After getting up at 7:00, we were on the road in no time, and headed down to the Hornsby Train Station, which was only about a half hour away. Unfortunately, there was absolutely NO PARKING available, and in particular, not for a vehicle our size, so that dashed THOSE plans. We decided to head down to a park that I had read about on another campervan website in Alexandra, a neighborhood near Sydney and close to a transit station, but when we arrived there, the entire park was blocked off and apparently under construction of some kind, so that was another no go. Then we decided to take another look downtown for some kind of parking, and wasted another hour in traffic, no go once again. We gave up, and settled for a drive across the famous Harbour Bay Bridge, which wasn't in any way, shape or form very exciting. Then we decided to head to the nearest campground in the Macquarie National Park, which is nothing like any national park we have in the U.S., but it did have a nice campground where we could get electric for the night, which we'll need because it's hot and very humid, and still raining off and on. We asked about going someplace nearby to have a meal first, and it was impressed on us that there is absolutely no parking of any kind for a vehicle like that, and our only option was to walk 700 meters (nearly half a mile) to the nearest subway station, and take a ride to Chatwick, the next town over, where there were plenty of restaurants. As hungry as we were, we had no choice, though it took a long time to walk there because Hubby's legs have been giving him some pain, we think due to his poor circulation. In any event, we finally managed to get there, paid $8.20 AU in cash for two tickets to that nearest town, then walked around an outdoor shopping area until we found a Thai restaurant. We had hoped for someplace nice, but everything was just take away with just a couple of tables at best, so we settled for a table next to the kitchen and had an average meal with poor service, not even offering to refill my ice tea during the entire meal! Then they wouldn't accept my credit card, so I had to use more cash to pay for lunch. Good thing I still had a little Aussie cash left! Though now I have a bunch of coins I don't know what I'm going to do with. I had hoped to exchange all my Aussie $ for Malaysian Ringgits when we get to Kuala Lumpur, but I'm not sure I'll have enough anymore. Anyway, we left there, then while Hubby waited for me, I ran into a giant multi-level indoor mall to buy a gift for brother Jeff, then we headed to a coffee shop for a sweet before taking the train back to the campground. It had been nice during the afternoon, but when we got off the train we ran into another rainstorm, and even with an umbrella we were compelled to stop a few times to keep from getting soaked. At last we made it back to the camper, with plans to relax and read the rest of the evening, but discovered my Kindle was dead, and the TV didn't work, even though we're practically right in Sydney. We must be doing something wrong, though I've tried to reset the channels a couple of times, it's still not finding them. Oh, well, it was an opportunity to catch up on my blog! Would love to post some pictures, but unfortunately the wifi here at the campground is only good if you're sitting in the office, and frankly, I'm just too tired and cranky to even consider walking all the way over there! That's it for me, though, I'm done for the night!
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