We arrived in Sydney pretty early and caught a train out of Sydney Airport to the Blue Mountains to reunite with Denise. We got to Springwood (where Denise and family live), and we found a cafe just across the street from the train station to plant and get a cup of coffee to wait for our appointed meeting time. Bev went to get cough drops at the local mini-mart, and she ran into Denise and Lachy picking up groceries! So, we reunited with Denise and Lachy and jumped in the car.

We hung out back at the house and caught up on some of our Australia adventures. Al came home, and then we all hung out a bit before heading out for dinner and catching up some more.

The next day we went exploring in the Blue Mountains. We did a small hike to an overlook in a town called Katoomba, and then we went to an overlook to see three rock formations called "The Three Sisters."

That night, Denise made homemade lasagna, and we hung out in the den to watch some TV and relax. It was really homey (and the food was great). We found out that the second in a best of three rugby championship called "The State of Origin" would be in Sydney tomorrow night. We talked about seeing the game live, but due to weather questions, we thought we might just watch the game somewhere in Sydney.

Al loves rugby, and with the State of Origin being a big deal in New South Wales (the match pits teammates against each other as players from the state of New South Wales play against players from the state of Queensland), we decided to meet up tomorrow night in Sydney to watch the game.

After dinner, we took off for the train station, where we said farewell to Al, Denise, and Lachy. We headed back into Sydney, where we planned to meet up the next day with Peter and Renee (couple we met in Vietnam), who were kind enough to take time off from work and plan a tour for us around Sydney. After seeing Sydney we'll plant at a bar or pub or some kind to watch the game and see what local rugby fans are like.

Next up: State of Origin doesn't disappoint and tearful goodbyes.