Last day of 2007, a year we will never forget!! It had been an incredible year for the Lewis family, and as we bid farewell to 2007, we all understood it signaled the nearing of our trip's end. We greeted 2008 with mixed emotions, sad that we were finishing our world tour, but excited to go home and resume our lives. One of our first orders of business when we return home, however, will be to choose a new dream to work towards.

In preparation for the evening's festivities - watching the world famous fireworks over Sydney Harbour, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, and the city skyline!!! - we spent the morning making sandwiches, packing for every eventuality, and marveling at Elaine's organizational genius. Her neighbor, Diane, was coming along as well, and the plan was to get into Sydney as soon as possible to grab our viewing spot and save places for family members. Elaine had chosen Mrs. Macquarie's Point as the perfect place to watch Sydney's world famous fireworks. It's a popular lookout due to its spectacular views of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, and is named in honour of Governor Macquarie's wife, Elizabeth. In 1810, the Governor had convicts hand carve a bench out of an exposed sandstone rock for his wife to enjoy the harbour views, and it is still known today as Mrs. Macquarie's Chair.

We were on the road by 12:00 and, upon arrival to our destination, parked as close to the parkade exit as possible. The walk from the parkade to the park entrance was not too bad, despite carrying backpacks, chairs, sun umbrellas and various other provisions. When we got there, the queue was beyond huge. Barry, Margaret, and Connor left Elaine, Diane, and Tessa in the shade halfway along the line with all of the gear, and then joined the end of the queue. We made good progress, but Elaine and Tessa managed to "fast-track" the lineup, getting in much more quickly than us to scout out a spot to sit. In doing so, Tessa blew her flip-flop and had to run to keep up with Elaine, hopping on the hot pavement every second step. Elaine was a woman driven by New Year's Eve enthusiasm and a desire to show her guests a great time. She chose a great spot, chatted up the resident Germans and got them to agree to give up a little space, and then proceeded to call the spot home.

The rest of us got there eventually and were happy with the spot until some people complained that we were blocking their view. Elaine explained that, once the fireworks start, everyone stands anyway and not to worry, so we didn't. We spent the day catching some rays, drinking beer and wine with a quirky vice principal from East London who had quit her job, and was waiting for the evening festivities. On one trip to the portapotties, Connor and Margaret met up with two of the four British girls we had fed in Cape Trib. That was crazy, considering the crowds, but we chatted and it was fun to see "someone we knew".

At 9:00 pm, the first set of fireworks began and, as Elaine had predicted, everyone stood. As we looked around, it was very cool to end our trip in that spot. Beside us, were Germans, Swedes, Netherlanders, our Brit friend and, of course, the Aussies. The whole world seemed represented on this special night.

At midnight, we counted down the seconds to 2008 and cheered wildly for the second set of fireworks, which were every bit as spectacular as we'd imagined.

The walk back to Elaine's car was fast and we had no problems getting out of downtown Sydney. Back at Elaine's we phoned the Kiryluks to wish them a great New Year's Eve back home. Thanks to Elaine, our day had gone perfectly and we would never forget this most special New Year's Eve.