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- category: "Australia" -
January 30, 2005
More catching up - Eden and Canberra
Ok, I’ll never get around to typing all that I wanted to. Since I’m far behind I’ll skip a lot of the details and focus on the highlights. Here goes...
Eden is a fun little town to visit. It has quite an interesting history with whaling that could (and I’m sure does, somewhere) fill volumes. I never would have heard any of this history if a certain bellydancer didn’t tempt me to visit.
Yasmin turned out to be a lot of fun. She was preparing for her own ‘round-the-world experience and peppered me with questions throughout the time I was there. She had another CouchSurfer from Melbourne visiting at the time and we basically spent most of the time watching videos and chatting about travels.
Once again I left too soon. Two nights at a place is hardly enough time to get a good feel for the towns you visit or the people that inhabit them. But I was in a hurry and I had one place left to visit before catching my flight to New Zealand. I had to see the curious place that is Australia’s capital.
Sometime after noon on the 22nd I was dropped off outside of town on the lonely road to Canberra. I was at the top of a hill where I could see the cars coming in my direction for the better part of a minute. Well, I could have seen them IF there were cars coming my way. 20 minutes passed with just three passing cars who displayed little interest in picking up a hitcher. I was getting a little nervous.
I changed my sign from simply “Canberra” to the clever “From Texas to Canberra”. That seemed to do the trick. The next car that passed picked me up. I was on my way.
Even with just one day to visit there I just had to see Canberra. I had only in the last couple of months even discovered that the Australian capital WAS Canberra. Who knew? And when travelers and locals alike hear you want to visit the capital city they almost all want to know why. Canberra has a reputation of being a strange city. It’s layout was planned from the beginning and the streets all form a circular shape around various parks and landmarks. It’s characterization is that of a “movie set city” where nothing feels like it’s real. I just had to visit.
In Canberra I met up with my Matt from CouchSurfing. I was just staying one night in Canberra but Matt quickly made the most of it. We went almost directly to his girlfriend’s house where she and her sisters and friends were having a BBQ. The Australians are quite the hospitable bunch and wasted no time in welcoming me in. After the BBQ we went into town to not one but three different pubs followed by excellent pizza from a street vendor. Why isn’t the pizza in the US as good as the rest of the world’s??
The next morning I got a ride to the airport with two of Matt’s girlfriend’s sisters (confused yet?) who happened to be going that way. I didn’t get to see many of the peculiarities Canberra is reputed for in my short time there. Instead I had a great time with fantastic people and look forward to visiting the city in the desert again.
Catching up
One mid-January summer day I found myself arriving in the tiny town of Bodalla, NSW, Australia for one reason. Well, make that TWO reasons. I was here to meet Pam and John.
I had met Pam and John just a week or two earlier through CouchSurfing. The invited me to stay on their property 20 minutes outside of Bodalla’s borders and I happily accepted.
My only regret is that I only spent two nights with John and Pam. They were excellent hosts and I was glad to be their first guest from such a hospitality site. During the short time I was there we swam in both the Pacific Ocean at Potato Point and the clear as crystal river bordering their land. The water was so clean you could drink out of it (and it was the best tasting water I’ve ever had). During the last night we had a bbq with some members of their extended family who were camped out for a few nights. John and Pam are wonderful people and if you get the chance you should meet up with them at their little slice of heaven they call Roseneath.
After saying goodbye to them where they dropped me off in Narooma I was set to hitch 200 or so kilometers to meet up with Yasmin – a bellydancer in Eden. After the first ride with three cheerful Maoris I found myself at a decent intersection for traffic but many miles from any town. This would have been fine if it didn’t suddenly start raining. Actually, “raining” isn’t the best way to describe the change of weather. “Storming” would be much more appropriate.
After flailing about at every car that passed one eventually stopped for me before I was too soaked. They were going east when I wanted to go south but I didn’t care. At least I’d be dry somewhere.
I waited out the rain eating fish and chips and watching cricket on TV in a small place in Bermagui called The Wave. Once the rain stopped I was back on my way.
Three rides later took me into Pambula, just 20k away from my goal. That’s when the rain kicked up again. Luckily Yasmin offered to drive out and get me. I waited out the downpour in the “bottom” pub (apparently called that because it was at the south side of the small town and while the other pub (presumably called the “top” pub) sat at the north end. Graham, my third lift of the day, filled me in on this and much, much more while we sat in the pub drinking our Victoria Bitters.
That’s enough ranting for now. I know, I know, I’m terrible at keeping up this journal lately. I promise I’ll try harder to keep it better!
Coming next: Yasmin the bellydancer, adventures in Canberra, and the trying tales of entry requirements to New Zealand.
January 20, 2005
Six weeks? Wha??
I can't believe I've been in Australia for six weeks now. Six weeks. Where has all that time gone?
My first real trip on my own was to Europe in the summer of 2001. I was gone for just over 5 weeks and it felt like a lifetime. It was the first time I had experienced the 24-hour days of the constant stimuli that comes with traveling unfamiliar worlds. It was mindblowing and almost overwhelming. After 5 weeks I was exhausted.
Almost four years later I find myself in quite a different set of shoes. Six weeks pass by here in the magical land of Oz and I feel like I should still be jetlagged. I just got here, didn't I? Why does the calendar say it's almost February? How did that happen?
Some of you are probably wondering where I am now (namely Dad). Since the last time I wrote I've covered a bit of ground. I left Tom's house in the lovely Blue Mountains town of Katoomba directly for the thriving metropolis of Bodalla. Er, did I say "metropolis"? Bodalla could be described more appropriately as what my grandfather George would call a "one horse town". Nevertheless this only added to its charm. Here is where I had the pleasure of meeting its only CouchSurfing residents to date: John and Pam.
But wait a minute, I'm getting ahead of myself. I didn't exactly just magically disappear from Katoomba and reappear at John and Pam's door. That surely would have taken much longer than the nine hours I spent in transit.
Because of rainy conditions I opted to take the 9:25a train out of Katoomba, heading for Sydney. Once in Syd I trained south to the end of the line near Nowra. In the coastal town of Nowra I quickly located some cardboard and had a sign alerting southbound drivers of the Princes Highway of my intentions of being someone's passenger. Luckily for me I had my first ride before the ink on my sign was even dry.
Alison from Brisbane had never picked up a hitchhiker before and had never planned on starting. For some reason that even she couldn't explain she stopped for me anyway. I'm always amazed when single women stop for a strange man standing near the motorway wanting to ride in their car. Even so, I'd say at least one in five of the good people who have stopped for me have been women on their own.
After saying goodbye to Alison at her turnoff an hour or so down the road I was picked up almost immediately by a "pommie" named Brian. This expat was on his way home from showing a local outdoors club his amazing photos of all types of Australian critters. After showing me his pictures spead out on this hood of his truck Brian dropped me off near his home in Temiel just in time for two lawyers on holiday from Sydney to pick me up.
Michael and Christine drove me all the rest of the way into Bodalla. They were a nice couple to talk to and I was sorry the journey ended after just an hour with them. They even took the slightly longer route along the coastal roads to show me the sea when they could have easily stayed on the direct road of the Princes Highway.
Once I got off the train and onto the road I had a great time. I even covered ground faster than I did on the train. What's the moral of the story?: forget the train, use your thumb!
January 05, 2005
Greetings from the Blue Mountains
I don't have much time to write today but since it's been almost a week since my last update I wanted to put in a few lines.
First off, happy anniversary to my brother Michael and his wife of one year Julie. May the years to come be even better than the one behind you.
When I last wrote I was in Sydney, not sure where I was heading next. I had hoped to visit some people in Katoomba, 1 - 2 hours east of Sydney, I had met through a great help exchange website I had just found called appropriately enough HelpX. While waiting to hear back from one of the people I had contacted I got a call from Frank outside of Wollongong.
Frank had received one of the messages I had sent out looking for a place to sleep. Even though I was set on making it out to Katoomba the friendliness of Frank's invitation quickly steered Amy's and my course south toward Wollongong.
Frank was great! He wasted no time in showing us the area. We drove south along the coast and took in the sites along the way. We drove quite a ways down the beaches of southern New South Wales and even dipped into the Australian Capital Territory to see the whitest sand in the world of Jervis Bay. We had a super time.
After saying goodbye to Frank on Wednesday we headed to Katoomba. Luckily both Bill and Tom had written us about stopping by. That was all we needed to head straight there.
Katoomba is nestled right in the heart of Austrlia's breathtaking Blue Mountains. It's truly amazing out here. In Katoomba you can see for miles on end at a spot called Echo Point. Apparently there are trails weaving all through the bush below and I look forward to soon discovering these for myself.
I've taken loads more great pictures and I hope to be able to share some of them soon. Gotta run for now. It's too beautiful outside to sit behind the computer!
January 01, 2005
Happy New Year!!!
Happy New Year everyone! Here's our lovely Sydney host Bel from CouchSurfing, me, and Amy. We were down on The Rocks in Sydney Harbour for the New Year's Eve celebrations. The fireworks were incredible! The whole bridge erupted in an amazing fireworks show. I took lots of pictures but, well, if anything we were too close! The pictures don't tell a whole lot because all you see is fireworks and not the stuff around it. It was really amazing. We didn't even really get there early. We walked down just after 11pm and found a great spot right by the water. What luck! I knew of people that found their ideal spots at 9am that morning. I didn't even get out of bed that early:)
Want some more pictures? Here you go!
This is Audrey, our first host in Sydney. We stayed with her and her roomate Megan for two nights. When we left to go find Bel's house we didn't have to go far. Bel lived almost right around the corner! Audrey drove us there anyway but we really could have walked. I think Bel's house is just four or so blocks away. It truly is a small world.
Here's my favorite picture (so far) of Sydney's Opera House. Beautiful!
Christmas time in Sydney
Speaking of Christmas, here's what my big Christmas meal looked like on the 25th. Yum!
...and then later on Christmas night.
Some of the great new friends I spent Christmas with.
More to come!
Finally! Pictures of Australia!!
Thanks to Bel and her great computer I'm finally able to put some pictures up. Where to begin? How about Christmas!
Gina and her family invited me to spend Christmas at her house. They celebrated early and it just happened to fall on the weekend that I showed up. How lucky for me! They were all so incredibly nice and welcoming. I was so glad to be apart of their family's day.
Here's Gina, my first Australian host. Gina is so great!
But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. I should show you one of my first pictures of Australia. I took this one from the airplane while I was flying over Sydney. I love this shot.
If you think that's nice you should click here and see the spot where I spent New Year's Eve! What a view of the fireworks!
But, I'm getting ahead of myself again. Fireworks and 2005 were still a few weeks away. First I had to pass through Byron Bay on my way to Nimbin, where I spent Christmas day. Can you guess how I got to Nimbin?
I have loads more pictures of Nimbin and Sydney that I'll put up soon. I can't go and put everything up at one time, can I? :)
December 30, 2004
The kindness of strangers
It's hard to comprehend the kindness of strangers. During the last nine months all across three continents my life has been blessed with people I have just met going out of their way to help me on my way. Even growing up in a small, friendly west Texas town I have always known to be careful when dealing with strangers. I've been taught to be kind but suspicious and arguable overly careful.
This last year has taught me to embrace my fellow man and enjoy the exchange a stranger can provide. I would have never had all of these amazing experiences if I hadn't put myself out there, taken a few risks, and met as many strangers as possible. If you've been following my site for awhile you know I've met some wonderful people. These months have definitely been interesting times and I'm excited about the people in front of me I have yet to meet. Stay tuned for more!
9 rides to Nimbin
There's a lot I haven't written about that I've been meaning to get around to. I'll start with the hot, hot, hot mid-December day I decided to hitch to Nimbin.
I left Brisbane a little too late in the morning on the 14th or 15th and went in search of a good spot to hitch. Along the way I popped into a small bookshop/cafe to try and find some cardboard to make a good sign.
In the shop I met Dave. Dave has been hiding out in Australia, albeit somewhat illegally, for over 25 years. He came here from California in the 70s and hasn't ever left. After he found something for me to write on and then did me one better. Dave became my first ride on the long road to Nimbin.
My first ride didn't take me all that far. He dropped me off just outside Brisbane on a decent spot to catch the next lift. I'm always amazed when single women pick me up - especially when they have a child in the car. I come from a culture, as most people I know, where you're supposed to be too scared to pick up strangers standing on the motorway. A woman alone or especially a woman with a child in the car would seem to be an irregular site on the road to hitching. Nevertheless I didn't wait long before a single monther and her 9 year old boy screeched to a stop in the middle of the road in front of me. I was on my way again.
Mary dropped me not far down the road where she was turning off in Logan. While I was grateful for the ride and conversation with this interesting woman Logan isn't far at all from Brisbane. I this case I thought I may never make it to Nimbin. It turned out I was partly right.
After trying for well over an hour in Logan to find anything close to a decent hitching spot I got a quick ride from a truck driver. He took me down the road a few miles to a much better spot. This time I started hitching directly from the motorway. This is supposedly illegal but even the police waved at me when they passed by. Most Australians are VERY friendly.
My fourth ride scared more than a few other drivers when he veered across three lanes of traffic to stop and pick me up. After I happily accepted his ride he explained to me that he almost always stops for hitchers. He often hitches himself and wants to "keep the hitching kharma going". Good for me!
Like the three lifts before Kharma Man wasn't able to take me more than a few miles down the road. At this pace I might see Nimbin by the time my 3 month visa expired. Maybe.
My fifth ride of the day picked me up almost immediately. Sean quickly proved to be one of the nicest guys I'd ever met when within the first ten minutes of the ride he invited me to spend Christmas on the beach with his wife and four children. More immediately he tempted me to chuck out my plans to reach Nimbin for the day and end my journey for the night at his home at Ocean Shores. I happily accepted and my body burned from the long day's sun thanked me for it.
Sean took me out to his favorite local pub in a tiny Australian town. As I remember it the pub was the only real business of the village of Billingungel. Maybe I'm wrong but I like to remember it that way.
Sean and his family were spectacularly hospitable. His wife Louise cooked us up some great grub and I got a much needed shower. I enjoyed visiting with them all.
After saying goodbye the next day I had four more ride that took me through beautiful and lively Byron Bay, the most eastern point in Australia, and eventually to Nimbin. The 8th ride was in the backseat with a loving dog driven by a guy who looked almost identical to Ozzy Osbourne. But I could understand this man far too well so it couldn't be him:)
Although it took me MUCH longer than expected I eventually made it to Doug's Rainbow Retreat in Nimbin. While it was long and hot I had the best time traveling. I love hitching!
Happy New Year's Eve!
Happy New Year's Eve everyone! I'll be celebrating the new year a few hours earlier than most people this year being just on the beginning side of the International Dateline here in Sydney. Wanna call and wish me a happy new year? Now you can! I just got a mobile phone here in Australia and incoming calls are free. And you can always text me, too, but I might not be able to write back unless you're in Australia, too. Overseas texts are somewhat expensive. Here's my new number: +61 416 807 682. So from the US you'd dial this: 011 61 416 807 682 (thanks Dad for trying it first). Keep in mind that if you're calling from Texas it's 7 hours earlier in the day here. So if it's 12:00 noon in Dallas it's only 5am here.
So far I've met up with nine CouchSurfers since i've been in Australia. Thanks to Gina and Puckey in Brisbane for the places to stay. You both were great and I had loads of fun. Gina, I hope you're computer isn't "cactus" afterall. Puckey, enjoy your trip! In Nimbin thanks to Doug and Shakti for everything! It was great to meet up with you two and be there when you first met. I hope the new member Neil is having a great trip and isn't working too hard in Stanthorpe right now.
Here in Sydney happy new year cheers go out to Audrey, Jesse, and Bel. Aud put me and Amy up for two nights and showed us a great time on the sunny beaches and Syd nightlife. Jesse met up with us yesterday and was kind enough to treat us to Sydney's best pizza. Bel and her family hosted us last night and tonight to show us how the Aussies do New Year's Eve.
The fun never seems to stop here in wonderful Australia. I'm really having the time of my life and may never leave. I love it here!
Happy new year!!
December 28, 2004
"the beach is calling"
I'll warn you right now: this is going to be quite the scatterbrained journal entry. I have a lot I'd like to write about but, as usual, I'm way short on time. Right now I'm in the Sydney state library with limited, although free, time to type. But I'm anxious to share so I'll type what I can.
These last few days have been amazing! Where to begin? First off Christmas was a lot of fun. We ate and drank and (as corny as it sounds) were merry from sun up to well into the night and early morning. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.
On the morning of the 27th I headed off for Sydney. Doug and Shakti, my truly wonderful and amazing hosts in Nimbin (which I will write more about later) took me and my new friend Neil (who was hitching in the same general direction a much shorter way) 20 or so miles down the road to Lismore on their way shopping. After saying our goodbyes and watching our new friends drive off into the distance we began looking for a ride leading down the road a bit farther to Casino. I still had a long way to go (at least 10 hours of road time) before i would make it to Sydney. I didn't think I'd make it by dark at all and knew I'd be lucky to be in Sydney by the next day while relying on rides. But then I had a good idea.
Neil and I continued on our search for a kind soul to pull over with me wearing a Santa hat and a big sign that said simply "Ho Ho Ho!" The cars that passed were at least laughing at us now, which makes the wait as fun a bit more tolerable. Then a single woman named Leslie pulled her minivan over.
As it turned out Leslie was going all the way to Sydney! We weren't even close to a direct route to Sydney but obviously luck was shining on me that day. We dropped Neil off as far down the road as we could and started our way down Australia's southeast coast.
You can get to know a complete stranger amazingly well in a ten hour car ride. Leslie and I chatted each other up the whole way down while taking turns driving (yep, I've finally driven on the "wrong" side of the road LEGALLY now:). We conversed on just about everything during our drive. At one point we were so involved in a discussion that we ended up off the highway and on some random road. It was probably 1/2 an hour before either of us realized what had happened and another 10 minutes of trying to find the right road back to our intended direction. The road to Sydney was an amazing journey and I'm glad to have taken it with my new friend Leslie. If you're reading this Leslie send me an email! I don't have your email address.
Once in Sydney I met up with my friend Amy (www.amyrtw.com) and her friend Greg who was leaving the next morning to go back to Texas. They invited me to share their hotel room at the Crowne Plaza and I cheerfully accepted. A proper bed in a properly air conditioned room was perfect!
The next morning we said goodbye to Greg as he headed to the airport for the long flight back home. Not long after we met up with Leslie from CouchSurfing.com who would become our first host in Sydney. We've just been with Leslie for one night and have already done so much! She and her friend Holger (from Bavaria, NOT Germany, mind you) drove us up the beautiful coast where we stopped for a cool and refreshing swim in the ocean. I loved it!
Uh oh, the libray is suddenly closing now and their threatening to turn off the computer. Gotta run. Will write more later!
December 23, 2004
Merry Christmas!!
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone everywhere. I'm writing this a bit early on Christmas Eve (at least here in Australia time) because there's no way this internet cafe will be open tomorrow. Yep, I'm still in Nimbin right now but will be heading to Sydney shortly to meet up with Amy for New Year's Eve. Yeah!!
Here in Nimbin we'll be having a big gathering of travelers for a big Christmas celebration. Joining me, the lone American, will be at least one Canadian, one German, at least two Israelies, five Japanese, a Scotsman, and even a guy from Sydney who's working on a big trough of sangria right now. The Canadian went out and bought loads of all kinds of meats including beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, and we're looking for a good chunk of kangaroo somewhere. I ate some kangaroo that was "cajun flavored" a couple of days ago for the first time. Definitely tastes different and not at all like chicken but it was good enough. You can't go all the way to Australia and not eat a little kangaroo.
We're going to have a great time here tomorrow but I'll miss everyone back home. It's weird having Christmas here, especially when it's so hot that it doesn't feel a think like traditional holiday times.
Sorry I haven't been able to write everyone back individually just yet. Know that I'm thinking about you and missing you on Christmas. Save some sweet potatoes for me!
Merry Christmas everyone!!!!
December 19, 2004
Nimbin
Hello from sunny Nimbin, NSW, Australia. No, actually "sunny" isn't an appropriate enough way to describe Australia. "Blazing hot" would be much more accurate. I can't believe it's only 5 days until Christmas. I've about given up on the idea of a white Christmas this year. I hear from the locals that there's usually a heat wave right in time for the big day.
For the most part the weather is a lot like Texas is most of the year so it's easy to get aclimated to it. But just because i'm used to it doesn't mean I like it all that much. It's much nicer when it rains occasionally (yes, i love the rain now) and the hot days make it great for swimming.
I'm staying at this great backpackers here in Nimbin thanks to Doug the "WildDuck" on CouchSurfing and am loving it. There are loads of great travelers coming through every day from all over the world. I've been here for five or six days now and I've been the only American so far. I love it. There are a fair amount of 51st Staters here (i think they prefer to be called Canadians though) but that doesn't count. So most of my days are spent with a few Aussies, a German girl, lots of Japanese, and several Israelies (i'm sure i misspelled that one). The days are long and the times are good here.
I had planned on hitting up a few places along the way to Sydney but I'm not sure that's going to happen. I've been invited to stay here through Christmas and that seems to be the current plan. We're going to make a big to-do about the whole thing and have a multi-cultural celebration. Everyone will contribute something from their culture and we'll mix a good deal of Aussie fare into the whole thing. It should be a great time.
Sorry to everyone about the lack of emails. I don't make it to the internet much lately and don't plan on being back for at least a few more days. I do appreciate getting your emails and I promise to write back soon.
Cheers from Nimbin!
December 13, 2004
Early Aussie Christmas
I've had a great time these last few days. I stayed with Gina and Reuben for the first several nights that I was here and enjoyed every minute of it. On Sunday they invited me to spend an early Christmas with their family. They were celebrating it earlier because they wanted to get away from the commercial side to Christmas and then spend the 25th in retirement homes visiting older people who didn't have families to visit on their own. As you can probably tell these are great people. They were wonderful to share their family day with them. And yes, Dad, I got another family picture of us all:) I'll try posting it another time if I have the chance.
Last night I slept on another CouchSurfer's floor. "Puckey" had me over to his house for the evening where I met him and two of his roomates. Puckey is heading on his own round-the-world trip just after Christmas so we swapped tips for awhile.
Right now it's almost 11am and super hot (as always) outside. I'm about to try and make my way to Nimbin, NSW to meet up with another friendly CouchSurfer who's invited me to come by. Since it's still relatively early and Nimbin isn't very far I'm going to give hitching a go first. Let's just hope the hitching is good and I don't wait all day in vain in the sun, trek back into town, and STILL end up buying a bus or whatever ticket to get there:)
December 09, 2004
G'day mate!
Greetings from the land down under! After an exhausting round of traveling I finally touched down in Australia yesterday. I can't believe it's Friday already!
Here's how it all started. Tuesday morning I woke up just ten minutes before my friend Erin was to pick me up to drop me off at the airport. I hurriedly jumped into what I knew to be my last shower and shave for a couple of days and then proceeded to cram everything spread around the room into my backpack while Erin waited patiently in the living room. I hope I didn't make you late, Erin!
From Dallas I took a quick three hour flight to Los Angeles where I met a couple from Ohio (hi Karen!) and their super-quiet dog who rode under the seat. Who knew you could even take dogs onboard with you? Once I got to LA I had almost 14 long hours to spend before my trans-Pacific flight. A new friend from CouchSurfing named David suggested I hit up Santa Monica so I headed for Ocean Avenue just in time for rain. Can you believe it? Whoever sang "It Doesn't Rain In Southern California" was a lying bastard. But I walked around anyway eventually meeting up with David at his sports collectibles shop not far from the beach. The rest of the time was spent reading more of Paulo Coelho's book Eleven Minutes, which I've been reading off and on for weeks now whenever I have to time to kill near a bookstore. I started this book in Germany, continued it in Geneva, Switzerland, a bit more in Midland, Texas and almost finished it in Los Angeles before catching the "Big Blue Bus" of Santa Monica back to LAX airport for my 11:45pm flight to Australia.
My flight was somewhere around 16 hours long across the Pacific, taking me to Sydney just after 8am. From there I had more than four hours of layover time. Luckily they had a fairly extensive bookstore in the airport so I was able to stretch out Eleven Minutes across a fourth country and third continent. Some day I plan to actually finish that book!
After finally catching my last flight of the longest day ever I made it to Brisbane just after 2pm for a meeting that has been a long time coming. Amy from AmyRTW.com was waiting for me not far from the city center at the hostel she's been staying at the night before. We've been emailing back and forth and reading each other's websites for months since my sister Abbey met her in Austin and passed on her address.
We soon made it over to the home of my first Australian host (and Amy's first CouchSurfing host ever) Gina where my long day of traveling finally came to an end. I was so happy to take my backpack and my shoes off. Gina wasn't home yet (she had to work through the night) but two of her friends were there to greet us at the door. We had a great night of great food and good Australian "Crownies" beer. Right after 10:00pm I found it hard to keep my eyes open any more so I made it to bed after the longest day ever.
What a shock to wake up to Tuesday morning, fly all over the place, and then wake up what feels to be the next morning to find that it's already Friday. Where did my week go? Crossing the International Dateline means Wednesday, Dec 8 never existed for me. That's so strange to think about. I departed on Tuesday and landed just 16 hours on Thursday. Very strange.
So I made it Dad! You can rest easy now:)
December 07, 2004
Australia here I come!
In just a few hours I'll be on my way to the other side of the earth. My ride to the airport will be here in just about six hours and I've just finished packing. At least I hope so.
A lot of things have changed in seven months. When I began this journey by taking first major trip to Europe at the end of March I was extremely nervous. I'd never prepared for something like this and didn't have any idea what I was doing. While I pretty much packed the morning I left (I have a bad habit of waiting until the last minute to do anything and now it's sort of a pre-trip tradition) I was a ball of nerves the whole time. I didn't know what I was doing or what to expect in the coming days, weeks and months. It's funny to look back on those days now. I can't say I'm nervous at all tonight. I'm much more anxious and excited to just get moving again.
It seems so strange for so relatively little time to pass and feel such different emotions about the journey in front of me. My nervous jitters have been replaced by the anticipation of something wonderful that I know is about to happen. Going to sleep tonight is going to be hard. I'm like a little boy on Christmas eve - I can't wait for the tomorrow to come so I can see what's waiting for me.
I'll be flying to Los Angeles in the morning, spending almost 13 hours doing God-knows-what (hopefully on the beach or somewhere nice), and then hopping my 16+ hour flight to Australia. When it's all said and done I'll have been traveling for 37 hours before I wearily arrive in Brisbane.
Almost everyone who hears about my upcoming journey asks me the same questions: "When are you coming back?" To these people I always reply that I have no idea. It could be three months or a year. Maybe more - who's to say. What will happen when I get there? I really don't know. How long will I be in Brisbane? Only time will tell. What am I doing for Christmas? I don't even know what part of the continent I'll be on at that time. Basically I couldn't tell anyone with any degree of certainty what city I'll be in one week from today. This is my favorite part about my travels. I just never know what's going to happen.
And so tomorrow it begins. I'll be taking this year's 11th, 12th, and 13th plane rides, my 10th international flight, and my fifth transcontinental leap. Altogether I'll have traveled by land and air enough miles to circle the globe more than 1 1/2 times. What will happen next? Join me here in finding out as I do.
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