Shaley
Sara Haley Broihier Joined: September 24th 2008
Logged in: December 6th 2011
Logged in: December 6th 2011
Travel Blog Posts
REI Baby Carrier - Ready to go hiking!
November 2011 - This is actually our second trip to Hawaii. Why I didn’t blog the first trip is beyond me. The only thing I can think of is that we were too busy relaxing and enjoying the islands. Our last Hawaii trip was in May 2009 to Maui and the south shore of Kauai. Needless to say, we are in a very different place in our lives this time around - Landon John Broihier, at eight months old, joins us on his first official Broihier vacation. Secretly, part of our motivation in moving to Santa Monica, CA was to try to get to Hawaii more. That’s how much we liked it the first time around. The flight is definitely more manageable coming from LA (last time we flew from NYC). However, this time we looked ... read more
First stop: Proserpine!
Nov. 22, 2010 On our way out of the Whitsundays we picked up a rental car, a small red Getzauto Hyundai, from Europcar. This was Sean’s first time driving on the left which he picked up fairly quickly. After about 15 minutes of repeating out loud “stay to the left, stay to the left,” he drove like he’d lived here all his life. If you’ve never driven on the left, almost everything is on the opposite side - the seats (obviously), the windshield wiper lever and turn signal, and even the buttons on the stereo. The break and gas pedals, however, are the same. About 20 minutes out of town, as we were looking for a place to eat in Proserpine (which we are still discussing how to pronounce), we came upon some flood water, which ... read more
Palm Bungalow Resort
November 15, 2010 We left Sydney and flew north to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef with high hopes of meeting up with sunny weather. It was about a two hour flight to Hamilton Island where we had reservations at the Palm Bungalow Resort. The accommodations were cute - basically a cabin (bungalow) with a small kitchen and bathroom. Unfortunately, it rained for most of the 48 hours we were there, so lots of sleeping and relaxing occurred. On one of the breaks from the rain we did take advantage of the clear sky and attempted to go snorkeling. Though we saw absolutely nothing snorkeling, the water was amazingly warm - practically like bath water, and it didn’t even reach eighty degrees that day. Can you imagine what that water would be like on ... read more
November 14th 2010
Sean pumped and ready to go to Manly Beach!
November 13, 2010 With the sun finally shining, we packed our backpack with beach clothes and headed to Manly Beach! A thirty minute ferry ride with beautiful views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House took us over to Manly. Sean was so excited to finally get some water time and maybe surf! We arrived in Manly starving, so we grabbed some lunch directly across from the beach and . . . half way through lunch the sun disappeared, and the storm clouds started rolling in. At this point our bad luck with the weather was almost laughable, so we took a walk down the main strip and decided to get massages rather than disappointedly watch our beach day evaporate in front of our eyes. Both of our masseuses were from the states ... read more
Sara with the Walking Stick
November 12, 2010 Since we were moving over to a hotel in Surry Hills the next day, we decided to spend our last day at the Four Points Sheraton in our “backyard,” at Darling Harbour. The area specifically referred to as Darling Harbour was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1988. It’s kind of like a South Street Seaport or Navy Pier area where festivals and cultural events are held - lost of restaurants, bars, and fun things to do. We bought a three way pass (good for three months) to the Sydney Aquarium, Wildlife Adventures, and the Sydney Tower. Intrigued by the sign outside of Wildlife Adventures, “See One of the World’s Largest Crocodiles,” we headed there first. When we walked in we were immediately greeted by a Walking Stick. Pregnant Sara ... read more
Raquel & Sara in Darling Harbour (with fireworks in the background)
November 7, 2010 Th evening of our Sydney sightseeing tour (Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, The Rocks, Botanical Gardens) ended with an Italian dinner out in Darling Harbour. Coincidentally, Raquel Salvadori, who was Brazils representative on the original Reebok Global Instructor team with me, had also been vacationing in Sydney. Her month in Sydney was just about to come to an end, just as ours was beginning. She had been renting an apartment on Manly Beach and ferried in to have dinner with us. The original purpose of her visit was for a friends wedding (one of her many Brazilian friends who has married an Australian) and like us, decided she might as well stay the month. I hadnt seen her since the launch of Reebok & Cirque du Soleil's JUKARI Fit to Fly in ... read more
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Our first adventure in Sydney . . . a walk to Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House and the Rocks. Keep in mind, part of the reason we decided on this trip is because both of our sisters had studied abroad here and raved about it - both of whom came in January, which is the middle of Australian summer. We, however, are here on the edge of spring and have unfortunatley had very dreary weather, so we imagined this sightseeing walk would have been even more spectacular if it didn’t seem like it was about to rain any second. We stopped on the way to grab something to eat. This is only worth mentioning because I ordered quesadillas and when the paranoid pregnant lady asked what kind of cheese “tasty cheese” was, the waitress responded ... read more
Welcome to Sydney
November 1-3, 2010 You’ve never been on a long flight until you’ve flown to Australia. That said, it was not nearly as bad as I thought . . . and yes, were were in Coach. We flew threw LA from Chicago - three and a half hours and then another fifteen to Sydney. The plane we flew to Sydney was the largest plane Sean and I had both ever been on one - AirForce One style. The pilots had a staircase up to their cockpit. The Coach seats were three on each side and four in the middle and it seemed to go on forever. Good thing about this? Lots of exercise room for the pregnant lady. I probably got up every two hours to walk the isles, drink water and hang out in the ... read more
Out on the Dinghy
March 21 - The Ultimate Lazy Vacation Day - nothing to tell really. The day consisted of lots of sleep, deli sandwiches, pool time, more sleep, more food, a bad movie (It’s Complicated with Alec Baldwin & Meryl Streep), and more sleep. Like I said, vacationing at its best. March 22 - Since yesterday was a solid day of what we like to call “filth-wallowing,” we decided that we needed to make the most of our last day of vacation, so we headed to the beach with water sports in mind. Because of our late start (hey, we tried but we are on vacation, remember?), we had to decide between taking a wave-runner or a dinghy out. (http://www.divestjohn.com/dinghies.html). We figured we can always wave-run, so we opted to rent the dingy and snorkel gear and head ... read more
On the safari taxi
March 19, 2010 I woke up early this morning and sat in the living room of our little cottage working to the sound of the waves . . . Sean slept right up until check-out at 11. We said good-bye to Gallows and caught a safari taxi to the Westin Resort about a mile North on the outskirts of town. As we drove away we realized the true benefit of Gallows - being so close to the downtown. But as we drove up to the Westin, we realized its’ benefits as well - being right on the beach with a huge pool and hot tub. Since our room wasn’t ready due to our early arrival, we decided to explore the grounds. Iguanas are everywhere! Though creepy, they seem to be used to people and thus do ... read more
