Masters of the road.

So I'm back. I being Marissa. I'm sorry if you're sick of hearing from me. I know how wonderful Robert is at writing. But he's being strict about his technology fast. And I'm really proud of him for it, so I'll be filling you in on our ruckusing for awhile.

We checked out of our hostel on Monday morning. Wait, let me backtrack. Quick summary.


I'd been to church the previous week in Newcastle, and got Robert to agree to go with me this week. Since I'd been before, I did some finagling, and found us a ride. I was glad, because it would save us time, and keep us from having to wait and walk in the pouring rain. And no one likes taking the bus. So a nice older couple picked us up and took us to church. The was a great meeting. I actually played the organ in sacrament, but that's another story. Robert came to Relief Society with me, which was great. The ladies were very kind, and it was nice to hear a low voice now and again. But after the meeting, Robert and I were talking about how we should get someone to take us home for Sunday dinner. It sounded awesome, but I didn't think it would happen. Then I was talking to this girl who served her mission in Utah, and we'd met the previous week. We ended up with an invitation to her sister's house for dinner that night. The missionaries were already coming over, so we might as well. It was a great night. It was the first time we'd been in a real house in over a month. I've never appreciated a home cooked meal so much. It was a good time.

Then the home teachers came over, one of whom is a guy named Paul Vowel. He told us about how he came from the UK to Australia years ago to do what we're doing now, and met the woman he married, and still hasn't seen Australia. We had a wonderful chat. He said he wished we were staying another day, because he'd love to have us over for dinner too. That offer just sounded too good...so Robert and I decided to try and find a way to stay an extra day. The problem was that our gig at the hostel was up, and they had new cleaners. So we either had to pay for another night, or leave. Neither of those suited our fancy. Luckily, Paul called later that night. He offered to let us spend the night at their house! It was too perfect.

So Monday rolled around, and we checked out as planned. His lovely wife, Deeann, and their 2 boys came and picked us up. We did some shopping, and Robert and Keegan (he's 4) became best friends. We had crumpets for lunch, and played with the kids. We made schnitzel for dinner, and had a lovely evening of good conversations and trying Australian sweets. Tim-Tam Slams are a new favorite, and I'm going to personally make sure they catch on back in the states.

We had an absolutely lovely time. We discussed our families, traveling, the gospel, and cooking. Deeann and I attempted to make macaroons, and failed. When I get home, anyone that wants to help me perfect them is welcome to. I'm going to master the macaroon, and I'll need taste testers. Applications will be available in early December.

So here's the best part: Despite my best efforts, I couldn't come up with a good way for us to get out of Newcastle. And these Novacastrians, as they call themselves, were just so nice. We were tempted to just stay longer! But one place for more than 2 weeks on a trip like this is unheard of. So we needed to leave, but didn't know how. So we decided we'd hitchhike.

After a great breakfast and a solid episode of Yo Gabba Gabba, we were ready to hit the road. We piled in the car, and headed toward the Pacific Highway to find a good place to begin. None of us had ever done this before, so we weren't really sure what we were looking for. We found a place on a long stretch with a wide shoulder, and had her drop us off. Getting a ride to hitch hike was a strange experience. But now here we were. We had a sign, and a few snacks, and our thumbs were fresh.

It took us about 40 minutes for someone to stop for us. He was a nice guy that stopped and told us he'd take us to a place where we'd have more luck. He drove us about ten minutes to a place where the highway split, and joined up with another. It only took about 20 minutes from there to get another ride. This time, we made it a lot farther. The couple that picked us up were very talkative. We discussed everything from weather to polygamists to Obama. They took us as far as they could, and let us go after about an hour. We got a fantastic lunch, and headed off to find another good spot.

Wait, side note. So in Australia, getting "the works" on a burger or sandwich is so much cooler than in the states. It includes: cheese, barbeque sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion, beet root, pineapple, avacado, cubumber, and sometimes egg. It's incredible.

Ok, back to the story. So we start walking, and realize that this is a terrible stretch of highway. We had to walk forever just to actually get to the highway, because there was on-ramp after on-ramp, so we were a few lanes away from the actual traffic. There were also a lot of curves, and some construction. So we walked forever. Then, a camper stopped! It was a younger pair, friends from the UK. One lived in Sydney, so the other was here on holiday to visit. Apparently you can find deals where you pay practically nothing for an RV, and you take it where the company needs it, if that makes any sense. So these friends were driving the camper to Brisbane within 5 days, and only had to pay $5 a day because they were helping out the company. It's something I'll look into when I'm over 25. But it was the best. We could walk around, and lay down. And they listened to great music. A new band that they had just discovered at a festival is called Kenny and the Giants. Now, it was really loud in the camper, so I didn't get a very good listen, but I'd recommend them from what I did hear. So in the lap of luxury, as far as hitch hiking goes, we made it 10 km from our destination, Port Macquarie. That's 6.2 miles for those of you who suck at the metric system. We could walk that, but we didn't want to. But we had a similar problem as last time. This highway was curvy, with a narrow shoulder. But we just started walking. We didn't even get the sign out or bust out our thumbs because there wasn't a good place for a car to stop. Yet, one did. There was a nice older gentleman that said he could tell we weren't from around here, pulling luggage along the freeway and all. So we put our stuff in the back of his truck, and fit into the one extra seat he had. And the truck was a manual, so my knees were all sorts of in the way. It was pretty awkward, but it was better than walking.

Another side note, that only a few of you that know me particularly well will get. I caved and bought flip-flops. Here, they call them thongs. But I haven't worn a pair in 4 or 5 years. I don't like them. But they're so practical for the beach, and my leather old lady shoes are literally falling apart. (Don't worry, I invested in some super glue, and they're whole again.) So I got some good ones. I paid $18 for them! What a travesty. They're pieces of plastic. But they're the cheapest ones I could find. I already have a sore on one foot because I'm not used to them. And being so smart, I wore them today. So the walking wasn't the most pleasant.

So, back to Port Macquarie, which we were finally in. We had to stop and get our map out of the back of the truck, because I couldn't actually remember where we were going. After a few U-turns, we found our hostel. We actually paid for accommodation for the first time since we left Sydney. Man, it's nice to stay for free. We paid for 2 nights, and went to relax. This place has a pool, hammocks, and a small theatre. Yeah, theatre. I've started adding extra vowels to some words, too: colour, harbour, favourite. It's silly, but it's what they do here. When it Rome, right?

This evening, we walked down to the shore and got the best fish n' chips I've ever had. Then we stopped at Cole's, the cheapest grocery store, and got OJ and kiwis. I'm addicted to kiwis for breakfast. They're incredible. I don't know if I just never noticed how good they are, or if they're significantly better here. But either way, Robert and I are both junkies. It's really hard to do grocery shopping, because we only have 2 days here, you know? So we get free breakfast, and we might just eat out for the other meals tomorrow. I discovered kebabs with some boys I hung out with in Sydney, and Robert still hasn't had one. The United States REALLY needs to have kebabs. They're Lebanese or something, and so delicious. It's like...the equivalent of middle eastern Cafe Rio or something. By the way, I want to get good mexican food ASAP when I get back if anyone wants to join me. Either Rio, or a taco stand in downtown SLC.

So I'm sorry, it's late, and tangents are inevitable. We came home, and watched Patch Adams. On VHS. Yeah, they don't have a single DVD. I haven't seen anything like it since...I lived at home. Haha. I think my parents still have more VHS than DVDs.

Wow, the paragraph apologizing for the tangents even turned into a tangent. I think that means I've been typing for too long. So the point is that we're alive. A lot of walking, 4 good Samaritans, and a thumb workout later, we're in a new city. Tomorrow, we're going on a camel ride along the beach, and visiting a koala hospital. (Every time I say the phrase "koala hospital," Robert giggles.) We might do a whale watching cruise, and feed some kangaroos while we're here, too. But there will definitely be some good quality beach time. We have 9 beaches to choose from here.

So enjoy your snow back home. It's about 30 degrees in both places, but it's in Celsius here. It's lovely, and my tan is coming along very nicely.

Love you all. Expect pictures from Newcastle on Facebook tomorrow maybe.

Marissa, the master of the road.