April 24-26, 2013
Trip post 1: Flying High
No, people, get your minds out of the gutter. It's past 4/20 and I'm not trying to re-celebrate or anything. I'm talking about my flights over here. I'm officially "Down Unda" ; I've made it to Australia! A bit jet-lagged still after flying JAX-ATL, ATL-LAX, LAX-SYD, and SYD-ALICE SPRINGS. I didn't even know what day it was.. Okay not gonna lie, I'm still pretty thrown off and don't know what day it is.
Flying over here was a breeze-haha get it? Well it was absolutely amazing flying FIRST CLASS the whole way, I was treated like royalty. It wasn't bad sitting next to KEITH URBAN either!!! We chatted about Nicole and the kids and I tried to convince him to come to Clemson for a concert..just kidding.
As I walked on the plane, I was escorted to my seat that had two pillows, a blanket, dock kit, tv, and USB charging station. I sat down and was handed a glass of champagne and asked to glance at the menu to select my 3course dinner: shrimp cocktail, salad, and pumpkin bisque for appetizer, beef tenderloin with green beans and mashed potatoes for main course, and an ice cream sundae for dessert! Had I just died and gone to Heaven?! The answer was no, as I'm here to tell about it, but I did have sweet dreams because when the lights turned off on the plane, my seat retracted all the way flat, and my nearly sound proof headsets given to us let me listen to country as I dozed off for a few hours. And just like this run-on sentence, my days have run together.
So THANKS AGAIN DADDY for using your points to fly me over here for this already unforgettable experience! I literally cannot repay you, so I'll just have to get you a souvenir or something ;)
I'm actually really impressed with myself so far that I've been able to navigate through all of these airports with quick layovers. And thank God this is an English speaking country! On my flight out of JAX, I sat behind a Clemson alum, then from ATL I sat next to a lady from Athens who could've been Beth Moore's twin, and then I met a girl on the fight to SYD who had just been to America for the first time but was on her way home. They were on holiday, and I found out that they don't do school like w do- no three month summer vacay. They get a couple weeks off every now and then throughout the year.. I don't think our kids would go for that!
My flight to Alice Springs (the middle of nowhere in the outback) was pleasant. I had a constant flow of mimosas and attention as the flight was less than full. I didn't meet anyone though until I got my bags and found the shuttle called then"Alice Wanderer." Kelli Hewitt (My Aussi friend/travel agent) had set me up with the shuttle and place to stay where we would meet the next morning
at 6AM for the tour! The shuttle lived up to its name and we rode around the entire town. I remained quiet until we nearly made it to the last stop-Haven. Still a little unsure of the whole hostel deal, I was getting nervous until a girl across from me asked if I was on the Top Deck tour... YES! Thought that crossed my mind: Praise Jesus I'm on a legit tour, there's at least one other person, and I'm not stuck in literally the middle of nowhere in the Outback of Australia. Literally, I saw no houses from the plane window, it was all red for hundreds of miles until we started to land, I'm pretty sure the town of Alice Springs has about a 10mile radius.
Michelle and I became instant friends. We got to know each other as we gave ourselves the tour of the town. She's an Aussi from the East Coast, about an hour out of SYD and traveling alone for the first time, too! And I'm pretty sure she's just as excited as I am to be in the Outback-- No rules, Just right!
She had never stayed in a hostel either, and had booked a private room. I ended up in an 8 person room-AHH! After circling the town, witnessing the crazy aborigines, and finding a bite to eat (which was actually hard to find), we ventured back to Haven and I ended up staying in her room, which had 6 beds! Once my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.
Packing Lesson #1: It's actually been a bit hard trying to remember where I packed everything. I tried to pack things I'll need more often closer to the zippers, but I keep having to move everything around as well. It'll just take a little getting used to. Glad I had the extra room last night to spread out. I cleaned up pretty well though, and figured out how to use my new per-paid wifi card I'll be using for the next month because public wifi ain't cheap here.. Neither is anything else!
photos to come, xoxo Ashley
