Distractions, reflections

On the first morning after a long trans-Pacific flight, the fish market is good tourist destination.  Earlier is better.  The Sydney Fish Market is a short walk west from the bus stop in Pyrmont where we got off.  After passing under the Western Distributor elevated freeway, we found low building around a big parking lot.

The first store we encountered was Deep Seafood Cafe and Oyster Bar.  We were still early for lunch.

The lobster and shrimp might have been attractive to most people, but half of our family is allergic to them.

We walked over a few more doors to De Costi Seafood, which also had displays full of shrimp.

Getting service from behind the sneeze guards requires some service.

The blue swimmer crabs were on feature. Read the rest of this entry →

With a 2009 conference in Australia, our family planned a once-in-a-lifetime vacation.  We would spend almost three weeks in the land down under, beginning with seven days in Sydney.  To reduce the possibility of misconnections with Eric returning from Beijing, we had him travel from Toronto so that we could all leave together, five days later.   Airport check-in was slightly complicated as we discovered that Noah’s electronic travel authorization to enter Australia had not been processed properly with the rest of us.

Air Canada suggested that we board the flight from Toronto to Vancouver, and get the e-visa just before boarding on the next leg.  At the Maple Leaf Lounge at YVR, the airline had to try the online application multiple times before achieving success.  In the meantime, we were still catching up on being a family of six again, and enjoy the complimentary food and beverages.  During the layover, our sons had time to taste all of the snacks, and sampled the variety of beer, wine and liquor (offsetting for my many years of non-consumption in airline transfers).

Vancouver to Sydney is about 15 hours on the plane.  Crossing over the international date line resulted in us completely missing Canada Day.  I did my usual strategic sleeping and watching movies.  The flight wasn’t completely full, so we rotated into two-seat sleeping positions.  From my previous trips to Australia, I expected the aircraft disinsection procedure just before landing — flight attendants on a 2-minute walk down the aisle with insecticide aerosols — and recommended that our family stay with heads under blankets until they were done.

The airport in Sydney is south of the city.  Our hotel was north of the city, across the harbour.  We bought tickets for the airport link and a 7-day orange travelpass for trains, ferries and buses.  From the airport terminal, the first train took us to Sydney Central station.

We had left Toronto on an early summer evening flight to Vancouver, connected outbound from Vancouver almost at midnight, and boarded Sydney trains just after rush hour of a southern hemisphere winter morning.  I drew attention wearing summer shorts and sandals.  Donning a jacket and socks wasn’t quite warm enough, so it would be long pants for the week in Sydney.

We would ride the CityRail Northern line frequently in the days to follow.  Sydney’s transit maps are relatively straightforward. Read the rest of this entry →

With Eric returning after over 20 months in China, our family went out to the airport to meet him.  His friends were there before us.

When Eric showed came through the international arrivals doors, our sons jumped over the divider in a rush to greet him.

After Eric’s long flight, he had a few words with his friends and made appointments to see them later in the week.

To celebrate, we knew our sons would enjoy a good dinner.  Our usual preferences is for Asian buffets, but since Eric hasn’t had good western food in a long time, he opted for Jerusalem Restaurant. Read the rest of this entry →

Our family has a pattern — not yet a tradition — of skiing at Blue Mountain on December 24.  On the day before Christmas, the slopes are relatively quiet … and the people working the lodge and lifts aren’t yet stressed out by the holiday crowds that will arrive in the following days.  We haven’t been consistent on this event, because it’s only worth going if snow conditions are good, and pre-Christmas weather is variable.  In 2008, conditions were favorable,and we were on the road as the sun rose.  Since we ski irregularly, we rent equipment at the lodge for the day.  We’re not very practiced in getting dressed in the gear.

As oldsters, Diana and I prefer the tradition of Alpine skiing.  Adam and Noah have been on snowboards in prior years.  Ryan decided to stick with skis, and followed his parents for the first few runs.

Taking the ski lift up is more straightforward for skiiers than snowboarders, who have to release the binding for one foot.  After riding the lift to the top of the hill, Adam and Noah demonstrated the procedure of reattaching snowboard bindings while seated.

Unlike prior trips sunny enough for sunglasses, this day was overcast and cold both in the morning and afternoon.  From a north facing ridge, the clouds were low on the views of Georgian Bay and Collingwood. Read the rest of this entry →

Since we’re in a three-storey house (plus basement), the upper floors are too warm and the basement in too cool in the summer. Since I’ve added another PC in our bedroom — as a Mythbuntu personal video recorder — it makes the room even warmer. We have a ceiling fan above the third floor landing. Since we were going to install a fan into the master bedroom, we decided to install in all three bedrooms. We asked Don to teach Adam how to do it.

Don came over with the family. I don’t advocate video games — the boys have funded their own recreation — but it was something for Ryan to do with Anderson and Michaela.

Of course, we wouldn’t let everyone go home without have dinner. Read the rest of this entry →

While the Lowkong society visit to the cemetery monument draws a large group that needs to plan for rain or shine, our more immediate family would schedule in pouring rain. On this Sunday, the weather turned out to be wonderful.

We set the time, and people gradually showed up. Waiting provided a good time to catch up on news with cousins and uncles.

Active social lives means that at least someone will be tired from a late Saturday night.

The cemetery is well-kept, presenting an opportunity to enjoy sitting on the grass. Read the rest of this entry →