Team America Takes Australia

To make a long story short, Jenna came for a visit to the Gold Coast in May. It goes without saying that we had fun. Here's the story, in pictures, of how we made an impression on this country.

Where we were: Brisbane airport

What we did: Picked up our dear Jenna

Who we impressed: Everyone who saw me standing at the gate with this sign

Where we were: Brisbane, QLD

What we did: Ate mussels, stopped by Cloudland, watched Liam sleep at Kaliber, stayed at the Mantra, walked through the mud at the Greek festival, had a Sunday session at the Fox

Who we impressed: Other clubgoers with our unique interpretive dance moves, bouncers who briefly questioned whether we were over 18

Where we were: Noosa, Sunshine Coast, QLD

What we did: Soaked up the sun, had our backsides included in a photo from a helicopter of a random group of people spelling out LOVE on the beach, spent two hours in the local ER waiting room before giving up and deciding that my side hurt because I had laughed too much, stopped at the Big Pineapple

Who we impressed: Probably the people in the helicopter

Where we were: Top of Q1, the tallest building on the Gold Coast

What we did: Enjoyed far reaching views and a cocktail during sunset, laughed at a lady taking self portraits while two of her friends sat nearby and ignored her

Who we impressed: The guy selling tickets, who believed that we were actually students :)

Where we were: Unit 27, Carrington Court, Main Beach, QLD

What we did: Hosted a Mexican themed night for our friends and treated them to authentic Mexican fare and somewhat authentic margaritas. Smashed a pinata. Danced until 4 a.m.

Who we impressed: Most likely our neighbors in the building by blaring Rick Astley, Whitney Houston and Hall and Oates until the wee hours of the morning

Where we were: Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast, QLD

What we did: Watched the Gold Coast Suns play their first game in their new stadium, Burned our mouths on meat pies (apparently a very American move)

Who we impressed: Only ourselves, and only because we were actually able to get out of the house after a big performance the night before

Where we were: Broadbeach Bowls Club, Gold Coast, QLD

What we did: Beat Team Commonwealth in a head to head game of bowls, rode in the back of a friend's  work van like we had been kidnapped, enjoyed a Sunday session at the surf club

Who we impressed: The 'teacher' who took time to show us the rules of the game

Where we were: Mt. Warning, New South Wales

What we did: Prepared very poorly for what turned out to be a 4.5 hour hike up a mountain

Who we impressed: Ourselves. I'm still impressed that we're not stuck out there somewhere...

Where we were: Cha cha's in Broadbeach for Jenna's last night in Australia

What we did: Enjoy good food and good company. And wore the medals that we got out of the pinata

Who we impressed: Definitely the waitress who asked us if we were going to a party after dinner based on our silly behavior

The Gold Coast misses Jenna already!

What a Difference a Week Makes

Life is funny, isn't it? And I don't mean ha ha funny, but more of the strange and unpredictable variety. I actually intended to post about this train of thought a couple of weeks back when some small fun things were changing my blase mood, but it is really more relevant than ever right now...

One week ago, I was on my way back to the US from Australia for a last minute trip to be with family in Florida. I had been told prior to planning this trip that I had a tumor in my liver, the cause was unknown and that carcinoma (cancer) 'should be considered.' How's that for some news out of the blue?!? One week before that, I had no idea that anything was wrong and that I would be returning to home in the near future. It's truly amazing how much can change in such a short amount of time.

Well, here we are one week into my visit here at home. And again, what a different frame of mind we all have now than we did last week. I have seen a doctor who has all but assured me that my tumor is benign, my blood work has come back cancer free and clear of any other major issues and I just have to get past the hurdle of tomorrow's MRI before I can put my mind totally at ease. And in one more week, I am sure that I will be 100% worry free and nearly on my way back to Australia!

In the meantime, I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting with my family and especially Bailey. I was pretty worried that she was going to forget all about me in the time that I have been gone, so the silver lining of this emergency trip home has been that I get to keep that from happening. I am not looking forward to leaving her next week, but on the bright side, I'll be seeing her again in July!

I'm starting to get the hang of these self-portraits

I'm sure that the fact I'm Stateside right now comes as a bit of a shock to many of you, but since this wasn't a social visit and I didn't know exactly what to expect while here, I decided to keep a low profile. I would love to see every last one of you if only I had the time! But I'll do the best to keep you in the loop on the blog until I do get to see you again. And in the meantime, here are some random pictures from this Orlando visit...

Celebrating St. Patty's Day, the sale of my house and my great health news!

Bailey cheering the Gator basketball team on to victory

One of the most clever things I've seen in a long time

Respite From the Daily Grind

So obviously the title of this post is completely tongue in cheek, as my life is anything but a daily grind at this time. My days generally consist of going for walks, runs, and bike rides, and using any of those modes of transport to find ways to entertain myself. It's not a bad life and I have no complaints, but there are days when I wonder if sitting in my apartment is the best use of my time abroad. So...that was how I decided to go away to Byron Bay for three days a couple of weeks back. And I decided to do it in style! I chose to forego the backpacker's accommodations and opted for the Beach Hotel, which overlooks the water and, most importantly, has air conditioning! It is also conveniently situated next to a bar of the same name, and also has a bottle shop (liquor store) on the premises that delivers room service. Yowsa! And the best part of all, when I arrived, I got a complimentary upgrade to a bigger room with a better view. Great start!

View from my room at the Beach Hotel

On the first day I arrived, I decided to use my 'alone' time to explore and get my blood pumping. I set out on a walk to the lighthouse, which ended up being about two hours round trip from my hotel. You could see the storm rolling in as I walked, but it made the setting that much more beautiful.

Lighthouse in the distance

Thinking this will make a good second home...anyone want to go halfsies?

Self-portrait on my hike

The road goes on forever...

Storm rolling in

And finally sets in as I'm having a pre-dinner drink

This was my second trip to Byron, but the first time that I noticed the place is infested with lizards. And I'm not talking the little kind that kids like to catch back at home. These things are no joke! I got pretty close to one on my hike, and though I managed to stand close enough to take his picture, I was freaking out the whole time. Moments later I ran across a couple of other tourists taking a picture...of a snake. This nearly made me cry, ha. (Actually it's not funny, but rather a completely irrational fear. Therapy could be in my future).

Pre-historic!

Day two of my getaway brought rain, and at the most inconvenient of times. Like when I was out for a jog or when I was just getting settled in at the pool to enjoy the sunshine. Luckily, my friend Kate materialized mid-day, and she and I combed the town for must have purchases, then retired back to the hotel for happy hour on our balcony. About two bottles of wine later, our friend Sharon met us and we all headed to dinner at the Balcony (for the record, the Balcony and my balcony are two distinct and separate entities). Tapas and wine, some good gossip and a nightcap/music at the Beach Hotel bar and we called it a night! Our only regret was letting two gentlemen that were at both the Balcony and the Beachy slip away before we got a chance to approach them. I thought it would then be a good idea to follow them to see where they were going next, but when they turned off of the main street and it was obvious they were going home, it was finally time to give up the ghost. But it was fun to behave like we were 14 again momentarily!

Dark skies during happy hour

Sharon and Kate at the Beachy

Sharon and me

The final day in Byron was, as luck would have it, the most gorgeous of all. We woke up, recounted the night, grabbed breakfast and headed to the beach. From there, we drove around and checked out all of the lovely beaches and put our feet in the water. When it was time to head home, we were mildly disappointed, but vowed to come back soon! What a great escape to have in your own backyard!!

Filo: our budding fashionista

Getting our feet wet on a magnificent day

Love ya, Byron!