I cant believe we’re here – but we fly home in less than an hour!!! I’m totally mixed with both feelings of sadness and excitement – but I think in the end I’m just so happy we had this experience, and are so glad we have an amazing life to go back home to as well. Every single day we spent here in Australia was nothing short of amazing. We saw kangaroos, dingoes, whales, sharks, fish, shrimp, dolphins, koalas, snakes, spiders, lizards, birds, etc…all in the wild. We ate Thai, Indian, Japanese, African, Italian, Greek and Australian (and even had some ‘Hungry Jack’s’ which is basically burger king). We saw World Heritage listed rainforests and beaches, dove the Great Barrier Reef, and saw some amazing cities and small towns. Maybe most importantly we met so many amazing people – Australians are simply incredible – and we made friends from all over the world. We felt the kindness from strangers and hopefully spread a bit of kindness ourselves.

At the end of the day there were loved ones at home who traveled with us through this amazing country – as we thought of you often. Traveling like this…well it is spectacular and awesome, but there is truly no place like home. Dave and I have had an amazing trip and we will miss Australia dearly. Thanks for following along with our trip and tomorrow check in for an amazing grand opening special for Shey Marin Photography!!!! WOOOOHOOOO!!!!

And in the spirit of long day trips with hair that has been under a hoodie for 90% of the morning – here is our last photo taken of us in Australia:

Ahhhh!!!! So sad but happy too. Quick recap of the last few incredible days….strolled around Sydney, checked out Manly Beach, did a wine tour in the Yarra Valley, drove the Great Ocean Road, and toured Melbourne city….beautiful and awesome!!! Tomorrow morning we board our plane back to the States….so surreal!!!! Tonight we’re going out to celebrate – hope you enjoy these few photos from the last few days!!!

Yesterday we arrived in Sydney and walked all along the harbour, split a bottle of sparkling wine and enjoyed the sun by the Opera House, then strolled through the botanical gardens. So pretty!! I also am sharing a photo of my trusty pack – it’s been to 4 continents and keeps on kickin’. Somewhere within this pack are a verrrrrry pretty new pair of black heels that I bought in Brisbane….love them. I wish I had packed more socks, and less dresses, a nice long sleeve shirt and less tank tops…but all in all I think we fared pretty well for a 6 week trip. Tonight we’re doing a night Sydney bridge climb and tomorrow we’re going to do a harbour cruise and hopefully score tickets to the sold out opera Aida.

Some pics from yesterday and today:

I look happy but I had just cleaned up a crazy huge mess from an exploding egg yolk from a brekky sandwich on the train. Fun.

ha ha…I look so compact and streamlined compared to dave who got stuck carrying the smaller bookbag, my purse, and said egg yolk mess trash bag.

The pretty Opera House

Inside the Syndey Aquarium

Soooo crazy…we are down to 1 week!!! 1 more week of barely knowing what day it is let alone thinking about the ‘real’ world…but I must say I’m totally energized, refreshed and SO excited – SERIOUSLY SO EXCITED – to come back home and get into our new lives in Maryland. We are fortunate that when this Australian adventure ends we have a brand new adventure to get into – two new jobs, a new place to live, friends/family to see, and so many new places to explore. CAN’T WAIT!!!!!

I do have to share the great news we got today – my brilliant husband is now a PUBLISHED AUTHOR!!!!! He found out this morning that his research project has been accepted into the leading orthodontic publication…so exciting!!!

So here are some photos of our time here in the Blue Mountains – a gorgeous little area right outside of Sydney. Tomorrow we head into Sydney for a few days of sightseeing and exploring, so I’m sure I’ll check back then. For now here are some fun pics from today!

Brisbane was everything I remembered and more. We had amazing food, yummy local brews, fun tours and great experiences. We got lost, had adventures, walked a lot and lived it all up. I was reminded once again why I love this country so much, and why I’ll miss it so much when we leave. Now that we’re in Byron Bay – our first stop in NSW, and our first glimpse at ‘cool’ weather, we’re enjoying the beauty here and gearing up for our last 10 days in Australia.

Tomorrow we do a full day of traveling to make it to the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney, where we’ll do a bunch of hiking for 2 days and then head into Sydney for a couple days. Then we’re onto Melbourne and then home…it’s all going to fly by I know. Here are some photos of our last week in Brisbane and Byron Bay…as the rest of this trip, all of these are straight out of the camera (meaning no photoshop editing – which off topic I am totally missing at this point!!) and more can be seen on my flickr stream.

Enjoy!!