Less than 48 hours in Sydney, but we still managed to see some of the sights. First stop, the library!

Ostensibly we went there first because it’s centrally located and has cheap lockers in which to store luggage while we waited to check in. But! It also happened to be a Tuesday between 10 am and 4 pm which is the only time the Shakespeare Room is open to the public (I get sneaky when there’s First Folios involved).

(Eleventeen points to first commenter who knows the speech depicted by the stained glass.)

After that we hit Circular Quay and The Rocks for lunch, and then headed to the Air BnB where a short nap turned into “eh, nobody feels like going anywhere isn’t there a Dominoes downstairs?”

(Y’all, we’re approaching the two-week mark on a pretty intensely scheduled trip. Not every day can be Amazing Race worthy.)

We did do lots today, though! Started off with a morning walk for the grown ups along the beaches (including the iconic Bondi).

Then we split up. I headed into the business district where the software company I work for has an office, and I got to meet some colleagues who’ve only ever been smiley emojis over email. They took me out for lunch and it was super fun to chat and put faces to names.

The Husband gave me the whole afternoon to myself, so I was able to introvert it up with a stroll the the Royal Botanical Gardens. So pretty!

Then I meandered through the nearby art gallery – it was small but mighty.

Recharged, I met up with the rest of the fam to hear about their adventures (basically they walked around being nerds).

Together again, my dear ones indulged me in yet another visit to an old church.

Then it was off for farewell drinks and Australia’s gift to the snacking world: potato wedges served with sour cream and sweet chili sauce (OMG, sooooo amazing).

Our last stop was a family vacation tradition – go see a movie. Maybe not the most touristy thing to do, but we’ve always found it to be a nice break from the constant novelty of traveling (we stil tease The Girl about falling asleep during Superman in London only to wake up during the credits to ask groggily, “did he save the world yet?”).

And now we’re all packed up and hitting the hay early. Tomorrow will be dreadful – a 7 am flight to Melbourne followed by three more flights to Auckland, San Francisco, and finally PDX. Fortunately we cross the date line so (lucky us) we essentially get two Thursdays to cram that all in.

Goodbye Aussies and Kiwis! We’ve loved hanging out, but it’s time to go home.

But first – how do you celebrate a sweet sixteen birthday halfway around the world?

With a hastily-assembled cake made out of Tim Tams and convenience store candles, of course!

And a carry-on approved gift of “wombat poo” chocolates and an Australia necklace.

And then you take your forensic criminologist/lawyer wannabe history buff daughter to the “coolest place ever”: the Olde Melbourne Gaol.

(Don’t let her mugshot expression fool you – she’s loving this.)

We all got charged, booked, and processed at the watch house (lol – my charge was “cultivation of an illegal substance” – oh, Portland, we miss you), toured the jail, and even tried on the notorious outlaw Ned Kelly’s armour.

(The Boy couldn’t quite figure out why you’d need a padded cell.)

Alas, no sooner was bail posted than it was time to hop another plane – this time, to Cairns.

We got in kinda late, but still had time for a stroll down the esplanade, a trip through the night market, and some happy birthday fettuccini alfredo.

Had to hit the hay early, though, since the next day was a watery adventure – snorkeling!

So proud of my kids. The Boy got a little seasick on the ride out to the reef, but as soon as he got there, he was raring to go. And The Girl is terrified of open water and the creatures that live in it, and yet she was the one who kept asking to stay out a bit longer.

We saw Dory (no Nemo), turtles, parrot fish, and even a (non-people-eating) shark!

We were knackered after a day in the sun and sea and all went to bed early which was a good thing since more wilderness awaited us today – the Daintree Rainforest!

Walked along yet another beautiful beach.

Added a few more creatures to our roster.

But the scariest of them all was the one we were warned repeatedly about all day.

This guy!!

Oh my, we heard the most horrific stories about how crocs attack in a split-second and how dangerous it is to go even within five meters of the most innocuous-looking shoreline.

Fortunately we all made it back, and have just spent the last couple of hours packing up for yet another early start tomorrow as we head off for the next and final leg of this epic journey – Sydney!