (the area I stayed my first week here). Luna Park is an amusement park with a big ferris wheel. I talked Liz into going for a ride with me, after which she told me it was very romantic (desired effect achieved). The top of the ferris wheel afforded us magnificent views of the city lights at night through the harbor bridge.

After that we walked along the water front till we got to a nice spot to gaze at the lit up opera house and the sparkling lights of the Sydney skyline. After a little while Liz mentioned that she was getting hungry so I suggested the Mad Greek (remember from the first week). It was a little bit of a walk up the hill which was rough because Liz had hurt her ankle while we were jumping around on the rocks. We made it though and it was the perfect place for the two of us to share a bit of dinner. Dinner consisted of a small spinach pizza and tomato and basil bruschetta (she is a vegetarian). It couldn't have been more perfect.

After dinner we walked back down to the harbor where we caught the last ferry of the night back to Circular Quay. Lucky us, but as you all know timing in life is everything. From there we caught the bus back to Bondi Beach and came back to the hostel. We snuggled and watched Sin City on my laptop (Diddy was right). I couldn't have asked for a better night even if I wanted to. Liz makes me feel like a teenager again, which is a good thing. Sadly she left today to go on a trip that will take her to Uluru (Ayer's Rock) and up to Darwin. It's OK though because she will be back on the 21st, the day of my last final here. So we will have about a week to hang out and play like a couple of kids...

Could this post be any farther from the first few posts I made in Australia when I was feeling so alone? I would like to thank all of you again for reaching out to me to let me know that even thousands of miles away I am still in your hearts. I couldn't be happier right now...

I talked to my brother today which was very good for me. He is doing very well and facing up to life's trials and tribulations like the man he has become. I have always been proud of him, and I continue to be so. I can't wait to meet his 2 beautiful boys. Uncle Aaron (Uncle Monkeybars) is more than just a legend...

Well I am off to try to call Liz then get a little shut eye. Talk to you soon...