Saying goodbye to Sydney (and hello to Kristen!!!)

We're still having a great time. Here are just a few 'high' lights...

-we got to go to toranga zoo (2 ferries from our hotel) yesterday and had a great day
-it POURED ALL DAY!!!
-PORTLAND POURING, not tropical showers
-dampened my spirits a bit, but didn't phase the boys - just another adventure
-a lot of the animals were inside, but highlights included seeing the silly (CRAZY) gorillas, the seals (i think they were seals) being fed, little blue penguins and our first glimpse of koalas
-unfortunately, i lost my VISA between the zoo and on the ferry (tuck was going crazy for a a figurine of a little blue penguin, so i sent he and cade to the bathroom while i hurriedly bought it and a koala for cade as a little gift for their birthdays)
-somehow between the gift shop and the ferry ride home, my VISA was gone
-i had to deal with canceling, making sure next places all take amex, etc.
-everything turned out fine, as no one used it
-it really was a great day, and it's just one of those things
-poor cade was more worried about it than i was
-enjoyed a $10 steak dinner at cargo bar in darling harbour (woo-hoo!!!)

-enjoyed a lesiurely morning trying to decide what to do today - didn't want to head out to the wrong places if the weather was going to be as threatening today
-we decided to go to manly beach (again 2 ferries)
-almost didn't go b/c of fear of weather (clouds in the sky this morning)
-so glad we chanced it! weather much better ~70, but boys were thrilled to be there and enjoyed the waves for over an hour, swam like they were in Hawaii (but they do that at the oregon coast, right?)
-we got to the ferry landing and stopped for refreshments overlooking what we thought was manly beach and couldn't figure out why no one was there - turns out, we had to walk across the street and a few blocks down the road (thank you threesome from london and Germany for pointing us in the right direction!)
-it kind of felt like a european beach/resort town (don't i sound like the world traveler?!)
-had a great dinner at circular quay
-kind of sad to be leaving sydney, feeling like we've made a little home here

-we head to the train station in the am for a 4 hour trip to Canberra to see Kristen, Simon & Phil

observations:

-things are far less crowded when it's pouring down raining
-things don't really seem to be very crowded here, in general
-incidentals are still expensive
-can't find a bookstore
-cade & tucker are great little travelers
-so glad we purchased the 'sydney pass' to include all ferries, buses, and rail (makes going from place to place much more thoughtless, as opposed to having to consider the price of the fare before going from here to there, e.g., a round trip ferry to circular quay is $10.60/adult)
-we miss our friends and family, but are having a great time here