The Final Countdown

So here we are. We've been as far north on the coast as we (eventually) planned to go, and we've started our slow descent back down to Sydney and beyond. We are currently in Brisbane with the Adams family. Yes, the Adams family. Get it out of your system now...They have been more than hospitable; we really couldn't have asked for better hosts. A few days ago we bought plane tickets down to Sydney. We've been traveling by foot, car, train, and bus so far. Surprisingly this is the first time we've felt a plane ride to be near essential to our travels. We're scheduled to leave at 5 in the morning and to arrive at SYD around 7. The flight is going to be about an hour long but Queensland (current location) doesn't recognize daylight savings time so we are going to lose an hour of our day tomorrow. I'm usually sleeping that early anyway, so an hour lost is no big deal. We will get into Sydney that morning and we will go straight from there out to the Blue Mountains about two hours inland. The plan is to stay with our contact there for a couple of nights then we will head to Canberra, the nation's capital, until Marissa's departure.

Marissa is scheduled to leave this beautiful country in no less than 11 days. I am planning on staying quite a bit longer and hope that the hospitality that the people have shown us so far will continue and enable me to enjoy the rest of my visit.

One thing that we've made a habit of is visiting the library in every city we visit. Surprisingly even the smallest of towns has a library. We were happy to frequent them all: from the cubicle-sized Byron Bay library to the wonderfully diverse Queensland State library. We usually set aside one day to just go to the library and read, write in our journals, blog, or whatever else we deem appropriate to do in a library. With smaller collections like the one they had in Byron, it was quite difficult to find anything that really struck my fancy. Today we had the opportunity to browse the Queensland State library; it was amazing. Out of all the institutions we've visited, this was by far my favourite. I can usually find a book or two that interest me in the first aisle I walk down, and this instance was no different. One of the first books I looked at caught my eye. The title is Consequential Strangers: The Power of People Who Don't Seem to Matter. . . But Really Do. The authors, Blau and Fingerman, delve into detail concerning the importance of relationships that may, superficially, not seem important. One small section of this book mentioned a writer for the NY Times who wrote a personal version of the Top 100 Influential People of 2006. When he read the original version published in TIME, he realized that none of the people on that list seemingly had any direct influence on his life. His list was comprised of relatives, neighbors, close friends, and acquaintances. People from his barber to peers at his child's sporting events made the list. The concept of writing down a list of 100 people seemed a little daunting, but I really wanted to give it a try. I'm not too far into my life so I don't have any mention of the person who led me to a huge break in my career, the doctor who helped deliver my children, or the all-knowing neighbor who helped me fix my house up.

Being with Marissa 24/7 for these past two months really drove this point home. She has been an influence on me throughout my life, but now more than ever. Her views are drastically different than mine on a myriad of subjects, but they have subsequently shaped my views on things to encompass the full subject rather than just my narrow perspective. 


This list is a compilation of people who have influenced my life. They have changed my point of view, they have opened up my mind to a different train of thought, and they have shown me that every stereotype can be broken. They have shown me what I, myself, am capable of, and that with hard work and a good attitude truly anything can be achieved. I have been molded by these people in subjects ranging from career to relationships to education. I've been helped to realize more fully what I actually want out of these things and how to better my life in those aspects and, in that same vein, what I strive to avoid in them. I've learned what kind of friend I am, and what kind of friends I want to surround myself with. Everybody is good at something and has more to offer than you think. I've gone through experiences and learned things I never would have without these people leading me to and through those events. This is a list of relatives, classmates, flings, inspirations, best friends, role models, sources of wisdom, teachers, and those who truly make me want to model myself after them and be a better, more caring person. These are those who have shown that you can make the best of any circumstance you're in and really helped me learn about myself and, as a whole, have been imperative in shaping who I am today. Some of these people are on the list for reasons you can't imagine, and many I'm not in contact with on a regular basis, but trust me, they deserve to be there. Ages range from 16-80 and the span of time known anywhere from a few minutes to 20 years. I'll admit I haven't even met all of these people face-to-face.

• Katherine Weeks
• Richard Weeks
• Marissa Weeks
• Stephen Weeks
• Laura Weeks
• Emily Weeks 
• Clyde Weeks
• Helen Weeks
• Rachel Shupe
• Robert Shupe
• Robert Pennock
• Fay Pennock
• David Pennock
• Gigi Pennock
• John Pennock
• Sean Barlow 
• Aaron Lefler
• Jace Mann
• Jake Lloyd
• Chelsea McArthur
• A.J. Nielsen
• Mathew Nielsen
• Jeff Nielsen
• Julie Nielsen
• Christopher Nielsen
• Chase Brauchie
• Marcus Riches
• Michael Fitzgerald
• Darren Webster
• Robert Duncan
• Andrew McLeran
• Leah Tarrant
• Brady Cottam
• Devyn Zbinden
• Ariana Gonzalez
• Casey Cripps
• Xander Gonzalez
• Hilary Hancock
• Ashley Lewter
• Steve Carroll
• Emily Stephens
• Briahna Mounteer
• Jason Liu
• Shaelyn West
• Alex Phillips
• Cameron Faux
• Melanie Lance
• Jon Trevett
• Brett Burt
• Bethany Hess
• Amberly Hess
• Dawn Hess
• Sydney Lowe
• Keely Kirby
• Megan Metcalf
• Chelsey Huntsman
• Karin Ellis
• Rachelle Webb
• Alexis Gosdis
• Ryan Rose
• Matt Duffus
• Christian Inglis
• Alex Von Dust
• Amanda Barlow
• Monica Walker
• Amy Hardesty
• Jesica Wilson Piettress
• Bailey Gray
• Alex Daniels
• Alyssa Shoemaker
• Stephanie Lewis
• Christopher Thatcher
• Janina Liddellidd
• Jess Rancie
• Erik Huynh
• Kellie Shaw
• Ivan Govorovskiy
• Kylie Jacobsen
• Levi Gardner
• James Gardner
• Isaac Gardner
• Zsuzsi Simon
• Tereasa North
• Jentry Nielsen
• Mali Rahimian
• Tyler Wiseman
• Tyler Brown
• Adrienne Davis
• Spencer Porter
• Erin Martin
• Penny Owen
• Michelle Mirci
• Morgan Lail
• Odette Da Silva
• Paul Vowels
• Deanne Vowels
• Rich Littledyke
• Samantha Berg
• Narine Johnson
• The handful of people who picked me up when hitchhiking.

So I finished typing this up about 45 minutes ago and have been delaying hitting the 'Publish Post' button at the bottom. I'm just a little wary that some may read this list and not find their name listed among the others and be disappointed. I realize that 100 seems like a lot, but once you get writing it is easy to fill up every one of those spaces. There are countless others who have helped me in the past and are destined to in the future, but this is the first group that came into my head. I ran this idea past Marissa and she has written down her list of 100 people, but is anything BUT ready to publish it to the online community. She needs to rework it until it's perfect; she's really afraid of leaving people out. If she actually does get a satisfactory list within the next 10 days I'll urge her to post it here. Everyone  likes being told they've made a difference in others' lives.

I do realize that this blog is supposed to be about our travels, but I've had a lot of time to think lately and I think it's good to write down some thoughts every once in awhile instead of just chronicling our journey. If you're curious as to why you did (or did not) make the list, feel free to email me. I'm not going to put every reason on here now, as I'm sure maybe only 10% of the people on the list will actually see it.

weeks.robert.j@gmail.com

-Robert J. Weeks

Not allowed.

Marissa here. Last time you heard from us, we were getting ready to head north for another adventure. The plan was to spend a few days in a place called Bundaberg, and take a day trip to the Town of 1770 to do some snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef.

We weren't allowed to do that thanks to the awful weather.

To paint a picture of our last few days, here's a non-exhaustive list of things we were not allowed to do:

Snorkel
Laugh
Smile
Have fun
Give the right answer
Stay dry outside
Feel welcome
Eat freely
Use the computer
Touch anything
Offer an opinion
Make eye contact
Carry on a good conversation
Sleep without fear of assassination
Listen to music/radio in the car
Be alone in the house
Use sarcasm
Offer any suggestions
Ask questions

Let me explain. We stayed with this older couple. And I mean older. They were at least 80. And their house was stuck in 1983, at the latest. On paper, it sounds great: Older couple, nice house literally right on the beach. They showed us around and fed us dinner and we played some games. But in reality, it was awful. I couldn't wait to get out of there. Their tone of speaking, their body language, their lack of warmth and welcoming was anything but enjoyable. Not once did they tell us to make ourselves at home. Not once did they tell us we were free to look around the house, get something to eat, use their TV and/or computer. Now, I can't expect every family we stay with to let us loose in their house. But even the families that I felt didn't want us there up to this point were more welcoming. Now I really know what it feels like to not be wanted. They were not happy about us being in their house. Here's how it went down:

We'd been staying with a family, the Atkinsons, for about a week down on the Sunshine Coast. It was pretty good, but it was time to move on. We had learned that the farthest south that we could snorkel on the Reef was from a place called Town of 1770. This was about 4 hours north. I found a day cruise that has a bus that can pick you up from Bundaberg, and then bring you back at the end of the day. Our plan was to find a ride north at Stake Conference that Sunday, and Bundaberg is the northern border of the stake, so we knew we wouldn't be able to get any farther than that. But because of the convenient bus, this would be okay. I'd rather stay for free than go farther north and pay for accomodation. So we were on the hunt for a ride.

We had met a friend here on the Sunny Coast, and her grandparents happened to live in Bundy! How perfect! So we found them after conference, and from the first encounter, I was wary of the situation. I talked to the wife, and she semi-agreed, but said she needed to talk to her husband. I told their granddaughter to talk to them that evening, and make sure that they didn't feel pressure to say say because I had been standing there when we'd asked. We got a call later, and they still said yes, so we planned on leaving at 7 AM Monday morning. The original plan was to leave Sunday night, but we weren't going to complain; a ride is a ride. So now we wouldn't be able to snorkel until Tuesday, but we've learned that a day here or there really doesn't make a difference the way we're doing this holiday thing, so no big. We get to their house, and they were upset about how much luggage we had, even though we had explained to them exactly what we'd be bringing, and they said it would be perfectly fine. So we loaded it up anyway with a little bit of squishing, and we were on the road. The drive was about 3 hours, and it was so awkward. Not once did the radio go on, and not once did a good conversation evolve. The men stayed silent, while the women asked a few questions here and there. I asked about their lives and job, and their conversion to the gospel, all questions that could have led to interesting discussion. But I was met with cold answers, limited to one word if possible. She asked me a few questions, so which I couldn't ever answer correctly. We soon learned that no matter how we answered their questions, we would be wrong.

We got to their house, and we each got our own rooms. We would have been happy to share since there were multiple beds in each room, but we weren't about to question their orders. As soon as we had our belongings put down, we were basically ordered to go to the beach, and come back in 30 minutes for lunch, no sooner. It was cold and windy outside, and we had no desire to be there, but we acquiesced. We sat on a bench, not wanting to incorporate sand into our already awful day. When adequate time had passed, we made our way back to their house. For lunch, we had prawn sandwiches. Prawns are shrimp, by the way. They made us feel like idiots when we explained that no, we had never peeled or cleaned prawns before. We weren't sure how to go about it. They showed us, but then did it for us because we were too slow. I was afraid to eat too much, or too little. It was very uncomfortable, with a few pathetic attempts at starting conversation.

After lunch, we were more than happy to volunteer to leave the house again. We walked along the beach down to the center of town where we had passed shops on our drive in. When we got there, we realized that what we had seen from the car was literally all there was to the town. There was nothing to do, nothing to see. The beach was actually rocks, not sand. And it was still cold and windy outside. It wasn't the most pleasant outing. And during our evening, we found out that the snorkeling cruise would not be going on the next day, either. We now had a whole day to fill, with no options to fill it. Joy.

After we felt enough time had passed, we meandered back to the house for dinner. She's a great cook, but each meal was still awkward, full of fear of doing something wrong. I offered the lesson at FHE, which was actually the first time I felt any respect. They seemed to sincerely enjoy my lesson on patience. We then played some games, where they did not appreciate losing to us. We had some apple pie, which was actually an historic event: Robert does "not like" pie. This means that he's never really tried it, and he thinks he doesn't like it. How someone can dislike such a broad category of something so delicious is beyond me. But something about our situation got him to eat what had been placed in front of him, and he actually enjoyed it. So if nothing else good came of this experience, Robert learned to like pie.

Another factor to add to our day was that we were not allowed to be in the house alone. They did not trust us. Some errands needed to be run, so we obliged and sat in the back seat of their car in silence. They also decided to show us some other parts of town that were SO boring. They showed us the harbour where not a single thing was happening. And it was so cold. Then they took us to this information center about turtles which was actually pretty cool, except that I couldn't tell if they wanted us to take our time or to hurry. I honestly couldn't decipher their body language. This center runs nightly excursions to the beach to see turtles lay their eggs, but we wouldn't get to do that. We just had to read about turtles. And she kept telling us to go here, stand there, look at this. I usually enjoy educational experiences like that, but this one was the exception.

Back at home, it was time for bed. They asked if we were going to shower, and we didn't know how to answer. Did they want us to shower? Or were they making sure we weren't going to without their permission? We told them that we usually shower in the mornings. They hesitantly accepted this response, and we got ready for bed.

The next morning, we had decided to catch the 10 AM bus into Bundaberg, which is the main city in the area, and about 20 minutes from where we were staying. I woke up around 7:30 where I stayed in bed and did some reading. I let Robert sleep until 9:30, because there was no reason to get him up earlier. When we were both finally up, they were completely mortified that we could sleep as long as we did. They rise at 5 AM every day, and apparently you cannot get anything from your day unless you include the wee hours like they did. Disregarding this opinion, it was time to catch our bus. Luckily, the man was heading into the city, and offered to drop us off. Looking back, I think I'd rather take the bus that endure more silent time in the back seat of that car. We didn't really know where we were going, so we asked his opinion. We decided to have him drop us off at the giant barrel, the visitors center for Bundaberg Brewed Drinks, famous for their ginger beer. He assured us that it was right outside of downtown, and we might as well see that, then walk into town. After being dropped off, we realized that there was nothing worth seeing at this big barrel, so we started walking. It was a long walk, even longer in the rain. When we got to town, we got brekky (we were too afraid to get something to eat at their house). We walked around, and realized that there wasn't anything worth seeing here, either. But at least there was MORE that wasn't worth seeing, I guess. We ended up at the library for a few hours, which was the most enjoyable part of the day. We caught the bus back to their house as late as possible (which was around 4 in this small town). The worst part of the day: learning that our snorkeling adventure, again, would not happen.

Back home, it was dinner time. We had another good dinner, although it was still awkward. After deliberation with Robert, we decided that it wasn't worth it to try and stay here, miserable, for a snorkeling trip that may or may not come to pass. We started looking for a way back down south. We had a few options, and decided to take the 5:15 train. We'd have to leave their house around 4 AM, but that was okay- we could sleep on the train. Because of our pending early morning, we went to sleep early. Around midnight, I got a text informing me that the family we'd be staying with would not be able to pick us up until 5 PM the next day. With this new information, I decided it was worth it to sleep a little longer, and catch a later train, but leaving far less time to sit around stranded at a train station. I rose at 4 the next morning to inform our patrons, and they were disgruntled. She told me that I should have told her sooner. How she expected me to do that is beyond me. They wanted us out of their house, and were not pleased that we would be inconveniencing any more of their time. But nonetheless, I went back to bed. We got up and packed and ready to go. She offered brekky, which I accepted. She then bluntly stated that we had 2 minutes.

After some quick dry toast, 2 stolen bananas for the ride, and one near car accident later, we were free. We had to wait for our train for nearly 2 hours, but that was okay. We were glad to be going. We didn't get to snorkel, so I guess I'll have to come back someday and do that. But I'd rather be doing nothing with people I like that be doing something "fun" and staying with people I don't like. Robert explained it well: "I'd rather have a bad day golfing than a good day at work."

So there you have it. We made it as far north as we're going to on this adventure, and now it's a matter of getting back down south. I have a little more than 2 weeks to go until I come back to Utah. We're now back on the Sunshine Coast with a very kind family, and we're happy to be here.

Keep posted, and we'll keep posting.

the twins. (Oh, and that woman asked if we're identical. She's 80 and doesn't know that identical twins have to be the same gender? Really?)

Hey Old Friend, It's Been Awhile...

I've been slacking. Badly. And by 'I' I really mean 'us.'

We just haven't had much motivation to actually sit down and write anything. I just got a good playlist set up for this very purpose so I'm just going to hunker down and get it done =).

I think we left off with us skydiving and then a little picture blog about our weekend trip to Byron Bay. So I'm going to have to backtrack just a little bit to just before we took our little trip.

So we had been in Byron Bay for about 3 nights and it was time to move on. We had seen pretty much everything the town had to offer and it was time to head out. We woke up that last morning and packed up all of our things and got ready for skydiving. We did that, came back to our hostel, then quickly headed over to the only bus station in town and hopped on to the 'Brisbane to Byron Express.' This was a bit bigger than a van and a little smaller than a bus. Short-bus length, I guess. Once we got all of our belongings packed away into the trailer in tow behind us we got into our coach and got the VIP seats in the back. Luckily it wasn't too crowded, so we didn't have to share our seats with anybody so we had plenty of room for ourselves and our backpacks. The drive was just beautiful. When I thought of Australia before I actually came here I envisioned the outback. This couldn't be further from the truth. Every city/town we go to is more lush and breathtaking then the previous. Being from Utah I'm not really used to such overwhelming flora. The drive went without a hitch and we were dropped off at the central transit station in downtown Brisbane.

We took a train about 25 minutes outside of town and called our contact, Mr. Morales, who picked us up promptly and took us to his car to store our things while he showed us around a bit. He walked us around a bit with his young daughter as we were headed to meet his wife and son about 5 minutes walk away. We met a few of their friends and got to talk to the Morales family for a few minutes before heading to their home for the night. Mrs. Morales took her children home and Andrew decided that he didn't want to head home quite yet. He drove us around the city for a good 45 minutes showing us everything there is to see, where to go, how to get everywhere, and just helping us orient ourselves in the new city. This really did help us a lot and we got to see an amazing view of the city that we never would have been able to see without a car. After our Brisbane orientation was finished we headed 30 minutes out of downtown, into the more country side of the city. Their house was everything a backpacker could ask for. A bed, food, and company. We had a pretty full day and slept great that night.

After a restful night of sleep we woke up and had a quick breakfast before heading down to the train station and leaving the suburb of Mt. Cotton for the city for a day of exploring. Brisbane is a city, definitely, but it is nowhere near the size of Sydney. We walked through nearly the whole downtown area in the afternoon and saw pretty much everything there was to see within a few hours. We saw a few parks, the biggest art gallery we've been to so far, and the largest library we've been in so far. The art gallery and library were part of the Queensland University of Technology and were definitely the best part about the campus. The landscaping was nowhere near what we've seen surrounding other campuses in Oz. After reading for an hour or two in the library we jetted up towards the temple for institute.

 See, I've never been to an institute class and never thought I would attend one, but I figured I may as well go with Marissa because we were going to get a ride home from one of the members and I would be less of a bother to the people we were staying with. I usually don't like the atmosphere in churches, and this occasion was no different. I just don't really mesh with the people that go there. I can't really speak for Marissa, but I'm sure she was as comfortable as ever. I went to a class concerning leadership and Marissa, something else that I can't be bothered remembering right now. I sat in the very back corner and whipped out my journal and began writing. We were there a few minutes early so I was getting in a good rhythm before the class started. I kept on going straight through the opening prayer and song. Institute didn't have much of an effect on my concentration. Until the teacher started talking. I have no clue what this guy does for a living, his name, or really anything else about him. Except that he teaches a pretty good lesson. I was surprised how non-gospel oriented it was. There were a few scriptures read, but the whole lesson was pretty much based on good ways to lead people and how different strategies would be better for certain situations than other. The whole experience was much better than I anticipated and it was topped off with two tables covered in after-lesson treats.

We met up with our new contact after our lessons, Ryan Fell, and we were introduced to person after person. He's a really sociable guy. He really is genuine and wanted us to have a great time while we were in his city. We were informed by nearly every person we met that they were going to take a trip down to Byron Bay that weekend and that we just had to accompany them. Of course we're not going to turn down a road trip, even if we were there the prior weekend. Experiences are always different when you're with those who know that they're doing. Our social gathering slowly migrated to the car park where it was decided that we were going to meet back up at South Bank, a nice area in downtown Brisbane that has restaurants, a man-made beach, and, well, nobody watching that beach. The night was great. Once we finally found a parking spot we promptly strolled over to the pseudo beach and stripped down to whatever was comfortable. All the guys ended up in just boxers, and the girls in either big shirts or shorts and tanks or whatever they could find. Sadly, no skivvies for the girls. We all played freeze tag, zoo animals, retarded lion, and had a cartwheel contest. Freeze tag is classic. Zoo animals is a game where as soon as you say 'Go' everyone starts acting like a zoo animal until you've had enough. It sounds really mature, I know. I, in my infinite wisdom, chose to be a shark. It was only after that I was told sharks aren't in zoos. I can remember we had a shark, a hippo, a gorilla, an ape, and an elephant. We looked great. Retarded lion is basically a game that I can't explain, because it will take the fun out of it. We'll play it sometime when I get home =). It ended up with all of us soaking wet with no towels and wet clothes. This group was amazing.

We packed up our things at the Morales' household the next morning and transferred over to the Fell's house with the help of Ryan "Roo" Fell. Their house was about 10-15 minutes away from our current location, but still a ways away from the city. So I thought the last place we were at was nice, but this was just amazing. They had a 46' LCD TV and a PS3 along with a couple of external hard drives chock-full with great movies and shows. Pair this with an overflowing fridge, freezer, and pantry, and you're set. They also had a nice pool in their back yard. The only thing missing, really, was the people. The only one that we really saw those first few days was Roo. His parents and siblings were constantly on the move and were rarely seen in the household. To be honest I kind of enjoyed the temporary solitude. The next few days were constituted of excess media exposure, a few trips into the city with friends, and lots of sleep. It was great to recharge.

The day had finally come. Destination: Byron Bay! Since there were so many people headed down there, people were leaving at different times and we all just figured it would work out in the end. Sure enough, it did. We were almost the last to arrive in the car park to the beach, and were greeted by a dozen or so friends. The night was still young so the crew split; some went out on the town, while others stayed behind and prepped the 'campsite.' Marissa and I were in the latter group; we aren't really ones for partying. Neither of us had ever spent the night on the beach before so we weren't exactly sure what we were supposed to be doing. Luckily, the other people we were with were seasoned vets. They had brought a tarp to lay down and extra sleeping bags for those that were without (us). Once the giant tarp was secured, the second order of business was to get a fire started. There were a few signs warning us that campfires on the beach are illegal, but those were the same signs that said camping was illegal. All or nothing, I guess. Gathering the sticks wasn't a problem, but the wind was. Marissa and I had to dig a little ditch and fill it with kindling in an attempt to get the fire started. It worked beautifully. Within 15 minutes we had a full-on blaze on the beach and the blustering gales couldn't best our flames. Smalltalk by the fire was a nice way to cap off the night before we fell asleep underneath the stars. I've had trouble sleeping this whole trip. It isn't often that I am able to sleep through the whole night without waking up once. This inability to sleep restfully ended up being alright on this occasion. Every time I opened my eyes I was rewarded with the endless expanse of space coupled with the not too distant crashing of the Pacific. Put it on your bucket lists, people. It doesn't have to be Byron, necessarily, just a beach far far away from a big city. The absence of light, and other, pollution made the cosmos infinitely more vivid.

The thing about bucket lists is sometimes you can plan it so you can tick off more than one goal at a time. Waking up on the beach to a beautiful sunrise should also make it on there. Check and check. The fire was still going and everyone was awake and talking by around 5 in the morning. I can't remember the last time that's ever happened to me. I usually curse anyone who wakes my up that early, but cursing the sun seems a little childish, and honestly it was quite refreshing. A short stroll along the coastline was just the ticket to put me in a good mood the entire day. The day consisted of more than a handful of hours on the beach, and mobbing through the small town when the group got hungry. One thing that I LOVED while we were on the beach was that I played my first game of cricket and got a good introduction to the rules and game-play. I am actually horrible at cricket, but I still enjoyed messing around with the guys. By this point there were nearly 20 of us. Shopping, eating, tanning, talking until the sun went down.

Once it got dark it was time to prepare for the night ahead. Everyone got as presentable as possible and headed back into town once more. The guys all wanted to watch 'The Game' at a bar and I was quite keen as well. I assumed Rugby, and I was right. The match was Australia v. New Zealand. I had yet to watch a full match and was excited to see it run its course with the supplemented comments from my knowledgeable new friends. The cheers echoed around the room any time points were scored for either team. I assumed the crowd would be overwhelmingly lopsided towards rooting for the home team, but apparently plenty of Kiwis call Australia home. It was a close game and NZ ended up winning. I didn't really care either way; I was happy to finally understand what was going on and to see the game played at its highest level. The girls had made themselves very scarce through the whole match, but they somehow materialized as soon as it was over, completely ready to go out to the clubs and party the night away.

I've only been out a few times since I've been here and I figured that night was as good as any other to go out again. These people all knew how to have a good time and I wasn't about to stay at the beach two nights in a row. By this point Marissa had left our group and was hanging out with a friend she had made earlier in the week at institute, Blake. She can tell you about her adventures with him later, if she wishes. Our posse slowly made it down the main street and shortly I was introduced to the club they frequent when in town...I really can't remember how it's spelled but it was something similar to Coocamunga? Anyway, we got in after a short wait in line and from the second we walked down those stairs everyone was dancing. I usually feel like an idiot when I dance, and I'm sure I'm not alone, but it was chill. Everyone was just having some good clean fun for a few carefree hours. The group finally dragged themselves out of the music and into the world for one more trip to our sandy beds. We chose a different beach the second night but the crew split in half: those who were worried about rain and those who weren't. I wasn't. Those who were worried stayed and slept in cars. I just threw down a sleeping bag and passed out under the stars again.

The beach we ended up at is oriented differently than the first one, so the sunrise didn't wake anybody up that morning. We all got to sleep in until around 9 and took our time getting ready prior to heading into town once more for a quick breakfast before the two-hour drive back to Brissy.

The next few days we saw a lot more of the Fell family and were introduced to a fantastic TV show: Community. We watched about 24 episodes...nearly the whole first season. We also watched too many movies. We just had to burn a few days before we could head up to the Sunshine Coast, where our next house was. The people there had some scheduling conflicts, so we just had to wait. The short stint at the Fell house with Roo and his family came and went, and we were soon on a train headed north.

A few hours later and we stepped off the car only to be immediately greeted by the friendly face of Liz & Hannah Atkinson, along with their friend, Laura. The drive to their house was pretty quick and, just like every other city in Australia so far, beautiful. Their quaint, country home is nestled about 100 meters from the road in the lush scenery of this coastal town. The family owns a good portion of land and they all live on it. There are six houses here I think...each just a short drive from one another. Since we've been here, we've visited the nearest beach, listened to a rain storm every night, and watched about 20 episodes of the office. We also watched Toy Story 3 last night at a friend's friend's house.

We are planning on making one more trip north before we start our ascension back down to Sydney and beyond. Tomorrow morning we will catch a ride with some friendly LDS members up to Bundaberg and hopefully make it up to the itty bitty town of 'Town of 1770' for some snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. Hopefully we'll have enough motivation to keep writing on here and keep you all updated. Once again, sorry about the serious lapse.


-Baxter

PS. I apologize that this post isn't as compelling, detailed, and as good of a read as previous posts. My brain has just been a little bit broken lately and I've been having a really hard time writing even in my journal. I don't know what the deal is...

Such a hippie.

So this weekend, we took a road trip back down to Byron Bay, the hippie capital of Australia. This time, we were with a big group though.And it was so much fun. To be honest, we didn't actually DO that much. But we made a fire on the beach, and then slept there. That means we fell asleep to stars and crashing waves, and woke up to the sunrise over the ocean. We spent the next day on the beach. We tanned, swam, and played some beach cricket. It was a lot of fun, and these pictures don't really capture how beautiful the morning was.

 

The fire Robert and I build on the beach.

 

I should be an Eagle Scout.

 

The sun, just coming up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Build for the beach.

Jumpin Outta Plains.

Last time you heard from us, we were staying in Coffs Harbour. We've since moved significantly north, and had some legendary adventures. Let's share some with you.

Byron Bay: This town has more hippies than I've ever seen in my life. Dreadlocks are encouraged and shoes are highly optional. We stayed just a block from the beach, and had a good time. It's an absolutely beautiful place. It's tropical, and there's a coastal rain forest lining the ocean. 

But what, may you ask, did we actually do?

Naturally, we jumped out of an airplane.

That's right. We went skydiving. It was absolutely incredible.

We got picked up in a limo from our hostel. It was a pretty ghetto limo, but a limo nonetheless. There were six of us doing the jump today. Two of the girls were from Korea, and didn't talk. The other two girls were from Melbourne, and they were a riot. You know those people that just bring out the fun, silly side of everyone? That was these girls. We had a lot of fun. They could only take two of us at a time in the plane, and Robert and I were last. So when our new friends went, we took pictures for them. They returned the favor when we jumped, thus documenting the excursion.

So the plane was obviously very small. You couldn't have fit anyone else in there besides our quartet of daredevils. The jumps were tandem, and each of our partners had jumped thousands of times before. It was comforting to know that my life was in the hands of someone who does this regularly. Or maybe it should have made me worry to think that someone is crazy enough to do this for a job, and I was trusting him with my life. But he was a nice guy, and I actually had to sit on his lap once we got connected.

Down on the ground, it was overcast. I was bummed, because I thought it meant our descent wouldn't be as epic. But little did I know that the clouds were hovering around 4,000 ft, and we were jumping 10,000 feet ABOVE that. Once we got up there, it was blue skies as far as you could see. I literally couldn't tell where the sky ended and the ocean began. It was an incredible view, crouched in the back of this tiny aircraft. To paraphrase Derek Zoolander, it should have been at least....three times that size!

So after climbing into the blue for about 15 minutes, it was time to go. These guys don't waste time, either. The door flew open, and I think the wind would have knocked me out if I hadn't jumped willingly.

Robert went first. I wanted to watch him fall, and I wanted to watch him either land or crash and die. Luckily, the first was the case. Here's how it went down: the student is in front, so you have to stick your legs out of the plane. This was the scariest part, to see your legs dangling outside of a plane going that fast and that high. It was exhilarating though. Then, you cross your arms over your chest, and lay your head back. Then, you are at the mercy of the expert; he does all the work. He jumps, and you go with him! When I saw Robert go, it freaked me out. He just dropped, like it was hot. Swoosh, gone. We went a few seconds later, but he was already way below us.

The craziest thing is that you don't feel like you're falling. It just feels super windy. I was expecting that feeling like you get on a roller coaster for 14,000 feet, but it's nothing like that. You're flying, and you can see for miles. It may be more expensive to do this in Aus, but you can't beat this view. We jumped over the ocean, and we could see golden beaches for miles in either direction. The water and sky were so blue, the beaches were beautiful, and everything past that was more verdant than exists in Utah. It was breathtaking. We spun around a little, and had some fun. Somehow on the way down, I lost a contact. Totally worth it.

I also expected the parachute to hurt a little bit, and jerk a lot more. But it didn't at all. All of a sudden, we just weren't going as fast. He let me steer, and taught me how to do the death spiral. It was so incredible. I really can't explain it. But I now understand why people get addicted to that feeling. I now have this underlying urge to fling myself from a plane.

After we got back into town, we got gelato to celebrate. Or course.

Now we're in Brisbane, but I'm going to make Robert blog about it. I'll leave you with documentation of our legendary jump, though. Stay tuned for some legendary adventures in Brisbane.

Locked and loaded.

Robert, with his tandem partner. He's jumped over 7,000 times. He was in good hands.

Are you ready to jump from a plane? Because I was born ready.

See those dots? Marissa has the orange chute, Robert's in blue.

Getting ready to land.

Robert, touching down.

Marissa, finishing her descent.

Thanks for jumping out of a plane with me. I love you.

We all did it. Good job, gang.

Time to drop some knowledge.

So I was just about to hop into bed tonight when I had an epiphany. I realized that everybody reading this blog doesn't know me. This realization of my egocentricity just dawned on me from nowhere. I figure half of the people that read our posts are friends of Marissa whom I have never met, or have only associated with in passing. So, in an attempt to introduce myself a bit more thoroughly...



Hi! My name is Robert. Here are some fun facts about me:

• I am in no way a morning person.
• I'm an atheist.
• If I can wear less clothes and get away with it, I will.
• When people can't spell, or blatantly misspell, really basic words it bothers me, e.g., your/you're.
• I've attempted a few semesters at Salt Lake Community College in the past, but I'm not currently enrolled anywhere.
• My most recent job was at Jimmy John's. I was there for a little over a year.
• It's not as much that I'm stuck up as it is that I'm shy. And I am much more shy than I should be.
• I've only had one girlfriend.
• In the past, some have described me as a "player."
• I have an affinity for body modification, but have never, aside from, arguably, body building, modified myself.
• I have played countless rounds of disc golf these past two summers. Great sport.
• You'll have a hard time "Getting my goat."
• Rock Band (drums/vocals), Halo 3, and CoD MW2 are my games of choice. I'm pretty good.
• I don't have much of an imagination.
• For how good I am at video games I'm surprisingly bad at drawing, painting, and handwriting. The fine motor skills apparently don't transfer over.
• I have a poor memory for conversations.
• I have a filthy mouth around some, but clean my act up for most.
• I don't have a favorite food, band, colour, movie, friend, car, or type of girl.
• I've never been in a fight. 
• If I say I will do something or be somewhere, I will. But you'll have a hard time getting me to commit.
• This past summer I was a gym rat.
• I can't scream.
• I'm agile and athletic, but not flexible.
• I'm extremely unapologetic.
• I, like many males, don't talk about emotions much.
• I haven't cried in over 4 years.
• Needles puncturing my skin scares me to no end.
• I used to have somewhat of a temper, but now I am extremely laid back.
• I'm not one known for partying. I've never smoked and rarely drink.
• I'm not sure how long I'm going to stay in Australia, and I honestly don't know where I'm going to live when I come back to the states.

So, obviously, there is much more to me than this, but I figure 30 things is a good start in getting to know me a little better. I'm sorry if you're here searching for a great new story, but honestly we've been quite boring these past few days and, in my opinion, haven't done anything blog-worthy. This may have been a lame idea, but it's better than nothing. If you have any more fun little facts that you would like to share, please comment, as I'm sure I've left out a lot.  =)



So. To be fair to all those that already knew all of these things about me, I am going to write down a quick template for Marissa to continue, when she gets some time, so you can learn a little more about her.




Hey Robert's friends! I know most of you only in name, and haven't had real conversation with many, as I've scarcely been seen in Salt Lake these past two years. Since Robert compiled such a great list, I will try my best to do the same. Here goes nothing!!!

• I'm sort of an old lady. I knit, I crochet, I read, and my feet are always cold. And don't get my started on my wardrobe. Just accept it. Let it be.
• Music is a really big part of my life. I play the violin and the piano, and I'm a complete music junkie.
• I'm a vocabulary and grammar snob.
• School is the only thing I'm good at in life.
• I do not like to wear make-up. My maximum make-up is the equivalent of most girls make-up minimum.
• I do, however, love to wear dresses. Any day that is nice outside, I will be in anything but jeans.
• I really love reading. But I don't enjoy sci-fi, fantasy, romance, or mystery as much as I enjoy historical fiction, and the classics. My favorite author is Steinbeck.
• I'm not a very good driver, expecially in reverse. I can't drive a stick.
• I'm a country girl. I grew up in the city, but I yearn for mountains and open spaces. I yearn to be surrounded by beauty. The smell of hay and cows makes me feel at home.
• I love to cook. I spent last summer (May-September) in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They actually paid me to cook for about 35 people every day. It was the best job I've ever had. I'd love to go to culinary school.
• I currently have 2 majors: Nutrition Science (Pre-Med) and Exercise Science (Pre-Physical Therapy). Nutrition and exercise are two things I'm passionate about, so studying the sciences behind them is an obvious direction to take in my life.
• I'm highly religious. I'm a devout Mormon, and plan on spending 18 months of my life serving my God when I turn 21.
• I love the outdoors. I love hiking, trail running, camping, snowboarding, etc. The next thing I want to get into is rock climbing.
• I'm really hard to embarass or offend. I dare you to try and make me feel uncomfortable.
• I'm probably too trusting. I've never had anything really bad happen to me.
• I've been told I'm overly optimistic and happy. I smile and laugh a lot.
• I'm not very good at staying up late at all. It's usually not even an option; I will just fall asleep doing anything if it gets late enough.
• It took me a really long time to catch onto snowboarding, and I'm even worse at surfing.
• I really want to be a mother some day, but the thought of being responsible for children terrifies me. It's the hardest job in the world, but anyone can get it.
• I have very high standards for myself. I do not: smoke, drink, have sex, swear, watch R rated movies, drink coffee/tea/anything carbonated, dye my hair, etc. I'm a social oddity, according to Robert.
• I'm way out of the loop when it comes to popular culture. I don't ever see movies or listen to the radio.
• I come from a large family, and I'm very grateful for that.
• I enjoy public speaking.
• I love the feeling you get in your stomach when you go on a roller coaster or jump off a cliff. I went skydiving for the first time yesterday.
• I prefer the cold. I love the snow. The heat makes me lethargic. I love everything about the winter.
• I'd pick the mountains over the beach any day.
• I'm very puctual. I'm never late.
• I usually eat very healthily. I don't usually like sweets or fast food.
• I think I've kissed too many boys.
• I don't like living out of a suitcase.

In the Wee Hours of the Afternoon

Marissa makes the most of her mornings. Robert requested to rest...Ris relinquished. So she sought suggestions to satiate and satisfy such a span. He concocted a creative contrivance. He present his plan, with poise and pluck: blogging brings bliss, so bless our benefactors with a briefing of our bane! Although our adventures are arid, alliterations affirm acumen. Only orate in orthmetry and odes. A limerick will liven our legend.
Such stipulations set he, so such sport ensued:

There were two twins, trav'ling Australia.
Thy've seen flowers, like the azalea.
In Coff's Harbour to
See a kangaroo
And such other paraphernalia.

One sunny day, they went to the beach;
Golden sand, as far as sight could reach.
The tide was now low,
So swimming they go.
Their own way with the waves they had each.

In the waves, being tossed to and fro,
How high the tide was, they did not know.
The shore was behind,
The tide out of mind.
But the swells had now begun to grow.

Back on shore in the warmth of the sand,
In when to leave, the tide had a hand.
The water rose fast,
Our line it had passed.
The sea I wanted to reprimand.

Our towels and bags were jeopardized,
Still out at sea, he is terrorized.
Robert now scrambles,
To our place in shambles:
Judgement was now being exercised.

Marissa, throwing, trying to save.
Before there appeared another wave!
The camera was down,
The phone could have drowned.
But none was lost,  because she was brave.

So now you can see, our time had come.
Too long at the beach can make you dumb.
"Crisis averted,"
We both asserted.
Thus is the hard life of the beach bum.

So you see, such stories are stirring when set  in stanza. With effort, every exposition is exciting. I pray you percieve the planned point, and my parody and perversion of prose doesn't put you away privily to our postings. Keep coming, and correlate your conjectures as comments. We are alive and active, and additional adventures of Australia await the avid admirer.

(PS. It's now nearly noon. Nevertheless, Robert is naturally still napping.)

For your aesthetic pleasure.

We've been in Coffs Harbour for awhile now, and we're staying another few days. And we really aren't that exciting. We're just taking advantage of having a place to stay for free, and relaxing. We've been doing a lot of reading. It's been really nice. But since I don't really have anything excited to tell you, I'll share some pictures of the beauty we've been surrounded with for the last few weeks so you can live vicariously through us. If anyone wants  to share a picture of the snow, feel free.

This is in Newcastle. We're walking on what's called the breakwater. It stretches out into the water, giving an excellent view of the beach, city, and lighthouse.

This is Newcastle again. We climbed on top of this old building on top of a hill. This does a  good job at capturing the color of the water, and the feel of the town. It was lovely.

This one is for you, Molly. Just look at that big blue ocean. (Newcastle still.)

Beautiful sky, beautiful water, green grass, perfect weather. This is typical Newcastle.

Again, typical Newcastle. You can see why we stayed here for two weeks.

 This was the view from our hostel window in Newcastle. We walked outside to this every day.

This is the main beach in Port Macquarie. It was always beautiful. There are 9 beaches to choose from in town. The water and the sky compete for vibrancy of blue, and I'm not sure who wins. This one captures the contribution of the sky. I think it was winning that day.

Coffs  Harbour. If Port Macquarie knew how beautiful this place was, it would give up.

I think I love it so much because it has mountains and ocean. No matter which way you look, it's beautiful.

Underside of the jetty. Coffs Harbour still.

Topside of the jetty. We saw dolphins here. that island behind us is called Mutton Bird Island, which we also climbed. The view is always just as beautiful, no matter where you go.

They have flowers this pretty everywhere, all year round.

These flowers have the best view in the house.

The top of Mutton Bird Island, as aforementioned.

Literally the back yard of the house we're staying at. It's pretty much a rain forest.

This is the beach closest to where we're staying. It's about a two minute walk away, but this was taken from the headland next to it. It's breathtaking.

So there you go. This is what we've been seeing for the last 5 weeks. It's beautiful on the coast here. There are always vibrant colours and odd looking plants. There is such a diversity in the flora, and the fauna, that it impresses me every day.

Enjoy!