Down Unda: Brisbane Days 7 & 8

After spending two incredible days on the Gold Coast, we hopped in our car drove an hour north to Brisbane.  We checked into the Brisbane Marriott, which is located right in the heart of Brisbane and overlooks the Brisbane River, and set off to explore the city.  

The first thing I wanted to do once we arrived in Brisbane was to visit the Brisbane Temple.  When I served my mission in Brisbane 13 years ago, the second area I served in was the temple grounds.  The temple had just finished being built and I had the opportunity to serve at the open house leading up to its dedication.  Serving at the temple open house was one of the best experiences of my mission.  I had some of my most spiritual experiences during that time and I loved having the opportunity to introduce people to the peace and serenity of the Lord's house.  So, as you can assume, I was anxious to get back to the Brisbane temple and to show my husband and kids this place that meant so much to me as a missionary.

After walking the grounds and taking a bunch of pictures, we crossed the street to Kangaroo Point to see the views of the city.  Then, we walked down the stairs of the cliff and walked along the river for a bit, until we were too hot and anxious to go swimming!

We drove over to South Bank to check out their incredible swimming spaces.  At South Bank is Aquativity, an awesome splash pad that all 3 kids absolutely loved, a large pool, called the Boat Pool, and Streets Beach, a manmade beach right by the pools in the center of the city!  And there is a large playground, shopping, and restaurants all around.  And, as if it couldn't get any better, all of the aquatic spaces overlook the Brisbane River!  Spectacular.  If you ever find yourself in Brisbane, with or without kids, I highly recommend visiting South Beach!  For lunch we hit up Guzman y Gomez, and it was exactly what this Mexican food-deprived mama needed!!  It was really a fun day and a great introduction to Brisbane!

Our 8th day in Australia (essentially our last day since we just woke up and headed to the airport on day 9), was probably my favorite and our family's most memorable day from our whole trip.  We were really worried because the forecast all week leading up to our last day had been predicting heavy rain.  And that was the day we were planning on going to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo.  So, we woke up that last morning, ate breakfast, and then waited.  We waited for the rain to come.  And we were back and forth, back and forth, as to whether or not we should go.  It was still looking clear by 8:00ish, which is when we were planning on heading up to the Sunshine Coast to get to the zoo by 9. We decided to just do it!  We hopped in our car, stopped at a convenience store and bought 5 ponchos, and then made the scenic drive an hour north to Beerwah.  By the time we arrived at the zoo, it was still . . . clear!!!  In fact, it never rained once the entire day!!!  The weather was absolutely perfect and we had the BEST DAY EVER.  I am so glad we went!  And that the weather predictions were totally wrong!

Here we are, super excited to go in and showing off our best kangaroo hops :)

Australia Zoo is full of hands-on experiences.  Touching lizards, holding birds, petting crocodiles (!!),  seeing emus, otters, koalas, kimodo dragons, and of course, feeding kangaroos!  We had a blast seeing all the animals and watching the shows.  The tiger show was UNBELIEVABLE.  The birds and crocodiles were amazing to watch as well.  And somewhat frightening!  Those crocs are scary!!  Besides feeding the kangaroos, my favorite part of the day was getting to hold a koala!  So cuddly!!!  It was really an unforgettable day.  So amazing. 

After leaving the zoo, we decided to drive up the Sunshine Coast a little further to see its infamous coastline.  Australia is full of gorgeous beaches, and we couldn't leave without at least taking a glimpse at one of the Sunshine Coast's most beautiful beaches, Shelly Beach in Caloundra.  We parked at a look-out point and caught some beautiful views before the sun went down.  

Seeing this gorgeous beach was a perfect send-off to one of best trips we've ever taken!  Australia, we love you!!!

Our Weekend in Sendai - Yamadera

A trip to the Sendai area isn't compete without hiking up the 1000 steps to Yamadera, a mountain shrine in Yamagata.  Yamadera is about an hour from Sendai, but it's worth it even just for the train ride!  The tracks run through the mountains and it's absolutely beautiful, especially in the fall.  Benny was being so funny on the train; he just kept hugging Clara and cuddling up to her!  

The hike, even though it's straight up a mountain and consists of 1015 steps, really wasn't too bad.  Clara actually walked more than half on her own before we stuck her in the backpack, and honestly, I think she could have made it the whole way had we just slowed down a bit.  And Will was a champ.  He had no problems getting up to the top with energy to spare.

Before the real trail begins (so after only one or two sets of stairs), there is a shrine with a large Buddha out front.  You can tell where he's been rubbed and patted by thousands of visitors over the years :)

The scenery along the path, the trees and foliage, stone carvings, and tomb stones were all so beautiful and interesting.  It was a really cool hike, with a lot to see all along the way, not just at the top!

But, as pretty as the hike was going up, the views from the top were unbeatable.  It's not possible to capture the breadth and scope of all that the eye can see from the top of the mountain!  And it's just mind-blowing that this temple was built hundreds of years ago on the mountaintop! 

After we got our work-out, we were plenty hungry and very cold, so we sat down for a delicious meal of mountain vegetables, soba, and tempura!  Oishii!