We found Costco

We ventured to Costco last weekend looking for something to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon, and it was an adventure.  I will never think of a Kansas City area Costco as busy after visiting this place.  It is in Auburn which is 30 minutes away and a drive across the Harbour Bridge.  It is the only Costco in Australia.  Once we arrived, we spent 15 minutes driving around to find a parking spot and when we walked inside it was mad chaos.   We were pleasantly surprised to find some items from home and many local items.  Matt ran to his case of Dr. Pepper (first time we have seen Dr. Pepper in Australia) and didn’t even think twice about purchasing two cases at $30/case.    We spent about an hour exploring the store and filling our two shopping carts with standard Costco stuff- basics and items we really did not need.  Every checkout line had at least 10-15 people waiting and there were at least 15 lines operating.  Costco clearly needs to open up more locations in Australia. 

 

Sunday was a beautiful day and we spent the entire day outside.  Our morning started with a city bus ride the famous Rocks Markets near the Opera House where there are local vendors selling everything you can imagine.   On Sundays, they offer a Family Fun pass where you can take public transportation all day for $2.50 pp.  After a few hours we returned to Mosman by ferry.  There were fisherman on the dock which delayed the ferry boat by 2 minutes and during that time we saw our city bus connection take off.    The next bus was an hour away, so we had to call a taxi (so much for our thrifty public transportation day).   After lunch and some naps we discovered a new hiking trail near our house with beautiful views at Balmoral Beach.   Little Paige (almost three) has walked everywhere in this city.  She has done well, but clearly she tires out very easily.  With her bold personality, I sometimes forget how little she is.  Our double stroller is too large to get around easily and Cade is too big to be riding in it.    I purchased a single urban stroller off the equivalent of Craig's list.  She probably only has 6-9 months left in it, but I think it will allows us to do more. 

We are loving the school uniform concept.  All schools in Sydney (public and private) have school uniforms.  The outfit, shoes, socks, hats, backpacks are all defined by the school.  It makes the mornings so easy and there is no comparison of of who has what.  It is so smart, easy and less expensive for families.  I imagine the teachers appreciate the simplicity and predictability as well. I wish schools in Kansas City would adopt this model.  We have also noticed some smart ways that Sydney conserves energy and protects the environment.  There are free filtered water stations across the city to reduce bottle water usage (which come in handy on Family Fun Sundays).    Electricity is also used on demand so you have to turn on an outlet to use it (so the outlets are not always on) and many escalators don't move until stepped on.   Electricity rates are 5x higher during peak hours (weekdays 2-8pm).  They make recycling very easy.  We have four different colored bins for plastics, glass and yard waste and trash (the smallest of the four).  They are picked up fortnightly (every 2 weeks) and trash is picked up weekly.  Some smart ideas for KC to consider.

Grandma Rosie booked her ticket to come visit us in October.  She will be here during one Cade’s term breaks and part of the time when Matt is back in KC.  We are excited to see her.