December 2019

The fires in southeastern Australia made the air quality unpredictable.  One day, the wind can blow the smoke away from the city and another day, Sydney could smell like your living in a camp fire.  We scheduled 36 hours to see the city.

Fortunately, the air quality was decent the day we were there.  We spent the day seeing the big sites: Opera House, Harbor Bridge, Botanical Gardens, Bondi, and Bondi to Coogie walk, Dinner in Darling Harbor. 

We added Tasmania, which could have been the best decision of the entire trip…

Day 10 we relaxed.  Took a run in the inferno and spent some time by the large pool lagoon.  We couldn’t go in the ocean due to the highly poisonous and virtually invisible Irukandji jellyfish (also why we are wearing stinger suites in several pictures)

Day 11 we headed out to Whitehaven beach, regularly rated one of the top beaches in the world.  The sand was so fine it felt like baking flour.  We spent 3 hours playing on the beach and dipping into the water with our stinger suites on.  We then piled back into the boat for some drinks on the way back to shore.

Australia is currently experiencing awful bush fires with over a thousand homes destroyed and a dozen people killed.  Much of southern and eastern Australia is blanketed with haze on good days and smoke and ash on bad days.  Our original plan had 3 days in Sydney, 3 days on Bondi Beach and 2 days hiking in the Blue Mountains.  Unfortunately the Blue Mountains are closed due to the fires and Sydney has been blanketed with hazardous air quality.  We reshuffled out itinerary and will only be spending 36 hours in Sydney to avoid prolonged exposure to the poor air.

We arrived in Airlie Beach with our usual entourage of bags and were greeted by 95 degree heat and no taxis… so there we are loading our 2 large suitcases, large tote bag, car seat, hiking baby carrier, hiking back pack, baby stuff backpack and running stroller onto the bus as the other passengers looked on in horror.

The first day we headed out on the Great Barrier Reef Excursion which was rate very highly for children.  The 3 hour boat ride was rough for Bryce.  Once we hit open water, we think he got sea sick from trying to watch his shows with the waves… that didnt go well for anyone aboard.   We arrived at the pontoon on Hardy’s Reef.  We took a glass bottomed boat around and Bryce got to see the big fish swimming.  The pontoon also had a glass room that we frequented a few times. It was great for children who cant swim.  Danielle and I took turns snorkeling which was outrageous and before we new it, it was time to head back to shore. 

Byron Bay is a hip coastal town in the southeastern Australian state of New South Wales, known for its beaches and surfing.  The Davis clan set up shop for a few days of light hiking, beach time, and working on our Australian accents.  My little blond surfer baby loved the beach, nearby playground, eating ice cream and talking gibberish to anyone that walked by. We hiked the Cape Byron State Conservatory, marveled at the huge lizards, visited some local farms, found some great places to drink Australian Beers, and rushed to seafood store each day before it closed at 6 to pickup some of day catch. The days flew by and we were back on the plane headed to see the Great Barrier Reef!

After the 32-hour journey, we hit the ground running.  No crashing.  We took a walk along the Brisbane River waterfront to stretch our legs and see some of the sites.  We needed to stay awake until 7pm to begin adjusting to our new time zone.  We stumbled upon Felons Brewing, a micro brewery on the river with an amazing outdoor space.  The beers were calling our name, but after 2.5 beers, our 7pm sleep target seemed a bit aggressive.  With our exhaustion and Bryce’s fear of the Australian white ibis (these birds are everywhere) roaming around, we decided to head back to the airbnb.

We were up at 4am and by 8am, we were at streets beach on the south bank.  The South Bank of Brisbane could be the most livable area of any city I have ever visited.  The public spaces were meticulously care for with children’s parks, public pools, and cute shops and restaurants.  If this city wasn’t so far from home, I could see myself living here. The next morning, I tested out my injured ankle with a run around the botanical gardens and south bank then packed up our 50 bags of luggage and headed south the Byron Bay.

At 38 with a wife and a kid, I moved back in with my parents and it was glorious.  Food in the fridge, laundry, child care help… what more do we need.  Our 7 days in West Nyack were great.  Saw lots of great friends and Family and even spent a night in our Manhattan apartment on an areo-bed (renovations have not started, whole other story).  The RV and national parks seem like a distant memory as we packed for phase 2 of the journey: 1 month in Australia, 1 month New Zealand, 2 weeks in Hawaii.

The trip began with trip with a stumble.  Our direct flight from LAX to Brisbane was cancelled and we were rebooked on a connection through Sidney.  What’s another flight and 5 hours of travel with an infant… probably wont make a difference?

Overall the flights went well.  Bryce got 8-9 hours of sleep during the 15 hour leg and Danielle and I even managed to get a few terrible hours of sleep myself.  The last flight from Sydney to Brisbane went south, fast.  Of the 90 minutes, Bryce spent 50 minutes rejecting the iphones/kindle, screaming, and kicking the seat in front of us.  Surprisingly, the sky mall catalog didn’t provide much relief.  Then he fell asleep.

We survived and now its time to explore Brisbane.

We made the most of our 18 hours in Phoenix.  A dinner with Lindsay, Brian, Bodie, and Finn Fletcher, a lunch with Jason Crawford and a lovely dinner with Tom and Trisha Gregor made for a great visit.

And just like that… 22 National Parks, 7 States, 7,800 miles, 150+ miles of hiking, the most beautiful landscape on earth, a dozen+ amazing friends that we don’t see nearly enough, and most importantly, 57 uninterrupted days with my 2 favorite on Earth.  Time well spent and memories for life!

The days of extensive national park hiking is now behind us.  Our last stop of the journey is probably the first stop planned, a long overdue visit to San Diego to see the Johnsons.  The Johnsons live on a narrow private road with 2 light posts on the end of the driveway.  This was my final exam for RV driving… after some a few attempts; we managed to get the beast down the driveway backwards.  A trip to the aquarium, Fanuel Park, Liberty Station and a whole bunch of other locations in San Diego made for some quality time with great people that I wish I saw more often.  After finishing our leftover alcohol in the RV, it was time for the final drive back to Phoenix.