Australia Take 2 - Part 1

My blog is turning into a bit of a travelogue since that seems to be all I've posted lately. I'm going to break the Australia trip up into a few different posts since it is a bit long. I added a few pictures, although i didn't take very many. I pretty much took everything last time!

Friday, August 13, 2010
Mom dropped me off at the airport about 12:30, and the temperature was around 100 degrees. The good news was the agent was able to check my bag all the way to Sydney. Last time I had to pick it up and recheck in LA. Both my flight from Kansas City and my flight from Denver to LA where uneventful. It was 75 degrees in Denver, and 65 degrees in LA. Both planes were packed but not too long. On the first leg, we had Jack the rabbit on our tale, and the pilot said it was one of the most popular planes. I didn’t see the animal on the second plane. As I was sitting on the plane waiting to take off in KC, I realized one thing I forgot – my badge. They had tried to set it up so my security card would work in the office here, but now we’ll never know. I’ll have to wait until 8:30 when reception opens to get in on Monday. Hopefully that’s the most critical thing I forgot because I can live without it.

I had more time in Denver than expected but found an outlet and was able to use my computer. I wanted to save my battery not knowing what the next 24 hours would hold.

In LA, I got checked in for my Sydney flight around 6:30 and then had about 3 hours to kill. I ate dinner at McDonald’s as the choices were limited. I’m glad I ate before going in the terminal past security because there is nothing back there. I bought my two liter bottles of water and hung out waiting to board.

The plane was a new Airbus 380, although I didn’t notice anything dramatically different from the747. I think the TV screen was a little bigger and was a touch screen. I watched almost all of Shrek 4 before we ever took off. About an hour in I realized we hadn’t even moved from the gate. Eventually we got underway. I had an aisle seat with no one in the middle, which was fabulous. The window guy only got up one time that I’m aware of, and it was after I was already up.

Sunday, August 15, 2010
I slept restlessly for about 6 hours and then watched Leap Year, Date Night, and Hot Tub Time Machine, none of which go on my favorites list. I woke up once when it got a little bumpy and heard the captain tell all passengers and crew to take their seats immediately. It must have smoothed out pretty quicly. The sun was coming up just as we were landing in Sydney, although it was on the other side of the plane. They do have skycams, like a webcam, on the tail of the plane so you can see the plane landing.

Customs was no problem, and I had to wait in the quarantine line because of my food but she waved me on through without checking anything. It was only about 7:30 a.m. when I got out into the terminal. I went outside for a minute and it was about 55 degrees at that point. Sitting there near the Arrivals gate I was reminded of all the time I spent greeting others’ flights when they came to visit.

Very strange being back here. I can’t quite describe the feeling. It’s weird to me that a place so far away is so familiar to me, definitely the city I know the best besides Kansas City. Everywhere I look are memories, and I think what I’m feeling is still just proud of myself that I came here in the first place. That I made a life here from nothing. I don’t think I really thought when I left that I’d have the chance to come back.

So while it is all familiar, I still have the urge to go and see all the places again. Even when I bought a Diet Coke at the airport and it cost $4.80, it felt familiar. I had about 3 hours to kill until I could drop my suitcase off and I was limited on what I could do while lugging around 50 pounds. The best thing I could think of was to take the train to Circular Quay and find a bench there where I could park until 11:00. I bought a train ticket (a weekly one so I’m free to go anywhere I want for seven days). As I was walking from the train station looking for a bench, I noticed the Manly ferry was leaving in about 3 minutes. Since I’ve already bought my weekly train pass, it is good on ferries and I spontaneously hopped on. I figured that way I could see some things, mostly sitting down, and not have to worry so much about my luggage. And there is a bathroom and free wifi on this ferry! I sent mom and dad and email from the ferry.


I turned around at Manly and came right back on the ferry. From there I found a bench in Circular Quay where I could sit with my luggage and watch the seagulls. It was in the sun so it was warmer. It was right by where mom, dad, and I ate muffins and had all those seagulls around on the morning we went out to Watson’s Bay. It was bright and sunny and didn’t look a bit like rain.

At 10:45, I took the train to Wynyard and then got the train to Milson’s Point to drop my bags off at 11:00 at the Milson Apartments. The office is usually closed on Sunday but the manager had emailed to say she would be in to meet the cleaners and could watch my bags. When I got there, she gave me the good news that my apartment was ready and took me on up. It is on the eleventh floor but on the opposite side of the building from last time, the side facing the bridge (which I can’t see) and the old office. I do have a nice view of Kirribilli. It is a little smaller than last time but still better than a regular hotel room. The fridge is a mini fridge in a cabinet near the kitchenette, while in the kitchenette is a washer/dryer in one. The dishwasher is in a drawer, and it has a combination microwave and oven.

It’s still a great deal and they even offer broadband internet now. She said it was in such demand, they had to figure out a way to do it. When she let me into my apartment, there was extremely loud music coming from next door. She said those people were supposed to be moving out today after getting a one-week extension, so we’ll see if it gets quieter.

I took a shower and headed back out. As I walked outside, it started raining so I went back up to get my umbrella. Then I did my favorite walk ever, across the bridge into the city, my old commute. I went to the Rocks market, which was crowded, and then just as it started to pour, I got in line at Pancakes on the Rocks. I even heard thunder, which I hardly ever heard here. I had to wait about 20 minutes to get in, but it was yummy. I splurged and got an orange Fanta ice cream soda. I drank more orange Fanta when I lived here than the rest of my life total.

I took just long enough to eat that the rain had stopped when I left. I bought a tiny Harbour bridge in the market and then walked from there to go by my apartment. A lady asked me where the Australian Hotel was and I told her, although my street names were a little rusty, and she says “You’re American!” I guess she was surprised. I couldn’t go in my lobby without a key card, but I went into the entryway where the mailboxes are. Pretty weird! There is now a Nando’s chicken restaurant directly across the street, which would have been nice.

I walked down to Darling Harbour and across the Pyrmont bridge. I went through Harbourside and waved hello to the other Pancakes on the Rocks. By the way, there is still a sign up at the original Pancakes on the Rocks saying the Darling Harbour location is now open. True, but it opened while I lived here so that is old news.


I walked through Darling Harbour down where we had seen the didgeridoo show. I was a little confused until I realized they had closed that entire side behind Tumbalong Park. There used to be an arcade, McDonald’s, and some shops. And the pond with the paddleboats. All of that is walled off for redevelopment.

I walked quickly through Paddy’s Market but it was super crowded as always. From there I walked up George Street and then bought some groceries at Woolworths. It was only 3:30 but my feet had had enough for awhile so I took the train from Town Hall back to Milsons Point.

The ferry terminal at Milsons Point is closed for renovations, so I can’t take the ferry from here to Darling Harbour like I had planned. It is now 4:30 and I am sitting in my apartment listening to the loud music from next door. I did managed to get the internet to work. The great thing is I can use it anywhere in the city, not just at home, although not sure how much need I’ll having being here just a week.

I cooked my lasagna and garlic bread and started watching Up. By 6:00 it was completely dark. At 7:00, I decided I couldn’t stay awake a minute longer and went to bed.

Day 5: Traveling Home

Saturday, July 17, 2010

I was up at 6:00 to head to the airport for my 7:55 flight. Since I was only 5 minutes from the airport, I figured I had plenty of time. When I got in the car, the gas needle was not on full, even though I had only driven about one mile from the gas station. So I stopped, again, and put $2.50 of gas in. Then I drove to the rental car return. It took the guy a while to check me in, and then I didn’t count on having to take a shuttle bus to the terminal. By the time I got to check in my luggage, the alarm went off that I was a late check in and they couldn’t guarantee my baggage would be on my flight.

The line for security was pretty long as well, and I had just enough time to buy a Diet Dr. Pepper and walk on the plane. There were two kids on that flight flying unaccompanied, and I could hear the boy in front on me. He ordered coffee with six creams, which made me smile. He was probably about 10. When we were walking off the plane, he said to the flight attendant, “Look how many things I can do with my tongue!” Fun times!

My flight leaving St. Louis was also expected to depart on time, and probably five minutes early. Once everyone was boarded, the gate agent asked if anyone knew Sean Johnson. No one did. Apparently he was a passenger we were waiting on. Luckily he came within about 10 minutes so we were still on time. He was probably weirded out because when he got on the plane, everybody said, “Hi Sean!” and greeted him as he walked to the back of the plane.

All my flights were on time and I walked into my door at 12:45 p.m. With 3 hotel nights, airfare, and airport parking all on points, it was a pretty affordable trip. Too bad about that $250 rental car fee for a one-way rental.

The stats:
• States visited: 8 if you count Missouri and Kansas
• Miles driven: 1073
• License plates seen: 44, including 2 Canadian provinces and Washington, DC
• Total cost of gas: $82.45
• Tolls: $15
• Food: $52.42 (no wonder I never spend all my per diem!)

Day 4: Delaware

Friday, July 16, 2010

I woke up in time to check in for my flight on Friday, but my internet was slow and by the time I checked in at two minutes late at 7:57, I was already A60! I left the ants to their hotel and headed a little bit north to Pennsylvania to get my Delaware sign picture. I was much closer to the border than I thought so had to turn around. I used my tripod again to get the Delaware picture, but Pennsylvania sign was in a bush on the wrong side of the street. I got it, but not my best as I am barely in the corner of the photo.

That area, Brandywine Valley, has some really huge houses, and it also where the Winterthur Mansion and Grounds are. I drove by where it was but wasn’t too interested in stopping.

I headed instead to the Brandywine Zoo in Wilmington, which is the only zoo in Delaware. The lady asked for my zip code when I bought my ticket, and when I gave it to her, she said I must be from far away. I told her Kansas City, and she said she’s always amazed how many people from all over find their tiny zoo.

It was a pretty small zoo, and it was also 100 degrees. Luckily most of it was well shaded. My favorite part was the golden handed tamarins. They are very small.

After the zoo, I headed to New Castle, DE, and parked near the wharf. I walked back to see the court house and the streets and buildings from the 1600s, but again it was really, really hot and there wasn’t much to do there so I got back in the car. I had lunch at Arby’s, and the sign out front was pretty funny. It said “In Need of Management.”

Mom texted me to see if I felt the earthquake. I hadn't even heard about it and must have slept through it.

I was heading south along the coast, intending to go to the beaches in Dover, but about halfway there I decided I didn’t want to so I turned around and went back to Wilmington. I had read about the Wilmington Riverfront, but after I finally found a place to park, it turned out not to be very interesting. It was well landscaped but not shady, and other than a few restaurants, I couldn’t tell there was anything to do.

At this point, it was only about 2:00 and I had the rest of the day to fill. So I did what I used to do frequently when I traveled – I went to a book store. I drove back east to Christiana Mall and spent about an hour and a half in Barnes and Noble. It was air conditioned and I didn’t have to be in the car! Around 4:00, I headed to Baltimore and went a different way that only required $2 in tolls to go in the tunnel.

I checked in at the hotel, TownePlace Suites at BWI, and then took myself to Panera for dinner. I haven’t had that much fast food in a year and was ready for something different. I stopped to get gas for the final time (I thought) and then went back to the hotel to watch Shrek the Third. I liked this hotel for being very environmentally friendly, and they even had reserved parking for hybrid vehicles.

Day 3: Shenandoah National Park

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Thursday was Shenandoah National Park day. The drive from my hotel was only about 15 minutes, and I entered the park around 9:00, at the southern point where Skyline Drive through the park meets the Blue Ridge Parkway. There was not much traffic heading north so I had the road to myself. I stopped by a few overlooks, and headed first to the Blackrock Summit Trail.

The trail was about one mile round trip and follow part of the Appalachian Trail. I did manage to freak myself out pretty well after I read that there are rattlesnakes in the rocks you have to climb to reach the Summit. I decided I could see just about as well from where I was and did not climb the rocks.

When I got back to the car, I headed to Big Run Overlook. Just after passing, I saw a black bear cross the road behind my car. That is my first confirmed bear sighting, and I was glad to be seeing it from the car and not while I was hiking!

I stopped at the Big Meadows camp store and then headed on to my next hike, Dark Hollow Falls. It is supposed to be the most accessible waterfall in the park. On the where to the falls, you have to walk down some pretty steep areas, and I was already dreading coming back up. I much prefer to do the Up part first.

The falls were not particularly impressive this time of year. Not enough rain I guess, and I opted not to hike further down to the Lower Falls. It was already a beast of a climb back up and I was huffing and puffing. I decided I really don’t like to hike up hill!

For my third and final hike, I opted for the Limberlost Trail, which is much more level in elevation, given it is handicapped accessible. It was a leisurely loop trail, with no one sight that it is based around. It was mostly shady and I liked it.

I stopped at Skyland next, at the highest point in the park, and browsed the gift shop. There was a talk going on about bears, but I had already missed most of it so went on my way. It was already about 1:45 at this point, so I figured I’d stop at one or two more overlooks but head on to the north end of the park. Many of the overlooks were closed for rehabilitation thanks to the Recovery Act, and there was the requisite road construction as well. Skyline Drive was lane for awhile so we were stopped about 15 minutes waiting for the oncoming traffic to come by.

After I exited the park, I decided I couldn’t resist being 20 miles from West Virginia without a picture so I headed that way. Unfortunately, when I got to WV, the sign had been stolen and was just an empty post. At this point I was frustrated and just gave up, knowing I was still about 3 hours from Newark, DE. I told the GPS to take me to the hotel in Delaware and off we went.

Well, turns out I did end up crossing into West Virginia since the GPS took me north to I-70. I pulled over on the highway and used my tripod and self-timer to take a picture. It was awesome! So much better than trying to take it of myself. And I can even set the camera to take 3 shots, in case I made a face, which I frequently do.

I was also able to use the tripod to get Maryland, but I had to get out on the passenger side of the car due to traffic. After dinner at Wendy’s and $9 in tolls, I made it into Delaware, my 48th state. I didn’t stop to take the picture because it was right after the toll booth and I was just tired of being in the car so went on to the hotel.

The Fairfield Inn in Newark was not my favorite hotel, but it was adequate. Except for then ants in the room! Luckily all I had to do here was sleep. I did turn on the bat phone so I could be set to check in for my flight in the morning and 205 work emails came in unbidden. I quickly turned it off.

Day 2: Hatteras Island and Virginia

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Wednesday morning dawned very ominous looking as I got up and got on the road. The free breakfast at the hotel was surprisingly adequate so I didn’t have to stop anywhere. I headed south on the beach road and got to about mile post 50 and it started POURING. There was no place to stop so I just kept going until I got to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, my destination.

It was by then only sprinkling, but when I got into the visitor center, I learned the lighthouse was close due to thunder. Once they hear thunder, they close it and won’t let anybody climb up until 30 minutes after they last heard thunder to avoid people get struck by lightning. Since it was still thundering, I figured it wasn’t going to be anytime soon. With a break in the rain, I drove to the spot about 3000 feet away where the lighthouse used to be until they moved it in 1999. erosion had made it too close to the beach.

With that excursion foiled, I headed further south until I reached the end of Hatteras Island. It wasn’t possible to go any further without taking a ferry, which I wasn’t sure I had time to do. So I parked the car near the ferry and got out in another monsoon. I decided there was nothing to be done, put on my raincoat and umbrella, and walked out on the wharf to watch the ferry go out. Then I did a little browsing in the shops nearby and bought a Christmas ornament.

Around 11, I headed back north the way I had come and stopped to do some souvenir shopping. I ate lunch at Subway and then got back in the car. The Seashore is all protected and was a pretty cool drive when it wasn’t raining so hard I couldn’t see. There is a bridge you cross that has seagulls and pelicans hovering in mid-air near the edge, watching the water. You want to look at them but you can’t take your eyes off the road.

I did not stop at the Bodie Lighthouse as it was all shrouded for restoration, but I did glimpse it from the road. I headed north to Virginia, and had to run across the street to get the picture this time. In the background are more ominous skies, which opened up almost immediately after I got to the car. I bought ice cream for myself and gas for the car, then settled in for the remaining 6 hour drive to Waynesboro, VA. At least it finally stopped raining. About 20 miles out, I got into the Blue Ridge Mountains and the scenery changed.

I arrived at the Residence Inn about 7:00. The hotel was pretty new and really nice. They were even having a cookout so I got free burgers for dinner. I did manage to lock myself out of my room within 5 minutes of arriving. Out of practice, I guess.

Since I had been sitting all afternoon, I figured I needed some exercise so I went swimming. I couldn’t remember the last time I was in a pool.

Today I only added 6 states to my license plate game for a total of 33.

Day 1: North Carolina

Since Mary Grace is still waiting for the Europe trip travelogue (and it's still on my to-do list 9 months later) I figured I'd better type up this one ASAP. As before, each day will be its own post. I may add some photos later, but I'd rather go ahead and get this posted. Here is the journal from my trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks, Shenandoah National Park, and Delaware. Why? Because I've never been to Delaware :)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

On Tuesday morning, I awoke to find Bailey had snugly packed herself during the night and was ready to go in my suitcase. My flight to Chicago was oversold but on time. Since they were only offering the face value of your ticket as a voucher, I did not volunteer to take a later flight. (My ticket was free). My flight to Norfolk was also on time, and the only eventful thing was when the top on my water bottle popped open and started spilling on my foot and backpack. Too much pressure I guess.

As I was walking through the airport, I caught the announcement on the news that George Steinbrenner had died of a heart attack. I feel like I frequently find out people have died in the airport. But as mom pointed out, I’m frequently in airports.

I got my rental car, a blue Chevy Aveo, which probably had no idea what kind of trip it was in for, and we headed off for North Carolina. It took about 20 minutes to get to the border, and then I had my 47th state. There was no place to pull over near the sign, so I had to park and walk back and take a self portrait. It started raining as I was driving, which pretty much set the tone for my NC leg.

I made it to the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills about 5:00, which was perfect since they close at 6:00. It was hot and muggy but not raining when I got out of the car, still wearing jeans from traveling. The visitor center wasn’t much, but I walked out to the field that showed where they took off from and where each of the flights landed, including the longest one. Then I went up to the memorial, which is on a hill that’s pretty much made of sand. Once I’d seen it, it was time to head to the hotel and food.

I found my room at the Rodeway Inn in Nags Head, which was exceptionally adequate for my purposes. I had dinner and ice cream at Fatboyz next to the hotel, then walked across the street to the beach. It was cloudy but not raining and starting to cool down a little.

I walked along the beach and then watched a couple guys with metal detectors searching the sand. One started digging a pretty big hole, but I couldn’t tell if he found anything.

I made it back to my hotel room to find it so humid all my paper was curling on the edges. Luckily I was tired enough that I was able to sleep easily enough.

So far I have seen 27 state license plates and 2 Canadian provinces.

Disruptions

I am on vacation, and I did not plan to get up early today. Several forces united to thwart my plans. First, Bailey got her head caught in a plastic bag around 4:30. She proceeded to paw at the bag until I got up and freed her. I lured both of them downstairs and "let" them go play in the garage.

About 20 minutes later, after I had fallen back to sleep, the low battery alarm on the carbon monoxide detector went off. It is right next to my bed, and it beeps until you take the battery out. I don't know why that battery drains so fast, since the thing is plugged into the wall. I left it in pieces on the floor and went back to sleep.

Finally about 6:00, I woke up to find Boo (a squirrel who lives in my yard) standing on his hind legs, looking in the bedroom door, and tapping on the window. Not sure what he wanted, but at least everyone was in the garage or it would have been a wild time.

Alas, my early morning was not as restless as planned.