Kelley Comes To Visit! (Week 1 - Sydney/Blue Mountains)

I finally had a familiar face come visit me in Australia. One of my old softball teammates from UCA decided to take a vacation and come hang out with me for two whole weeks! It was the best vacation, from my already vacation :)

Day 1 (December 30): Kelley’s plane landed in Sydney at 10am. I worked the night before in Wyong  (an hour away from the airport) and didn’t get off ‘til 9am, so I was a bit late picking her up. I would’ve been on time had I not taken two wrong turns on the way…oops! Once I found Kelley, we left the airport and headed to a nearby suburb in Pott’s Point to check into the hostel we’d be staying at for the next four nights. Upon arrival we found out that a mistake had been made and we were put in separate rooms. Fortunately they said they could put us in the same rooms the following night. I don’t know if you’ve ever stayed in a hostel, but this was my first time; it was an eight-bed, co-ed room, with a community toilet and shower. Oh, and the only fan in the room happen to be broken. It was cool, but it was dirty; there’s no room service in hostels. Haha.

Prior to Kelley arriving I had just finished the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I can’t tell you how many times I referenced this book over the next two weeks with Kelley, but when I was in the hostel meeting some of the people who were backpacking across Australia I couldn’t help but want to ask them all these questions about their adventures (while pretending I was an expert, because I just read this book).  I was such a “poser” though, because I’m sure they could tell that I wasn’t actually backpacking by all the cute clothes I wore each day…

            After we checked in we headed off to Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s “most iconic beaches.” I personally hate this beach because it’s always packed with tourists, and today wasn’t any different…in fact, it was worse because it was New Year’s. It took us an hour ‘n a half just to find a car park, which we had to pay for (as you do everywhere in Sydney), and by the time we walked to the beach and found a decent spot, it was basically time to go pay the meter again. I think we only stayed at the beach for an hour after paying the meter twice. Paying for parking over the next week would not have been ideal. At the end of the day we decided to park my car on a random side street near Bondi Junction, for free, and buy an unlimited train, bus, ferry, and light rail pass to use for the next seven days. It was the best $63 I have ever spent!

Day 2 (December 31): It’s New Year’s Eve. Kelley and I woke up around 8am to go find a spot to watch the New Year’s fireworks. Yesterday we got some advice about “the best” vantage points where we would be able to see both the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. We decided to check out two different spots, one with a capacity of 13,000 and the other with a capacity of 3,000. Both were in the Botanical Gardens, too, about a thirty-minute walk from the hostel we were staying in.

The first spot we walked to opened at 10am, but by the time we had gotten there it already had thousands of people lined up in long winding lines just waiting for the gates to open.  Kelley and I didn’t want none of that, so we decided to try our second option. This one only had about one hundred to two hundred people lined up waiting, so we figured it wouldn’t be too long before the gates opened and we could find a decent spot to set up camp. Once the gates opened it only took about twenty minutes to go through security and find a good spot to sit. We picked a shaded spot, since it was only 10am, about ninety-five degrees, and we still had THIRTEEN HOURS ‘til the fireworks. The shade didn’t last long, but fortunately I had randomly packed an umbrella just in case (this was my first ever time to use an umbrella to protect me from the shade…I love the sun, and getting tan, but lemme tell ya, it. was. hot).

There were a few other festivities going on throughout the evening; these started around 6pm: tugboat spray wars, Australian anthem, family fireworks (which we couldn’t see at all, so we thought we had wasted ten hours of our lives and were going to miss the best fireworks so ever), LED shows, sailboats lit up in lights, etc. Most of these we couldn’t see without getting up, so Kelley and I just hung out talking, alternating turns on taking walks to feel even the slightest breeze. There were clear lines drawn in the grass so that walkways could be kept clear, security was strict too, you could not stand in these walkways during any of the festivities. However, just like at any concert, once the show starts, everyone rushes to the front. So obviously, once the midnight fireworks were set to begin, Kelley and I made our way to the front and had THE BEST VIEW of the Harbour Bridge to our left, and the Opera House to our right! 

 

Day 3 (January 1): We spent the day with Kelley’s family friend Scott, and his daughter. We rode the ferry to Manly, and walked along the beach, and went for a little hike along the coastline. We planned to eat dinner at a nearby pub, and watch the ball drop in New York (4pm Sydney time), but nobody was advertising anything but sports on their TV. We ate dinner, and celebrated anyway…and we celebrated again when it was midnight in Chicago, IL (where Scott and his daughter are from), Amarillo, TX (where I’m from), and Cupertino, CA (where Kelley’s from). Basically we celebrated the New Year three different times; there are just so many time zones!

After spending time at Manly Beach we all rode the ferry back to Sydney, explored the harbour area for a bit, went back to Scott’s hotel for a snack and a drink, and then took a walk across the Harbour Bridge. I bought myself a Jawbone UP band for Christmas (which tracks things like steps, calories burned, sleep, etc.) and when I synced it to my phone to see how many steps I had taken that day, it showed just over 30,000 steps! Kelley and I had walked the equivalent of a half marathon! And our feet could tell.

Day 4 (January 2): One of Kelley’s goals while in Australia was to get a picture with a koala. So today we went to Toronga Zoo, the biggest zoo in Sydney (I think). She bought a ticket to get a picture with Charlie the koala, but that wasn’t until 1:30pm. We spent approximately three hours walking around, looking at all the different animals. And obviously, there were heaps of different kinds: kangaroos, koalas, elephants, giraffes, zebras, reptiles, spiders, lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my! There was everything you could imagine! By the time it was our turn to take a picture with Charlie, it was so hot, we were so tired, and had walked so much; we were just ready to go eat and sit still for the rest of the day. So we opted to go back to Pott’s Point and bar hop around the area until bedtime.

Day 5 (January 3): Today was filled with even more walking. Kelley and I spent the day exploring the nearby suburbs of Glebe and Newtown (apparently these were more like 

"college towns" with the University of Sydney being just around the corner. We walked to the Glebe markets, only getting lost/turned around twice on the way. While scanning through the markets I found myself a black felt hat (which is all the rage now), and Kelley bought a couple of headbands. After the markets we headed back towards Darlinghurst. One of our little obsessions over the week was finding random graffiti on the streets, well, walls of Sydney. It's amazing the talent people have! 

Our final adventure on the day was all about relaxation, and air conditioning (since we hadn't had any up to this point). We popped in a cinema to watch the movie Imitation Game. It. was. fantastic. And also one of the only movies Kelley hadn't seen since everything in the Aussie cinemas has already been out for at least a month in American cinemas...I highly recommend this movie though!

Day 6 (January 4): We woke up at 9:30am, checked out of the hostel at 10am, and were on the train headed to the Blue Mountains by 10:30am. It was a three-hour train ride to the Blackheath (the suburb our hotel was in), and fortunately since we got on at Pott’s Point there were plenty of open seats, which wasn’t the case when the train stopped to pick everyone else up at the more popular junctions (not many people got to sit down the whole ride like we did). Kelley and I were very lucky, as were our feet. Surprisingly nobody got upset that our luggage was taking up two perfectly good seats; it literally couldn't fit anywhere else.

I sat and read Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Denham on the way there. Kelley slept for most of the first half. We arrived in Blackheath around 2:15pm. Our hotel was only about a hundred yards from the train station (which we were ecstatic about because we didn’t have to lug our heavy luggage very far). We checked in, and then decided to see what the town had to offer. We stopped for lunch first, at a place called Pancakes on the Mountain. I had salted caramel pecan pancakes (more like dessert really) and they. were. delicious. We walked in a couple shops and spoke to some locals about what we should do with the rest of our day. One shop owner said Blackheath had the best scenic views around, if we didn’t mind walking.  The place we were hiking to was called Pulpit’s Rock, and it was over five kilometers away!

It had started to get cloudy, so Kelley and I were expecting some rain (at least on the way back), but we didn’t mind because we had nothing better to do. I think it took us almost two hours to walk there, and by the time we were walking up to the lookout it started to sprinkle and we could see lightning in the distance. It’s funny because, as we were walking to the lookout I noticed two other cars there to see the views; I was secretly hoping they would offer us a ride back into town. But as we got near the people, I did the math and noticed that both cars would be full and wouldn’t have room for two more. Bummer.

 Kelley and I spent about fifteen/twenty minutes taking in the views and snapping some pictures. I went to snap a selfie and I noticed that my hair was sticking straight up, which I thought was hilarious! On our way back up we passed three people on a tour walking down to the scenic lookout. We all said our friendly hellos, talked about the weather coming, and then went our separate ways. As we passed their vehicle I noticed it was at least a six-seater, and there were only three of them, which left plenty of room for me and Kelley! I was secretly hoping, once again, that they might offer us a ride when they passed us walking back to town in the rain. Guess what? The did! About 20 minutes into our walk, with rain pouring down on us, those same three people pulled over and asked if we wanted a ride!

We hopped right in and started making new friends, the girl in the group just so happened to be a photographer for Vogue on a tour of Australia. She had mentioned to us how her hair started sticking up, and how it was the weirdest thing she ever felt, so she googled what it meant. Apparently, according to National Geographic, when your hair sticks up like that “positive charges are going through your body and “ which means you are a couple minutes from getting struck by lightning…we could have died out there! I showed our new friends my selfie, and we all had a laugh, secretly relieved that none of us were electrocuted.

The day was almost over, but Kelley and I were hungry. It was just past 7pm and everywhere but one pizza place was closed already. We walked into the restaurant, sat down, put our order in, and then the lights went out and all power was out! The waitress came back and told us that our order wasn’t put in in time so our food couldn’t be made. We were on our way to starving until the power came back on forty-five minutes later and we walked back to that same pizza place and had the tastiest meal ever :)

Day 7 (January 5): Kelley and I had planned on today being the day we spent all day hiking in and around the Blue Mountains, and enjoying Scenic World while we were there. Well, it turned out to be a foggy day...like, so foggy you couldn't even see ten feet in front of you. So seeing the Three Sisters rock formation, and especially Scenic World, was out of the question because, why waste thirty-five dollars on a view you can't even see!? However, we knew we would be checking out of our hotel tomorrow morning so we still decided to do all the hiking. We hiked for hours, and even did this one thing called "The Giant Staircase." And it was GIANT! Basically nine hundred steps at a pretty steep incline; and we made the mistake of getting lost on the way and having to climb UP the stairs instead of walk down them...rookies...

My favorite meal from the entire two weeks came at lunch on this day, and we had definitely worked up an appetite on our never-ending hike! The restaurant we ate at was called The Yellow Deli; it was the cutest most crammed deli I have ever been to. The little booth we sat at was called Japan (I guess they named all their booths something different). I had a “Green Drink” healthy smoothie, potato soup, and a vegetarian sandwich. It. was. bomb.

Day 8 (January 6): Saving Scenic World for today was perfect. We woke up early, stopped at a cafe for coffee, and even found a shop called The Hattery, which sold all kinds of authentic Australian Akubra hats; which of course I had to have one... There were about fifty different styles and shades of color to choose from, I narrowed it down to three different styles then had Kelly help me pick the winner. I've never had a hat fitted to my head before this. It's literally perfect. And I love it. (Yes, I know it's just a hat...) 

So Kelley and I walked to Scenic World after coffee and finding the perfect hat, and we got there before it opened at 9am. We were the first people in line for the railway, and didn’t have to wait in any lines for the skyway, walkway, or cableway, either! And, to top it off, there was NO fog! We were in and out of there by about 10:45am. 

We knew our train from Blackheath back to Sydney was set to depart at 12:02pm and we couldn’t be late; the next train didn’t leave for another two hours! We wanted to grab lunch before our three-hour train ride and Kelley was looking to try this gourmet sandwich shop we’d seen in town. We had thirty minutes from the time we hopped off the train from Katoomba to grab lunch and our luggage and be back at the platform before it left.

The woman at the sandwich shop was so nice, and wanted to chat all about our travels (Australians love Americans). Unfortunately, that’s the worst thing when you’re in a hurry and don’t want to be rude. It took her about twenty minutes to make both our sandwiches. But, I will say, when we ate them one the train a while later they were delicious (mine was a vegetarian falafel one). Anyways, we booked it to the hotel to gather our things and race to the train station across the street. We made it just in time, with two minutes to spare :)

The last thing on our list to do in Sydney was the bridge climb. Yes, you heard me right, we were going to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge! Kelley and been to Sydney once before when she was ten, and her family had told her she was too young to do the climb, so she vowed that if she ever came back, climbing the bridge was the one thing she had to do...so we did!

 "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to pick him up." 

- Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

XO - Cristin

Happy Christmas

I’m not going to lie, I’ve been getting pretty homesick lately with the holidays coming and going. Thanksgiving was hard, seeing as it’s not even celebrated here in Australia, but Christmas has been even worse. I’ve been a bit moody lately, which I know hasn’t been any fun for either of my roommates…but I’d rather be mad than cry in front of them.

Sometimes it’s hard for me to even wrap my head around the fact that it’s Christmas right now since it’s summer here, and generally one hundred degrees! I’m not a fan of cold weather, but I do prefer a white Christmas. When I’m driving down the street, I might see one house with Christmas lights and decorations for every fifteen or twenty that I pass. And then there’s the fact that I’m about eight thousand miles away from my family! And trust me, that doesn’t make it any easier. I can’t tell you the last time anyone has missed Christmas in my family.

Little back story:

Growing up, and especially once we were all off in college, my dad has always tried to surprise us kids when he hadn’t seen us for a while. He loves driving, or at least doesn’t mind getting away from work for a couple days to come see us, but he always gives himself away when he starts asking too many questions about where we’re going to be or what are plans are for that particular period of time. You see, I’ve learned from the best, and I had this grand plan of flying home from Australia for a week to surprise my family for Christmas. I mean, who would’ve really expected that!? No one. Only my brother knew about my ‘potential’ surprise, I had to have somebody ask all the questions that I couldn’t!

I set up a Kayak alert to email me daily price changes in flights so that I could get the best possible fare home. Six weeks ago when I set the alert, prices were around $2700, a bit out of the price range I was willing to pay (not that I didn’t think seeing my family was worth that). Prices slowly started dropping, and would rise, and would drop again, but still they were a bit too high. So when my boss asked a month or so ago if I would be here over the holidays to work, I told her most likely yes.

First I want to say that I am EXTREMELY lucky to have the job that I have. I make way more than I expected to be making when I thought about working in Australia. Where I’m employed, if you work on a public holiday you get paid three times the normal rate, which is a big deal (especially for me since it’s pretty expensive living in Australia). And again, when my boss asked if I was going home for the holidays I told her I didn’t think I would be because it was still too expensive. She seemed relieved, so I was under the impression that I was going to be getting A LOT of work this week with it being Christmas (and Boxing Day) and knowing that most of the other people who work in the same program have families here to celebrate with.

Well, the roster came out for the week of Christmas and I only work TWO DAYS; not to mention only a couple hours on one of the public holiday days! I was particularly discouraged after seeing the roster because last week flight prices had been cut in half, and I was more than willing to pay that price to go home (with Aussie gifts in tow) but I had already committed to working by this point, and I’m not one who likes to go back on my word.

So instead, I’ll be spending Christmas here in Maitland, waking up at 2am to FaceTime my family while they open presents around the tree in Amarillo. It’s sad…but then again, who gets the chance to live in Australia for a year? Not many people. I just have to keep reminding myself to be thankful for this opportunity, and remember that I’ll be seeing my family in March :)

But until then, I’ll keep hanging out with this super cute Christmas pup:

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 

- 1 Thessalonians 5:18

XO - Cristin

It's a Jeep Thing...

You know what's stressful??? Buying a car. There's registration, and insurance too...like, why are there so many questions to answer when I'm trying to buy insurance!? I need my dad...haha. But really. Thank goodness I know people who know people here in Maitland who can figure all this stuff out for me.

And let's not even talk about how thankful I am to have an international license and not have to go through the whole process that Australians do, because, lemme tell ya, it's ridiculous. Australia takes their driving wayyyy to seriously. I mean, I'm all for safe driving and all, but I mean, come on...you basically have to have a permit for FOUR YEARS before getting your full license here! Here's all the rules and conditions of each license, word for word from the website (if you don't care, you can skip to the next pictures...where I continue to talk about the car I bought).

First, you get your Learners Permit...

Steps to get a Learner's permit:

•       Minimum age 16

•       Pass a theory test or hold a driver's licence

•       Pass RiderSafe basic training

Learner's permit conditions and rules:

•       Zero alcohol/drugs

•       Must display 'L' plates

•       Must not exceed speed limit by more than 10kph

•       Must not ride over 100kph

•       Must not incur 4 or more demerit points

•       No pillions unless your passenger is a Qualified Driving Instructor

•       Learner riders who don't already hold a driver's licence must hold a learner's permit for at least 12 months (six months for over 25 years)

•       You must not use any type of mobile phone function

•       Holders of a learner's permit for R Date, who are under 25 years of age and who do not hold a P2 or full licence for another class must not ride a motorcycle between the hours of midnight and 5am unless they:

◦       are accompanied by a Qualified Supervising Driver (QSD) 

◦       hold a P2 or full licence for another class; or

◦       they meet the exemption criteria

The permit is valid for two years and you must carry it at all times whilst riding.

You must complete the RiderSafe advanced training course within two years. If you do not complete the RiderSafe advanced course within two years you may be required to resit the RiderSafe basic course.

Next you get your Provisional (P1) License...

Provisional licences are issued subject to conditions. If you breach a condition you will lose your licence and be disqualified from driving. This is in addition to any other penalty.

The conditions are:

•       You must not drive a motor vehicle with any concentration of alcohol in your blood or the presence of cannabis, speed or MDMA (ecstasy) in your blood or oral saliva.

•       You must not exceed any speed limit by 10km/h or more.

•       You must not accumulate four or more demerit points during the provisional licence period.

The following laws also apply. If you breach any of these laws you may incur penalties such as fines, demerit points or loss of licence.

•       You can only drive the class of vehicle stated on your licence.

•       You must carry your provisional licence at all times whilst driving.

•       You must not drive a high-powered vehicle while you are under the age of 25 (unless you have an exemption certificate).

•       You must not drive over 100 km/h even if the local speed limit exceeds 100 km/h.

Laws that only apply to holders of P1 provisional licences (these laws do not apply to P2) include:

•       You must display the correct size 'P' plates so that they are clearly visible from the front and rear of the vehicle (rear only for motorcycles).

•       You must not use any mobile phone function while driving, including hands-free mode and Bluetooth technology or loud speaker operation.

•       If you are under the age of 25 years, you must not drive:

◦       between midnight and 5am, or

◦       with more than one passenger aged 16 to 20 years (excluding immediate family members)

◦       unless a Qualified Supervising Driver is seated next to you or you meet the exemption criteria

Breaking the rules 

If you are disqualified from driving you will need to re-apply for your provisional licence. If you are returning at the P1 stage, you will need to hold your new provisional licence for three years (one year on P1 and two years on P2). If you are returning at the P2 stage you will need to hold it for two years.

Then, you get your Provisional (P2) License...

Provisional licence laws and conditions

•       You can only drive the class of vehicle stated on your licence

•       You must carry your provisional licence at all times whilst driving.

•       You must not drive a motor vehicle with any concentration of alcohol in your blood or the presence of cannabis, speed or MDMA (ecstasy) in your blood or oral saliva.

•       You must not drive a high-powered vehicle while you are under the age of 25 until you get your full driver's licence (unless you have an exemption certificate).

•       You must not drive over 100 km/h even if the local speed limit exceeds 100 km/h

•       If you commit a speeding offence of 10 km/h or more over the speed limit you will breach your licence conditions.

•       You must not accumulate four or more demerit points during the provisional licence period.

•       You must display the prescribed P-plates so that they are clearly visible from the front & rear of the vehicle (rear only for motorcycles)

Breaking the rules

If you break any of the P2 rules you could get a fine, demerit points, be disqualified from driving and have to go to court. If your licence is disqualified while holding a P2 licence when you return to driving your new P2 licence will be issued for a further two years.

Safer Driver Agreement

If you are disqualified you may elect to enter into a Safer Driver Agreement instead of serving the six month disqualification (unless it was a serious disqualification offence). The Safer Driver Agreement will apply for the duration of your provisional licence. If you choose a Safer Driver Agreement you will be issued a new provisional licence for a further two years. If you breach your licence conditions or accumulate four or more demerit points again:

•       you will be disqualified for 12 months (twice the original disqualification period)

•       you must serve the disqualification - you cannot appeal to the Court

•       you will not be eligible to apply for another Safer Driver Agreement for the next five years.

And FINALLY you get your Full License or "Blacks." Talk about serious business!

A few weeks ago I spotted this Volkswagen beauty on the side of the road...

...but, unfortunately it wasn't for sale. Even if it was, I probably (actually, make that definitely) couldn't afford it. But it did bring back nice memories of our old VW bus that my family used to have. Tell me why we ever got rid of it again?

I have started working regularly at my new job with SNAP, and generally my placement is an hours drive away. I felt I was becoming a nuisance to Mitch and everyone else who was having to take me to and from work. And since learning to drive a manual was proving to be a bit more difficult than I had anticipated, we started looking for an automatic for me to drive. Annddd we found one! A 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. 

The previous owner was a nice, honest guy. And he sold the car very well; he'd had it for three years, put a lot of work into it, and even told us about the few "glitches" it had. He kept it in good condition, too. So I bought it. Or rather, Mitch bought it. And I'm on a pay plan since I have minimal funds at the moment...

I was SUPER excited about having a car and driving again. The four months I lived in Brisbane without one wasn't bad because everything was walking distance, or there was easy/nearby access to the busses and trains. Maitland's a different story. And driving's not like "riding a bike" either, especially after five months cold-turkey; AND ESPECIALLY when you're in a county where everything is opposite (you're steering wheel is on the right, and you drive on the left side of the road). I feel like I'm doing pretty well though, I've only driven into oncoming traffic once! Old habits die hard, ya know...

So yeah, I bought a car, and the first day I drove my car to work, it broke down. Seriously!? Just my luck. We buy this car that seems like a sweet deal, drove absolutely perfect during the test drive, and then just so happens to do one of those glitches that the guy said happened to him maybe only twice in two years...sweet.

I had made it off the highway and to my exit, barely, before the car completely died. I tried and tried to restart it with no luck. I called Mitch, who called Lloyd, and told me that I just need to wait about ten minutes to restart it and then be sure to engage the immobilizer (which for this car is to press lock, then unlock twice in a row, and start it right away). I gave it a go, and THANKFULLY it worked and I made it to the house I was working at. I was an hour late to my first official day of work. Ha! Go me. Fortunately the woman I was changing over with was understanding, and gladly covered my shift 'til I got there.

For my job, it was a shift that I slept over, and once 8am rolled around the next morning it was time to head back to Maitland. But my car wouldn't start...again. I waited and waited, tried the immobilizer trick (with no luck), and after an hour of trying and hoping for the best, I called Mitch. He and Lloyd had to come pick me up and try and fix the car. When they got there I wanted them to get it to start but at the same time I didn't want them to get it started because then I would've looked like a dumba** who doesn't know how to start a car. They didn't get it going, so we left the car there and Lloyd called his mechanic friend who said he would go by and fix it the next morning.

Whatever his mechanic friend did fixed it. And it's been working just fine ever since! I still leave for work extra early to allow myself time to break down, just in case...

I Bought a Jeep Commercial...Fitting, or nah?

"The LORD protects the simple hearted; when I was in great need, he saved me." - Psalm 116:6

XO - Cristin