San Antonio, Texas:
Who knew? Wednesday is exciting after all. 7:30 a.m.: We dropped off the Escape pod at the Ford service center and Bob gave me a ride home.
The morning was spent planning our time in Sydney, Australia. Have you ever read TripAdvisor.com? I started out with the review on our hotel. On that page were links to reviews of tours. So after clicking on one tour and reading all the reviews, I was on to another tour and reviews, and another tour and reviews...you see where I'm going with this. When the RV repairmen arrived I was STILL reading reviews of tours.
Our hotel--for the first three nights before our timeshare starts--is in the heart of Sydney's CBD (Central Business District). For sure, on our virginal day in Sydney we will go on "I'm Free Tours." They offer free walking tours: three hours for downtown Sydney, 1-1/2 hours for The Rocks area in the evening and, if I understand correctly, there is a three-hour afternoon tour. Tips are encouraged if you like the tour. All the reviews I read gave it four (very good) or five (excellent) points. Other tours that sound good are Sydney Architectural Walks (SAW) and a small bus tour to the Blue Mountains. That last tour is pretty expensive. I say we drive ourselves to the locations the tour bus goes to because we'll have a rental car. (Note to ourselves: Remember to drive on the left side of the road. How could I forget when the steering wheel is on the right? Random thought: How do countries originally decide which side of the road to drive on?)
Our RV repairmen arrived about 12:30 p.m. and were here until 1:45 p.m. The owner needed to go to his brother's funeral at 3:00 p.m., so they will return on Friday to finish up three remaining items on the list.
Today has produced some thunder which started off slowly this morning--a tease. The "100 drops of rain fell" and then stopped. When the RV repairmen came and were working outside on our electrical plug-in, more rain came, then stopped.
The teasing stopped and now there is a full-on frontal assault with loud, cracking and rolling thunder, lightning and real rain. I love a good thunderstorm! Just checked NOAA's latest forecast, 40% chance of thunderstorms (check, I can say in confidence we're having 100% of a thunderstorm), heavy rain up to 2" per hour possible and a flood advisory. And here I am listening to Jimmy Buffett's "Cheeseburger in Paradise." What a contrast to what's going on outside right now, although it is HOT out there. I went out to get you some pics of the storm and witnessed a large flash of lightning. Yikes! Wish I would have caught that in my pic! For over an hour the thunder has been loudly rolling and rumbling. More lightning!
Robert at Grande Ford Light Truck Service called me back. He had to go into Ford's technical data to find out what the clunking noise was. He read to me that the noise occurs only at the far end of wheel travel when the wheel is turned when stopped or on sharp turning, such as getting into a tight parking space. The tech report states this is normal in Ford Escapes built before 2009. He told me if it really bothered me they could replace the steering column for $1,000. "What? Are you crazy?" No I didn't really say that. I politely said, "Oh that's good to know. I don't see any reason to replace it." We can pick it up tomorrow morning.
Warning: Kitty best buds pics follow...Stop reading now if you don't like pet pics.
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| Sonnie is helping himself to part of my chair. |
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| "You wash me, I'll wash you." |
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| Kitty contemplation. Don't you wish you knew what your pet was thinking? I do. |
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| Cozy cats. |
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| "Let me clean those ears for you." |
The kitty pictures are darling! I use Trip Advisor whenever we are in a new place. There are all kinds of great ideas of things to do and see. It sounds like your Australia trip is going to be very exciting!-Peri
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading your Australia posts. We went to New Zealand a few years back and due to an airport delay ended up being rerouted thru the Sydney airport. It was neat to see the opera house from the air!
ReplyDeleteWe plan to see the Opera House on a walking tour to get all the history and see it close up.
DeleteNew Zealand is also on the bucket list. Maybe our 25th anniversary?? Oh wait, that's only in a couple of years. We'll have to save up money longer than that. LOL.
Susan
oh, I love those kitties!!! We used to have an orange cat, they are just awesome.
ReplyDeletebest,
MOV
MOV,
DeleteSunnie is awesome. He is like a big labrador retriever (except he doesn't retrieve, but he loves to chase his toys and is so enthusiastic). Bowie, our Siamese, just thinks he's human and wants to do whatever we do.
And get this...both cats like to floss their teeth. I hold the dental floss and they pull it through their teeth. (I'm very careful to not let them swallow the floss. That would be bad!)
Cats are awesome!
Susan
My daughter, Kelly, and I went to Sydney, Australia, when she was a junior in high school. She played for the USA softball team. They played the Australia's Olympic training team. Sydney is beautiful. You will love being downtown. So much to do and see. Looking forward to your posts on our trip.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been a trip of a lifetime for you both. She must be an excellent softball player to play against Australia's Olympic training team! So cool.
DeleteSusan
It is amazing how kitty photos present images of calm. Like others, I am excited about your trip to Australia. That is one place on my bucket list. I'll have to investigate renting an RV in Australia sow e can "roll" through the area.
ReplyDeleteGood decision on the car repair. No need for you to pay for a Ford mistake.
Jerry/Carol,
DeleteRVing through Australia sounds wonderful. We had timeshare weeks we needed to use or lose, so we'll be doing the plush tour. Ha ha.
Two of our timeshare weeks will be studio apartments with no kitchen. Doesn't matter, though. We'll be out hiking and sightseeing so much we'll most likely explore local cuisine while we're out and about.
On the weeks we do have a kitchen, we can prepare our lunches for the day and eat in more. One of the kitchen weeks we'll be in Hunter Valley which is known for farm stands, horse country and wineries.
Susan
Susan
Aren't they so sweet we they love on each other like that?!?! Our kids floss too!! Too funny! Dickie did it when he was younger but it's now mostly Pinks thing. One of us brings out the floss and she's all over us until she gets her turn. Adorable!!
ReplyDeleteI've had cats all my life but these are the first two who like to floss. Silly cats.
DeleteLove the cat pics. You commented about Quincy going outside and he loves it so I give in every once in awhile. He is good about not going far. His main objective is to find some good grass to chew on. Tried the harness and leash but he freezes up and won't walk so I haven't been very patient about trying over and over again. So far haven't had a problem with him bringing in fleas or other bugs, but I do try to brush him to be sure.
ReplyDeleteGayle
I think that is so amazing. Still, I'm cautious about my fur-kids. I will keep trying the harness and leash. Bowie did freeze up outside with the harness on. He laid down on the concrete slab and wouldn't move. Also our RV park requires pets on leashes.
DeleteAs far as fleas, if I let mine out I will buy some Advantage and put it on them first. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of fleas.
Chiggers live in the grass and plants around here too. Don't know how they affect cats, but I'm not very fond of them!
Susan