On Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:29:56 -0700 (PDT), Bob
wrote:



Damn life is good……………..
What the **** did you do today?
Bob

On Saturday, went for a walk around part of Sydney harbOUr and the old
dry dock carved out of the sandstone cliffs at Woolich. Took 4 years
of pick and shovel. Now it is being converted into a yacht marina.
Riggers were putting together a huge carbon fibre mast with carbon
fibre rigging. I didn't know that they used it for rigging as well.
Said that the mast was imported from good old New Zealand as they were
better than those in Oz. The mast alone was AUD$750,000 - a bit out of
my league.

Rather beautiful place. Point of land was planned to be converted to
high cost housing with magnificent views of the harbour but public
protest prevailed. It is right opposite Cockatoo Island, an old ship
building island with more dry docks. Now a reserve on which you can
camp and explore right in the centre of the city. A bit like Alcatraz
I suppose, but closer and not as bitterly cold with fog and biting
breezes.

Sunday we rode our bikes around the acres of the old military armoury
depot alongside Paramatta River. Very interesting, right next door to
the huge Olympic Park where the Games were held in 2000. Has a
miniature railway previously used for munitions conveyance and now for
transporting people about. Noticed that most of the quite nice
apartments in the Olympic village had not been sold. So much for the
planners's version of recouping costs.

Met a family of house truckers who parked each night during their stay
in the city by the roadside in the Olympic Park without being molested
by passing Police. Good to know that it can still be done in a city
as big and as regulated as this. Not much hope for boats though. You
can still only legally stay aboard for two nights per month.

Peter