All Good Things Must Come to an End

After the red-eye flight to Brisbane from Bali, I was a couch potato the entire next day.  Luckily I had one more full day in Brisbane before I left to return to the US.  That last day was perfect.  Chris was nice enough to take me to the Gold Coast which is such a long, nice beach just outside of Brisbane.  He wanted to show me a spot in a harbour where he and his best mate used to snorkel. 

So we pulled into the nearby parking area covered in sand and got our snorkeling gear out.  The water was colder than I expected, so it took me awhile to get used to it.  The snorkeling didn't last long since the water was super murky.  We didn't see anything cool.  Well, maybe I'm spoiled by the great barrier reef, but still, I only saw a cigarette butt and some kelp.

We got back to the car to drive down to Surfer's Paradise to get some food and spend the day at the beach.  We got into the car and tried to leave, but weren't successful on our own.  Chris' Echo got stuck in the sand.

Two young, strong blokes were driving past and saw our predicament.  They pushed as Chris drove out of the rut.  Problem solved!  The Echo drives on.

So we got a bite to eat and set up shop on the beach.  I was bound and determined to lay in the sun the entire afternoon, and that's just what I did.  It was glorious! 

Believe it or not, it was the only time on the entire trip I laid out on the beach in my "togs."  Yep, that's what they call swimsuits in Australia.  Either that or your "swimming costume." 

After the sun started to go down, Chris and I picked up his girlfriend, Allison, at the train station and went to Chris' dad's house.  His entire family was there for dinner to celebrate Chris' birthday.  His birthday was when we were in Bali, so this was the first time everyone could get together.  It was a blast!  His family is awesome!  His sister and brother-in-law have two adorable and incredibly well-mannered children.  His mom is actually coming to the states for a whirlwind trip around the country in a few months with one of her friends.  His dad is hysterical with all kinds of funny Australian sayings up his sleeve.  It was a great last evening before traveling home.

Saturday Feb. 5 at 10:50am I caught my Air Pacific flight to Fiji.  I got off the plane on the island and turned around to find a rainbow!  It was the second one of the trip.  The first one was in Bali.  Very cool to see.

I was excited to see the Fijian band in their sarongs playing in the airport again upon our arrival saying "Bula!" (Welcome).

During my 6 hr. layover, I learned that the Fiji Islands are made up of 322 islands which are mostly mountainous peaks covered with tropical forests.  Pretty sweet, huh?  I drank a bottle of Fiji water there and loved it.

The next flight was a long one coming in at 10 hrs.  I arrived in LA at noon on Saturday and was picked up by my brother's friends, Mike Hudson and Luke Saylor.  We got some tacos and chilled out for the afternoon before going out that night.  Living through Feb. 5 for 46 hours was taking it's toll on me, so I had to turn in somewhat early. 

The next day was Super Bowl Sunday.  Before the game, I went across the street to the beach and it was gorgeous!  Needless to say, I was a happy girl.  It was unique for me to see one wave come in at a time with crazy stillness of the water in between.

Then we went out for a drive in his '66 Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible for the afternoon since this was my first time since I was 9 to be in California. 

We took a car ferry to Balboa Island before driving down the Pacific Coast Highway to Laguna Beach. 

We had chips with guacamole and margaritas as Las Brisas before heading back to Newport Beach for the big game.

It was so different watching the Super Bowl at 3:30pm.  Around halftime, I ran out to the beach again to get some sunset photos.  I told everyone at our Super Bowl party that they need to watch the sunset every night because it's amazing.  I acutally shed tears about how beautiful it was later that night.  Go figure. 

The cool part about the Super Bowl happening in the afternoon there, is that you can go out afterwards.  That's just what we did to celebrate the Packers victory.  Well, we would've done the same thing had the Steelers won too I guess.  Below is their roommate from Ohio, Hudson, Saylor, and me.  I met the guys' girlfriends and a few other people too.

After a rough night, I went back to LAX for my 1pm flight back to DC.  It was bittersweet getting on that plane - by this point I was so tired of sitting in coach seats, but it was the last one I needed to get me back to regular life.  Of course the big guy on the aisle behind me had the worst snoring problem I, and everyone else in a 5 row radius, have ever heard.  I was so happy to see Rachel pull up outside of baggage claim it was indescribable. 

Over the course of my trip over the international date line and equator for my first time, I've found that I missed some things, not missed others, and had a mix of feelings toward a few things.  Top 3 listed here.

Things I missed:

1.) People I care about.  My special gentleman friend, Josh Barley, comes to mind as well as all of my family, friends, and co-workers I consider friends...even those people that don't live in the DC area I found I missed more than normal.

2.) The ability to contact people at my leisure.  Rather than finding public internet and pay phones all while waiting for the few hours in a day that everyone is awake, now I just pick up my cell phone.

3.) My own bed.  I can't wait for this jet lag to be over so I can sleep a whole night through in it.

Things I didn't miss:

1.) Doing the dishes.

2.) Cooking for myself.

3.) Cold weather.

Things I missed, but didn't at the same time:

1.) Watching the news.

2.) The American population in general.

3.) Laundry.

Over the 3 week and 2 day trip,  I was in the air for a total of 54 hrs. (2 1/4 days!)  Chris knows how obsessive I was about starting and stopping my stopwatch at every takeoff and landing.  This isn't even including boarding and deplaning time.  I'm amazed I came home healthy.

To everyone who followed this - thank you!  It's pretty fun knowing that people were interested in my travels and took the time to read and comment.  I wish I would have started this when I traveled Europe 5 years ago, but I just hope I'll be able to blog again when I conquer Africa and South America in the next 3 1/2 years!  Antarctica can wait until I'm over 30, but I'm determined to touch foot on the other two beforehand. 

To Chris - thank you for teaching me about your culture and looking out for me on the whole trip.  It was a wonderful time, and I hope you keep fantastic memories of it like I will.

Part of the fun of traveling is coming home.  Lucky me, this time I came home to a wonderful guy just in time for Valentines' Day.  :)