- Next I booked a flight to Sydney for some happy reunions. I was able to spend some time with a great friend Ashley Scott when I arrived before he jetted off back to England. Next came the bevy of American guests. Jessica Plowman, thank you so much for making the trip to come spend a SOLID amount of time with me and the family. I think your addition to our road trek was just about perfect. The teacher connection did not hurt. Obvious thank yous to Mom and Sister for flying all the way down to spend a month in cars and motels and let me show you a bit of my life while I had been there. Many memories that can be shared and re-experienced for days to come. Sharks, trivia, snorkel driving on the wrong side of the road, the koala, airplane ride, and all the rest. By the way, not sure if any of you ladies were awake, but that stretch of highway up the mountain when it was pouring and we were driving by all the semi trucks might have been one of the most scared I have been in my life. You all should have pitched in for a massage after that, I white knuckled it the whole way.
- After a relaxing week in Cairns with Kim and Karly, we headed back to Sydney for what would be one of the most relevant experiences of my trip. Kudos to them for staying in, well lets call them what they were, sh*thole "motels, in Sydney. BUT, more kudos for me for staying in them so much long. If you ever get bored google "The Strand Hotel." I stayed there for three weeks because they were the only place that would take American Express and cost under $25 a night. Why, well I covered this extensively before, but in case you did not read, after being robbed at the basketball court and no way to access any money, the strand had my card on file and told them to keep billing it. Thank you again to those of you that helped me stay a float during the period when I was about 50/50 I was going to be sleeping on the street for at least a night. I could have handled it though!
- Another round of visits from some amazing Americans were just what the Dr. ordered. That and some time off my again stress fest working at Costco Australia, no joke, the job was stressful, I mean put me in the jewellery (aussie spelling) and handbags department and then put the London girl the in liquor/alcohol department just seemed cruel.
Thank you again to Lindsay Bushnell for her outstanding visit (never would have gone to the zoo without you, probably would have seen Hunger Games II. That care package was outstanding (diet coke, Hersey's chocolates, a UW shirt just to name a few. Then for "New Year's" Brendan and Joey Lawrence.....or days of fraterntites past. 3am on a Tuesday and making the decision to stay out later brings back old times for sure.
Next post I will get into Thailand as much as a Google blog read by lord knows who will allow. Too be honest though the trip was fairly tame for what I hear/see goes on over here. I have pretty much just been on a long vacation for the past 3 weeks.
I did have some travel stats that I had been thinking about that I found rather staggering though. These stats begin on April 15th 2013 and extend into today.
# of razor blades used- 8
# of pairs of underwear- 6 + 2 bathing suits in case of emergency
# of unforgettable moments- 15 or 16 I can't really remember
# of times rechecked in to the same Sydney hostel- 4
# of times up and down the Australia East coast- roughly 1,500 miles one way- 2, freaking two, what was I thinking
# of total visitors- 6- I think I thanked you all, but thanks again
# of bromances- 2- You both know who you are, but I'll name names, Stuart and Ashley,
# of failed romances, so many, only one that was worth my time though, I think if circumstances were different we would of had a shot. (Happy? I mentioned you, was planning on it the whole time by the way)
# of total basketball suspensions- 1
# of suspensions that were worth it- 1, and it got overturned because my team only had 4 players that week and they needed me.....had the same ref the next week, gave him a wink and smile.
# of times struck by a moving vehicle- 1 and so close to a second, guys if its wet out and you have on dress shoes, your ability to stop and turn on a dime is greatly reduced, so don't jaywalk.
# of weekly pub trivia competitions won- 2. Not bad since many questions were "Who is on the Australian $10 note, or what year did the Sydney Stooges win the Grand Final" We never had an Aussie on the team and the answers are Banjo Patterson and that is a made up team, but seems like a team name is Australia, right?
-This one is staggering to me-
# of pairs of shoes used worn/ 4.5- A pair of Adidas basketball shoes for hoops, Nike cross trainers, 2 pairs of Kmart dress shoes for work and to get into bars, and then 1 pair of sandals. THAT IS IT!!!!! and I lost the Nikes early January. I have spent a majority of my time in Thailand barefoot.
I swear I have more Oz pictures but blew it and left them all on my computer in Australia. I think I'll do an all picture/caption post when I get back in America in 7 days!!!!!!!!!! Flight out of Phuket tomorrow then leave Sydney on Monday. I'll post Thai pics and some amazing videos before then.
Oh and have you guys seen the video of what Ringo and Doc actually say to each other in latin in Tombstone....awesome. I only mention it because that movie is free on youtube and I've watched it about 4 times on this trip and it's easily Val's best role.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gSj1G4Vf0w
Talk/see you all soon!!
Scott
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