Traveling lonesome

Melbourne is a really cool city. Graffiti swallows the streets and alley ways. They alley ways are not what I usually would think of though when using that word. Most all alleys have been re-done; restaurants have been added and cafes and coffee shops... very cute and cosmopolitan. The city had a nice feel to it. There were a lot of people there, but I guess I’m just not use to that coming from Townsville... middle of no where. It was awesome going somewhere completely by myself. I really enjoyed my own company in a big city. I dined at, of course, a nice Thai restaurant and sat outside. The restaurant was down one of those alley ways, art everywhere. It seemed as if I was dining in some other foreign city like Italy or something. There were lights hung above me that lit up the alley a bit, but nothing too overwhelming. I listened to a man play along with rock music as he added in his two sense on the drums. Soothing, added enjoyment to my dinner. All around, great feel for the city. It’s very safe, but absolutely freeeeezing. I spent my second day on a bus tour, believe it or not. I’m so sick of them, but it’s the only way I can get around and learn about everything. I went on a day tour that started at 7a.m and lasted well until 8p.m. I got to see the 12 Apostles!! I was so glad I got to see this. They were just so unreal. It seriously looked fake. I’m really traveling a lot more than I thought I was going to be. Always a plus! I had the perfect amount of time there, it was way too cold for me. I could see my breath and it was hailing! Not a fan. I was there for two nights, 3 days.

I just arrived to Cairns this evening. It took about 4 and a half hours to get here. I was LOVING driving. I had the music up and the windows down, jamming to oldies. It was a great ride, I didn’t even care how long it took. I felt such a relief when I started driving. What freedom!! It’s been so long. I got a pedicure tonight and had some Indian food for dinner. I checked in at my hotel, The Hotel Cairns. How original. It’s a cute place, right on the esplanade. It’s great weather up here, nice and hot. I think tomorrow is suppose to be cloudy, but I’m hoping for the best so I can go to the beach. Should be good, it’s really cute here. I like it. It’s like a smaller Townsville. I’ll keep in touch!

Ohhhh, how the time goes...by...

Last weekend Kat and I explored all over the Whitsundays. What a great sailing trip it was! We left Townsville and headed down south a few hours, by bus, to Airlie Beach to start our weekend. We stayed at the Airlie beach Hotel, which was perfect location. All of our friends gave us the worst impression of Airlie. They told us it was complete trash and that we should only stay one night because the town is so tiny. I mean, I'll give them the small town thing. But, Airlie was just gorgeous! We both love little beach towns and cafes and things so this place was perfect. Who knows, I guess they had a bad impression from a bad hostel or something. Later that night, we dined at a restaurant and bar called Uber. Very interesting place, they had the biggest selection from a drink menu that I've ever seen! We both tried two completely random drinks that were very tasty and rather strong. For dinner, we shared tapas that included kangaroo, crocodile, barramundi and massive prawns. We had the best bruschetta either of us had ever had as well. All around a classy, chill place to dine. We left the next morning to go sailing around the great barrier reef islands. We stayed on the boat for a night, awful sleep... Well, we didn't get much sleep, but totally worth it in my opinion. We got to snorkel and lay out on the boat all weekend. They took us to Whitehaven beach, which is one of the top 5 beaches in the world. Absolutely gorgeous. It was seriously wonderful. This weekend with Kat was my favorite weekend here. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and her company. Cheers!

Our Whitsunday Adventures!

This week, we all went to Cactus Saloon for the last cheap Tuesday. It was sad, just means the end is near! Besides that, I have been preparing for an exam that I just took yesterday. It was fine, all went well. After finishing, I went over to Maggie for the night with Kat so I could finish my diving certification! I am so happy it's over with! A serious weight has been lifted off my shoulders, I was really stressing about finishing it. Hence why I've waited two months to finish it. Whoops! Ah well, I finished and now am officially certified. It was not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be which is always a plus. Finishing my diving was the last on my Aussie check list!

As my travels wind down to an end, I can honestly say I have not had one regret here in Australia. I have 11 days left in this country. I have visited everywhere I wanted to go and I'm still not finished. I leave for Melbourne tomorrow for a few nights. I return on Wednesday night and leave Thursday morning for a roadtrip. I am doing all of these journeys by myself! I am actually really excited about that because I could've never imagined going on vacation by myself before I came here. Its made me appreciate the love of my own company. It'll be nice to travel alone. I can do what I want, when I want, how I want... for however long. I really have grown here as a person. Traveling really changed my perspective on the world for the better. I have such a stronger love for the USA now and feel that their truly are endless possibilities. I plan to expand my horizons all over the world. I'm not solely content with just knowing this country and my own. I want to see the world, I can only imagine that it will make me grow more! I would love to see new cultures and take myself outside of my boundaries even more so. I find it intriguing.

I really do miss home. I miss the simple things though, it's not just about the big picture. Perhaps things that I took for granted at home will now be cherished closer to my heart. I miss being able to wake up in my own comfortable bed and going upstairs to have a bagel with philadelphia cream cheese and pulp orange juice with my dog and Ryan and whoever else might be home. It really is true, there is no place like home and I've come to realize that along my travels. There is no place like where you grew up. Nothing will ever be able to replace that. I miss gazing out onto the mountains where I grew up and breathing in the fresh air... Or the land we have to roam! I just really enjoy being outside and I feel that I've taken that for granted at home because it's always been there. I know that when I return to Maryland, I will bring the laid back lifestyle I've become accustomed to over here in Oz. There's just no point in living life so fast like we do in the States. The simple things in life really are what matter and that is a life lesson I've learned to be true over here. I can't wait to see my family and friends. It's been a while, although my friends and home have not changed... I have for the better. And that, will most certainly take time to get adjusted to. A whole new culture that I've forgotten about, I don't know what it's like. It's quite hard to explain. I've just totally adapted to the means of life over here. I remember home how I do in my head, of course I do. However, this is my home now. I will have reverse culture shock, I know this. I just don't know what to expect. I'm sure it will be difficult, but I'll get through it like I always do. Sure, I'll miss this place. I'll miss it a lot. I've created many great friends through my time here. I keep telling myself they're in America. They're not gone forever, although that's what it'll feel like. I met my American best friends in a foreign country... So strange. I will most definitely be keeping in touch with all of them. A little piece of my heart will remain in Aussie forever. I'll be back, my travels aren't completely finished over here. This was my independent time, my five months of exploring and creating myself. It's time to head back to where I call home, I really cannot wait! It's been great, an absolutely indescribable long ass haul, but I know where I belong.

byron bay... home?!

May to-do list... Ha, that's a joke. I'm halfway through May already! I haven't updated since I got home from New Zealand, womp. News, so I just got home from Byron Bay! I loved it there. Such a cute, chill little town right on the beach. I never wanted to leave. Kay and I had a great time together, we always do. I've really missed her actually. I haven't seen her since before Christmas! Already five months ago. She brought her roommate, Em, and we all really jusy enjoyed each other's company over the long weekend. We dined out for Italian, breakfast and obviously coffee. We met up in Gold Coast, which is halfway for both of us because she's studying in Sydney, and met at the airport. We took a taxi straight to our crap hostel and went straight out for a bite to eat. We were starving! Gold coast (surfer's paradise) was a huge let down. All there is to do there is party. It was a bit cold during the day, I was soo happy we were only there for a night. We roomed with two mates from England. I told them I had family there...mistake. I guess this was an open invitation for a round of 21 questions. Geee! He was drunk too, no bueno kid. Kay and I stayed up chatting til 5a.m! It was awesome having my best friend around. The next day we had a wonderful breakfast at The Coffee Club and laid out all day until our bus came to drop us off at Byron. We all stepped out of the bus and felt immediate warmth from the sun and the people. What a place! We had a better hostel here, all 3 of us had the room to ourselves. Thank god. We really had a great time, checked in and went straight to town and the beach. The beach, literally, goes for miles and miles. I couldn't help myself but to go for a run up and down the shore at 7a.m sunday morning. The sun hit the bright blue ocean so perfectly, I could've gone forever. I really got some sun this past weekend. We went for a kayak trip early saturday morning for a few hours. We were promised to see some sort of wild life, but never did. We were suppose to get our money back if that was the case, but that never happened. I would've just laid on the beach if I knew that were going to be the case! What a chill weekend away from Townsville. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I'm home now, about to power through a paper this week for my pointless sex,drugs and human nature class. I got this :) One solid month to go til Muuuurica!

We're baaaack!

Back home! Well, one of the places I call home out of 3. What a great trip we had together! No regrets. We saw the whole country, both Islands in 18 days. It started to get to the point where it was too long of a vacation though. No complaints, just so happy to be back on the daily grind! I've just made a May TO-DO list. I only have 3 weeks of school left, as of next week. How nuts! A month and a half. I have a few papers to knock out and a book to finish, I got this! I fly into BWI on June 18th at night whoever wants to be there to greet me with open arms and a warm welcoming home. That goes for you too, Lilly. Damn, I miss that dog! Welp, I have work to do. Just checking in with a few deets :) hasta luego!

New Zealand, Day 16

One last bus ride. Museli for breakfast, thanks to the continental services at the hostel. We’re off! We moved out of the nasty smelling town of Rotorua and traveled, slowly, to Auckland. It usually only takes 3 hours to get there from Rotorua, but we kept stopping in random towns for very long periods of time for not apparent reason really. We stopped at a town right along the coast, before Thames, for about an hour and a half. I grabbed a latte and walked down to chill on the beach. We laid there for a little bit then hopped back on the bus. An hour later, we stopped in Thames to waste some more time. We had lunch then left another hour and a half later. Nothing like bangin out the last bus ride in a timely manner. C’mon guy. And then he tells us, he’s “tired”. Great, well don’t fall asleep at the wheel or anything. It’d be nice to make it to Auckland in one piece please! We’re just about there, I think we’re about 50km away. Not too much longer! We’ll probably stop for another few hours just to sit around before we actually get into the city. Who knows. Well, sadly, that’s all for today! We’ll check into our hostel in just a bit, City Lodge, and chill around the city as our vacation comes to an end. We’ll leave Tuesday morning from New Zealand to go back to OZ! 

New Zealand, Day 15... Err, something. Better said as, a long ass vacation.

SLEEP! Yesss! What a great day today was, besides the gloomy weather and the ten year olds bouncing basketballs upstairs and right outside our door of our room starting at 6a.m. Jerks. Take your tournament to the courts, not above my head so early in the morning. Does anyone discipline their kids anymore these days?! My god. Right, so Karen and I walked to town today around 11 for lunch at a little cafe called Fat Dog 2 Go. I had a vegetarian salad and obviously I had to get my caffeine fix in for the day. After lunch we walked around a bit, poking around in a few shops and things. I love the clothes here, totally diggin it. We decided we really didn't have much to do, so we went and saw a movie. We saw Fast and Furious... 5. They didn't have too much out in the cinema. It was alright, but how many times can "The Rock" and Vin Diesel really drive amazingly good looking cars and explode things? We get it... Well, we got it after the first or second one. It had a lot of bad acting in it, but it was entertaining on such a dreary day. The movie finished and got out around 5:30ish. Neither of us were hungry yet and didn't really want to walk all the way back to our hostel just yet. We went to another movie. Haha, I haven't been to the movies in ages and went twice in a row today. I've never done that before, but we had nothing better to do! After the second movie, we had Italian. We walked back in the dark, got a little lost trekking through wet rugby fields, but made our way back eventually. It was a nice little day in town. Put some hours in at the cinema! It's bed time. Tomorrow is our LAST DAY on the bus. Thank god. I don't even want to know how many hours I've put in on that thing. It shouldn't be that long of a trip tomorrow, a few hours maybe. Back to OZ on chhhuuuuesday... as they say. Then home in a matter of weeks to see friends, family and my beloved Ryan.

New Zealand, Day 14

Geothermal mud pools!! Karen and I spent the morning//early afternoon at Hell's Gate mud pools and spa. We got picked up at 9a.m to head straight there. It was so cool there! Before we started our mud bath, we got to walk around the geothermal mud pools that weren't for swimming. There were a lot more pools than the day before, but they smelled just as awful. After we walked around a bit, Karen and I changed into our swim suits. Brrrr! It was freezing outside, I didn't want to be in a bikini. I needed to change quick and head straight for the hot bath! I stepped in first, we both shared a bath. They were outside. It was such a crazy experience. There was mud gooshing all in between my toes. I got in and lowered into the muddy water. Yuk, I was thinking. Apparently, it's really good for your skin because it opens up all your pours 100% and gets rid of all your toxins. They use all natural products and no chemicals so that was reassuring. After soaking in the mud for 30 minutes and rubbing it all over our bodies, we had to blast ourselves with ice cold water to ensure that our pores were sealed. The cold water does that for your skin. All I could think about was getting in the hot tub afterwards so I showered off as quickly as I could! We spent about 15 more minutes in the hot tub and got out to shower off in steaming hot water and got dressed. At the gift shop, I bought a special face scrub and lotion. Our bus driver and the woman at the shop said that the white mud they have is no where else to be found in the world and all the major makeup companies are trying to buy it. I found that pretty unique. Lets hope it works! It's been proven to really even out your skin and remove any blemishes and make your skin extremely soft. I'm looking forward to using it. I hung out for the rest of the day, skyped with Ry and took a little nap while Karen went to do more Lord of The Rings things. I'm glad I stayed behind! Haha. When she got back, we went for Indian. Big surprise there! I had a glass of wine at dinner... Not the same. Now I'm spoiled with great wines! We came back, excited about sleeping in  for once and mellowed out.