So the last few posts have been more thoughtful, and I guess we like to pretend we're profound. But we haven't actually told you what we've been DOING. So in case you want to know, I'll fill you in on the nitty gritties of where we've been, and what we've been doing with our precious time.
Last time you heard from us, we had had an awful experience in Bundaberg, where we didn't get to go snorkeling. We're a long way from there now.
After that ordeal, we spend another week on the Sunshine Coast with the Inglis family. I absolutely love these people. They were wonderful. Mandy and Bruce, the parents, were so kind to let two strangers sleep in their living room and eat their food, when they had never even met us. They had three kids: Matt (21, just got home from a mission), Christian (19, just about to leave on a mission), and Madeline (12, and such a sweetheart). The two brothers were a riot. They're about as different as Robert and I, but I thought they were both great. They were both very attractive, too. That's always a plus. Staying in a house with nice people and cute boys...twist my arm...
We had a really good time at their house. We played games, went to the beach, watched movies, climbed a "mountain" (it literally took us 20 minutes to get to the top; that is not a mountain), and even had a Christmas sing along around the dinner table with the world champion ukelele player (a missionary serving in the area). One of my favorite activities was visiting the Eumundi markets, and seeing all the fun crafts, good food, and hippies. I don't have a single bad thing to say about this family. They were absolutely wonderful.
That Sunday, we headed to Brissy for a fireside. It was a little over an hour away. We took all our luggage along, planning to find somewhere to stay AT the event. It seemed risky, but we've done worse. The fireside was great, and we met some fun people. Every time we meet new people and we tell them our plans, they try to convince Robert to go to Convention over New Years. You'll have to hear about that from him, and stay tuned to see if he actually goes. We saw most of the people we met last time we were in town, and a lot of the people that went on the Byron road trip. It was enjoyable. These YSA gatherings are epic. People come from hours around, and there is always food. Afterwards, they stay and mingle for literally hours. I've never seen a social gathering like it. I guess when YSA are so spread out, things like this are a treat. Growing up in Utah spoiled me, big time.
So, we ended up staying with the Inglis's daughter, Shayla, and her husband Cameron. That was our back-up plan if we didn't find anyone at the fireside, and it turned out being our best option. They were lovely people, with the cutest baby. They were so nice to let us stay there on such short notice.
The next day, we actually had a plan. My cousin, Jesica, is married to a man named Tom Gilbert. His sister, Carolyn, lives in Brisbane. We had talked to her before we even came to Australia about staying with her, and it was finally coming to pass. They had room for us Monday and Tuesday nights, so it was time to head over that way. We were planning on just taking a bus or a train, but Shayla was willing to drive us all the way across town to our new accommodation. It was quite a drive, and she can't even know how much we appreciate it. When people do little things like that for us, it makes a world of difference. After all the traveling and moving around we've done, having something be that easy and convenient is just a breath of fresh air.
So we had 2 more days in Brissy. We got to the Adams (Carolyn and Brian) Monday afternoon, and we were flying out on Wednesday morning. Without our time, we went to the library, and the Botanic Gardens. I went to institute (luckily, their basement is rented out to YSA boys, so I even got a ride!) on Tuesday night. She is THE best cook. We've stayed with a lot of excellent women, but I have to say that she's been the best cook so far (but also in the running are Tracy Richards and Deeann Vowels). I looked forward to dinner each night. We had a lovely family home evening with their family, and helped decorate their little Christmas tree. It was a lot of fun. They have 3 small children, all well behaved and adorable. The eldest, Celia, wanted to be best friends with us. We watched some shows with her, read some books, and let her sit on our laps. She was a sweetheart.
So it was finally time to move on. We actually missed our flight to Sydney, and had to pay $50 to get on the next flight, which was just ironic because that was how much we had saved by booking that specific flight. Oh well. I'm not going to get into the antics of that day, because it was the worst. Ever. After missing our flight, it proceeded to rain all day. I lost my purse (eventually got it back), and we got lost trying to get to our next house. It should have only taken a few hours to fly, catch a train, and walk a little bit. It took us about 13 hours in the end. I was more than ready for that day to be over.
When we finally reached our destination, we were pleasantly surprised with a very warm, welcoming family. Let me explain how we got here.
Back in Newcastle, we spent a night with the Vowels. Dee told us that she had a sister in the Blue Mountains. Since we loved the Vowels so much, we were more than okay with the thought of spending time with people like them. So a few weeks later, we took them up on the offer, and it was a wonderful experience. All the grief we experience actually getting to their house was totally worth it. We loved it there.
Tracy and Craig Richards live in Penrith, over an hour outside of Sydney (but still technically a part of it), near the outskirts of the Blue Mountains. It was a great location. We didn't do much that night because we were so exhausted, but we had plans for the next day. We booked spots on a day tour into the Blue Mountains. I was so excited. I love the outdoors; I love the mountains.
The next morning, after we both slept like rocks, it was time for our tour. After Craig dropped the kids off at school, he took us to the train station where we were told to meet our tour. Long story short, there was a lack of communication, and we missed our tour. Or should I say that our tour missed us. Again, I won't go into all that grief, and how obnoxious they were to deal with. I was irate. But we ended up back at their house, and went and saw the shops in town. It wasn't the most exciting day, but we still had fun, and it was nice to relax.
After much hullabaloo, the next day we actually got to go on the tour. We'll post about this later, with pictures. It was a fun day.
That night, I took a train into Sydney for a date. My friend from school, Rhett Keaton, kindly connected me with some of his mission buddies, and this was another one of them. If you want to hear more about this, you'll have to talk to me. It was a really fun date, and I enjoyed myself much more than I was expecting to on a blind date with a boy 1 month off his mission. But it was great, and I'm really glad I went. I had to shower and get ready and get on a train in less than a half hour, but I totally did it, because I'm professional like that. That's why they pay me the big bucks.
Saturday, we went with the Richards to cut down their Christmas tree. Most people in Australia aren't very festive, so it was nice to be with a family that enjoys the holidays as much as we do. People here don't generally even decorate, yet alone get a real tree. It was fun, and the trees here are way different. The branches go up instead of just out, so I don't really know how they put ornaments on. Unfortunately, we didn't stay long enough to see them try. But because of all the rain they've had, the tree was so green that it looked fake. It was absolutely beautiful just sitting in the living room, without decorations.
That night, it was time to do some baking. Jade, their 11 year old daughter, enjoys baking. For the first time, it was actually someone else instigating the adventure in the kitchen. I had already made the family cookies and banana cake, so I wanted to try something new. I was feeling adventurous, so I wanted to make a pavlova.
Now before I came to Oz, I had never even heard of a pav. At this point, I still hadn't tried one, but I'd heard how difficult they are to make. I felt up to the challenge. A pavlova is like a meringue that you bake, and eat like cake with fruit and cream. We got one from the store, in case mine failed, which I was expecting it to. Jade didn't think I could do it either. None of us were expecting it to come out, but it was worth a shot. A few soft peaks, and an hour in the oven later, it came out nice and crispy on the outside, and soft and airy on the inside. My pav had expanded quite a bit in the oven, so it didn't look as nice at the store bought one, but it tasted perfect. The outside had a great crunch, and the inside melted in our mouth. I wasn't really sure what it was supposed to turn out like, but I was assured by several people that I had nailed it. Now I'm afraid to try again in case it falls... And I'm sure it won't work back home at such an altitude, but I'm sure going to try. If you're willing to be a taste tester, let me know. I need people who are honest, but mostly people who are hungry.
Church the next day was great. I love the saints in Australia. I was recruited to sing in the ward choir in sacrament meeting, as well as a small choir in relief society. I'm willing to serve in any capacity I'm needed, and I've been surprised how often I've been asked to do so. They can't give me a calling, but they can sure give me an assignment. I got invited to a YSA gathering that evening, and told them I'd bring my brother, assuming he'd be willing to spend time with some cute girls our age. But even if he didn't want to go, I still would. They seemed like a great group, with 2 cute boys. Again, twist my arm...
Luckily, he was willing to go after we assured him that there would be cute girls. You can ask him about it, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't disappointed. We had a good time talking and playing some silly games. They had a lot of questions about our travels, and about the states. I felt cool, I won't lie. It was like we were a novelty to them, the mysterious foreigners. One boy, Matt Duffus, said that he now wanted to go backpack in the states. So just to warn my friends and family back home, I might be sending him your way if he comes out and needs places to stay. If you live somewhere cool, you'll probably hear from him in the next year or so. After all the help we've gotten out here, I'll be doing the same for anyone that comes my way. This was also the night that I learned to drive a stick on the other side of the car...
The next day, we were planning on leaving in the afternoon, but slept significantly later than expected. I didn't even wake up until 10, which is abnormally late for me. So we decided to hang out with one of the boys we'd met the night before, and catch the evening train. So we met up with Matt, and walked around town. He even bought us food. There's something about Australians that just makes them want to take care of visitors. It's great. We had fun, and I'm pretty sure Robert is going to stay at his house after I leave. Hopefully, we'll see him doing what we're doing someday. He seemed more than keen on the idea of traveling halfway around the world for awhile, and I'd encourage anyone to do it.
So our time in the Blue Mountains had come to a close. I donned my traveling shirt, and we caught another train. We got to Canberra pretty late that night, but the couple we're staying with didn't seem to upset about picking us up late.
So now we're in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The people we're staying with are the nicest. They're a very young couple from the States, and he's going to grad school here. I feel like we're going to have a lot of wonderful things to say about them, but we'll save that for another post.
Now you're all caught up. I come home in 3 days, and I can hardly believe it. Expect to hear from me a few more times before that, because I still have things to say.
Cheers~
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