Getting to International Waters and 12 hours of Sydney Fun

On Sunday January 3rd, we packed up and headed to LAX. What a hole! This is just a little venting on the 3 hours to get from the exit of LAX through rental car returns, a Disneyland organized cluster line system to check into the flight, a nearly deadly line through security (well, not deadly for us but for the girl behind us who had a stainless steel water bottle dropped on her head) and mad dash to the departing gate.

Overall the flight to Sydney was not too bad just long. Our seatmate Paul was nice and provided an additional entertainment with a game called ‘Understand the Aussie’ due to a thick Cairn’s accent. 15 hours and missing a day we landed in Sydney early morning on January 5th.


Once we were free from the plane, we got out of the airport and took the train to downtown. Following the recommendations of many, including my brother, we took the free tour of Sydney Harbor by taking the ferry to Manly. We got a good view of the city and a few good pictures of the Opera house.

We then spent a few hours putzin around Manly and walking along the beach. Day 1 overseas and the first mild sunburn occurs due to airport security and a lack of sunscreen. Way to go us! We finished off the tour of Manly by stopping off at Manly Cycles. For those who are not up to date on the McGlone Family History, Ryan worked there for several months during his stay in Australia. Unfortunately Steve the owner was not there but we left a message to “say Hi from Ry”.