Van life

We picked up our van last Sunday. It's only been a few days and we've had some ups and downs. It's winter here so it's dark by 530 to 6, It's around 20 degrees, though so it doesn't get too chilly at night though. We spent the day in Sydney yesterday, it's pretty busy and it took awhile to find a parking spot. Our pass gave us a few hours to check out the harbor and opera house but when we returned to our van it was gone. We were late to get it by a half hour and it was gone. I had purchased a prepaid phone that day for emergencies, the salesman said the ten dollars credit I had would be enough to make several local calls and some back home. We asked people in cafes and on the street what to do but had no luck. We asked the security guard at the Australian Federal Police station and he gave us the number to call. Just as the operator was telling us where our van was it died. No credit left, so walked around looking for a pay phone and luckily found one. Turns out in Australia they'll just tow your van around the corner and leave it there for a while then take it to impound. Our van was towed right across from the police station we were at just minutes ago. We received a $180 fine, it was getting dark and we took off heading north. Despite all this bullshit Sydney was cool, filled with tourists, and it was expensive but the harbor area was really nice. The streets were clean and lots of cool pubs and restaurants line the side streets. I'd like more time to explore, apparently the neighborhood Kings X (cross) is filled with 24 hour pubs and other adult entertainment.

It was pitch black and we had hours to go before any campsites would appear, we were still deep in Sydney suburbs in rush hour traffic. I said fuck this and asked the others how they felt about staying in a motel, we hadn't showered In two days and I really wanted a decent bed. We pulled into a pub with rooms for rent. They only had rooms for two people so Bryce volunteered to sleep in the van. We stayed in the pub drinking Aussie beer, which reminds me of generic beer like Lucky or Canadian back home. We played pool and chatted up the cute bartender who was leaving for Europe at the end of August. I gave her a list of hostels and other stuff to do.

Tonight we're drinking 50% alcohol content vodka with vanilla coke (they still have that and cherry coke here) sitting by a river in New South Wales. Tomorrow we drive 3 hours to Byron Bay to meet our friend Sam. She's been living here since October. It'll be good to see a familiar face, I haven't seen her since 2010. Hopefully I or Bryce will drive, Cam can be a touch sketchy.