On The Edge of Glory

It's 2:40 am. Scotty turns his key in the ignition and cold air blasts through the air vents. I squint at the lights on the dashboard. It feels like a dream. I've been awake for a bit. Scotty piles some of his t-shirts on top of my curled-up body.

It was well after dark when we finally made it up into the Blue Mountains. We parked the car outside the tourist info center with plans to wake up with the sun and inquire about a good day hike before the bus loads of people arrived.

As we ascended, the temperature gauge on the car dropped from a balmy 20 degrees to a chilly 11 (rather chilly seeing as I didn't even pack a pair of sweats or a hoodie). Scotty was a little worried about me being warm enough sleeping in the car and asked if we should find a hostel.

Nope. Let's save that $60. We come this far, we're gonna last out the entire 7 nights without spending a dime on accommodation.

Laying there in fetal position on my reclined seat, waiting for the cold air to heat up, I felt it: this is exactly what I came for.

Freezing while sleeping in a car doesn't sound all that great, but let my try to paint a picture of how my mind works. I am here, on the other side of the world, away from everyone I know except for this man that I have loved for close to 12 years. We're in a strange country, we've been driving in the dark for a few hours now. The only bits we've been able to see of our surroundings were those illuminated by our headlights or the few patches of street lights we've come across. We're tucked into the mountains. The air is crisp and it feels like it's only the 2 of us for miles (we were in a little town, it just felt like it). It's completely silent and so so so dark... and here we are sleeping in a car- doing our best to save every cent. It felt like an adventure. It's the crazy things that make it exciting. I know that sleeping in a car isn't mental, but it's a little nuts. Waking up and running the car so that you can feel your toes again is a bit absurd. Trying to weigh whether that towel under your head is best used as a pillow, or if you should forget the "luxury" of a pillow and throw it over top of you like a blanket... and further, being so torn by the decision that it takes you 10 mins to decide that it's staying as a pillow because you can squeeze a few inches tighter into a ball and feel warm enough to fall back asleep- it's kinda crazy. And yet, it is these kind of stories I want to tell at dinner parties, to my children and to each other when we're old and grey.

Ten minutes later, warm air was flooding the car. I felt comfortable enough to stretch out. Scotty turned the car off, we said "goodnight" again, and fell back asleep until the sun woke us up at 7:30.

While I tried to make myself feel freshened up (it just so happens that my hiking/workout clothes also doubled as my car sleeping pj's... and wearing the same clothes you slept in somehow feels very dirty) Scotty went to find a bathroom. A few minutes later, he was back at the car with a lively look on his face and told me I just had to see this.

AT 7:40, WE WERE THE ONLY ONES ON THE VIEWING PLATFORM. BY 9AM THERE WERE PROBABLY 200 PEOPLE CROWDED ONTO IT.

Oh. I See. 

We slept on the edge of heaven last night. Guess it was worth it. My eyes are having a hard time keeping up with my soaring heart... but I'll manage.

The Jamison Valley, in the morning light... one of the most stunning things I have ever laid eyes on. And I could go back into my God the creator spiel, but I'll just leave it as this: He's so good to us. This earth is so much more beautiful than I can comprehend. I hope I never stop falling in love with it.

THE THREE-SISTERS ROCK FORMATION. DREAMTIME STORY IS THAT THE THREE SISTERS WERE TURNED TO STONE BY A WITCHDOCTOR WHO WAS TRYING TO PROTECT THEM IN BATTLE, BUT HE WAS KILLED IN THE BATTLE AND SO THEY REMAIN TRAPPED IN STONE.

It was about 7:45 am, we had over an hour to burn before the tourist center opened, so we walked down to the base of the iconic Three Sisters rock formation. As we started down the stairs, my fear of heights kicked in. The insanely steep rock steps gave way to those awful grate steps that you can see right through. It's funny how the legs get measurably shaky as soon as you see how far up you are.

Awesome. So this metal staircase is bolted to the side of a cliff hundreds of feet above that eucalyptus forest? Perfect. As long as we are at the complete mercy of those bolts, and hard ground is far, far below us, I am tickled.

ON THE EDGE OF THE THREE SISTERS ROCK FORMATION

STONE STEPS CARVED INTO THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.

I was both mesmerized and dizzy... clutching to the railing for my dear life as Scotty shot down the stairs and out onto the bridge. Why must I always be the old lady in this relationship?

WILD COCKATOO'S!!! I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW INCREDIBLE I FIND THAT.

We wasted the rest of our time wandering the streets of Katoomba.We loaded up on discount fruit (it was at it's peak ripeness- I have never had such delicious lychee nuts in my life!), I got the biggest flat white I could get my paws on (which is at best a grande... if that... don't even get me started on their 1950's drink sizes down here), and then we fell upon the greatest hat shop. Scotty looked at the Indiana Jones hats while I got seriously tempted by a cream panama hat and giggled over all the most amazing fascinators... they are far more British down here than us Canadians... kinda sad about that.

After getting absolutely no help from the lady in the tourist info center (that old bugger wanted me to buy a 5 dollar map... nope, I'll just get lost on your super popular, well marked trail system... jerk), we headed back down those dreadful steps. All the way down to the forest floor. All 800 steps.

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THOSE FERNS!

THIS TREE STRETCHED UP HIGHER THAN THE REST, AND IT HAD THESE COOL MARKINGS ON IT FROM SOME KIND OF BUG. I WAS RATHER TAKEN WITH IT.

With feet planted firmly on the forest floor, we veered to the left for a 3 hour hike that would take us past some waterfalls, under limestone over-hangs and through some pretty sizeable fern forests. The forest was alive with the songs of birds and loud squawks from white and black cockatoos that seemed to echo across the valley. Seeing the forest from above before you hike it- descending down into a rainforest- is a pretty cool experience. We got an idea of the vastness of the Blue Mountains, and to see that they are so-named because of the blue haze created by a vapour of oil particles released into the air by the eucalyptus trees. 

SCOTTY CLIMBED UP ONE OF THE MANY MOSS-COVERED LIMESTONE FORMATIONS THAT SEEMED TO ABRUPTLY PUNCH UP THROUGH THE FOREST FLOOR.

There were areas where the forest canopy became so dense that it blocked out the light, and despite it being a rather nice day and only noon, it seemed as if night was falling as we tramped further into it.

EVEN THE MOSS LOOKS LIKE A FERN

ANYTHING TARZAN CAN DO, I CAN DO BETTER.

...AND THEN THE VINE BROKE AND I LANDED IN A HEAP ON THE GROUND.

WHY GET A PICTURE BY A WATERFALL WHEN YOU CAN PLAY IN IT?

We surfaced back out of the forest sometime after lunch and enjoyed the sandwiches we had packed overlooking the valley from a different vantage point. As Scotty went to grab the lychee's we noticed a brown liquid seeping out of the bag... a can of coke zero had exploded. Some young german boys gave us some serious stink-eye over it. Their look read, you disgusting pigs... 

I just looked right back and laughed.

Let The Outside In

One of the most significant experiences of my life was walking into Gaudi's La Segrada Familia. My mouth dropped open, my breath got choked up in my throat, my heart pounded and I blinked away tears as my mother and I walked, shoulder to shoulder, bobbing our heads up and down to take in the grandeur of this palacial forest. I could write pages and pages about the significance of that moment, but even then, words cannot fully express that moment: when another's creation resonated with my soul.

One of the million things that flooded me was the undeniable connection to God. Standing in this cathedral- with giant tree-trunk pillars powering to the ceiling, afternoon light filtering through starbursts above and stained glass scattering rainbows- there was a whisper- a still, small voice calling out to me- speaking just to my heart, filling this huge space with presence.

SAGRADA FAMILIA NAVE ROOF DETAIL. SOURCE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Connecting with God the creator, recognizing him as an artist, is so powerful for me. Gaudi's personal interpretation of creation revered in this sanctuary connected me to nature. Despite the jackhammers and drills, I felt as if I was standing in an ancient forest. I felt peace, familiarity.

Gaudi believed that nature held the solution to architectural "problems"- he believed it to be the perfect blueprint.

Standing inside and feeling my soul fed- standing between four walls and under a roof, yet feeling surrounded by life... this revelation was was startling (especially for an aspiring designer).

After saying goodbye to our friends at the Campground, Scotty and I drove out to the Green Cathedral in Forrester. This open-air sanctuary is surrounded by tall palms, lush ferns and it lies right on the shoreline of Wallis Lake. Perhaps it is because I live in suberbia, or because I love the forest- I just can't get over the idea of being surrounded by nature in a place of worship and how we might actually treat the Earth (nature/environment) a whole lot differently if we saw it as a sacred place.

I love the idea that our songs would blend with the songs of the birds in the trees above us. That sun might warm our faces, and wind shake through the leaves- that we might connect not only in thought, but in all our being. Nature has immense power- to hold church in a forest is to worship God the creator, to be inside his masterpiece.

Let all creation sing... let the universe resound.

SCOTTY LOOKING TINY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OPEN-AIR CATHEDRAL

"THE GROVES WERE GOD'S FIRST TEMPLE"

They hold Sunday services there every week. It is quite the wedding destination, and it is no wonder- it is absolutely stunning (and you could save a bundle on decor).

PEACE POLE WITH SURROUNDING SEATING AREA FOR REFLECTION, MEDITATION AND PRAYER

After that we drove down a dirt road for what felt like forever. 

Insurance coverage on our rental didn't apply to the windscreen. I was paranoid that we would get a chip from a passing car. It was quite surprising how many dirt roads there were along our Aussie road trip- which is probably why insurance doesn't cover windscreen damage. Luckily, we never got a chip, but a couple rocks did bounce off the glass.

DUSTY DIRT ROAD

One thing that can be said of the dirt road: it makes the destination feel secluded. 

SEAL ROCKS

Before hitting the beach as Seal Rocks, we walked out to Sugar Loaf Point to see the lighthouse. The beaches in this area were especially beautiful.

WRECKAGE OF OVER 20 SHIPS LIES BELOW THE SURFACE

THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1875

There is a bed and breakfast right at the lighthouse- I couldn't dream of a more romantic spot to watch the winter storms surge below. 

SCOTTY WAS TOO BUSY RUNNING TO NOTICE THIS SIGN... NO WORD OF A LIE

PATHWAY OUT TO SUGARLOAF POINT

Scotty went for a snorkel and we basked on the beach. I kept sighing and saying "this is so beautiful!"

Back in the car, we set our GPS for Anna Bay. I fixed us some cheese and avocado sandwiches, and we dove into some fresh cherries. Cherries are a Christmas staple down here (being that they're in season). Filling up on summer fruit in December is a dream... thank you southern hemisphere.  

With the sun hanging low in the sky, we climbed up over the sand dunes and took a walk along the shore of Anna Bay. 

"IN A SEA OF PEOPLE

MY EYES

WILL ALWAYS

SEARCH FOR YOU"

What is the correct name for a rabbit's tail

With the boys all back for a new school year, we hosted another quiz night. I put together the questions, and Scotty was the announcer that night. The title of this post was one of the questions on the quiz. No one got it right, but reading the answers made me giggle.

-cotton tail
-fluff ball
-fluffer
-fluffy white
-bunny fluff
-fluffy white thing
-bum fluff

These teenage boys and their fluff. Is it just me, or does the idea of teen boys using such cute words to name a bunny tail make you laugh?

The correct term is "scut."

Feel free to use that in your next scrabble game.

Now Stand Up Straight and Let Me Get a Look At You

In highschool, Becky was one of the "cool kids." Sometimes the "cool kids" are only that because they're better looking than the rest of us, are athletically gifted or they can pass for being 19 (I was the opposite and held steady at 14). Other times the cool kids are considered cool because they really are cool. Sometimes us high school kids get it right and we label someone as cool because they are the full package plus they're just really nice to everyone.

That describes Becky. I remember in grade 10, we had just taken one of those "which job is best suited to you?" questionnaires, and Becky already had it all figured out.

She wanted to be a librarian when she grew up.

Really? What high school kid says that?

You're one of the cool girls, aren't you supposed to say something like club-promoter? Bar-tender? Flight Attendant?

Nope. She didn't seem to worry about what was "cool"- and because she said it so matter-of-fact no one questioned it. I think it was then that it really nailed the "Becky is cool" down for me. She explained that she loved books, so she wanted to surround herself with them in her job.

Sounds good to me.

The day we crashed their camping holiday was a huge highlight for me. We had the most delicious sleep-in followed by a hot shower at their place in Coffs. Scotty took his bff Ruca out for a walk while I reorganized our bags- then we hit the road following the directions Becky had left us to Delicate Nobby Campground in Crescent Head.

THE NEWSPAPER ON THE LAWN THAT MORNING

We stopped off at Nambucca Heads to take a walk along the V-Wall- a breakwall left open to the public to graffiti the rocks. I'll admit that I was slightly heart-broken over not having anything to put our own mark on a rock. I totally would have painted my shark attack tank top on a rock. It would have gone over big, and then I would've come across random pics of it on Flickr and felt like such a boss (until I remembered that it wasn't my design and I'm just a copy).

  

JUST IMAGINE IT ON A ROCK

IT WOULD BE SUCH A HIT

It had been ten and a half years since I last saw her. Scotty and I came across this tent-castle (three tents joined together under this "big-top" tarp). Becky flew off her hammock to greet us. Theres this magic thing that sometimes happens with people you haven't seen in forever... it just feels like normal- it could be two months or two decades- and you may have lots to catch up on, but it feels like your talking to a friend and not somebody that you used to know (that song is big down here too).

After meeting her friends, we beelined to the bathroom- we were told there was a phython in the ladies room.

I gotta see that.



Becky said that it had been there for the past few days, and some young girls in the bathroom said that it had been spotted eating a possum the night before.

Welcome to the jungle.

I climbed up on the toilet seat to get some pics/video. Was it strange that I was a little sad when I went to use the facilities later that evening to find that he had left his "perch"?

Perhaps.

MOM AND DAUGHTER TAKING A BEACH WALK

CAMPGROUND/SURFER X-MAS TREE

THE KIDDIE POOL FOR SURF BABIES

While out for a "bushwalk" later that afternoon- I felt an intense pain in my little toe and froze to get a look at what it was. It felt as if I had stepped on a bee. There on the outer bottom/side of my raised pinkie toe was a spider with a red coloured body and dark legs. I did my best to keep my cool and flicked it off as quickly and hard as I could. Becky's friend, Kellie, had turned to see why I had stopped talking mid-sentence. Maybe she could see the horror on my face, or maybe she wondered why I was stooped over my foot. When I told her what had happened, she asked "where is the spider?" As I began to tell her that I had flicked it away, I knew I had made an error: spiders can be venomous here- now we don't know what bit me. Brilliant. All I could tell her was size and colour... and that my toe was throbbing.

I'm not a total wuss. I've been stung a ton, and it's nothing to cry about, but that little spider bite hurt.

Having only met Kellie an hour ago, I tried to read her expression. I didn't want to tell her I had seen red on it. I'm not really sure why, but I was worried that red would mean it could be venomous, and I didn't want anyone getting in a flap about it. As far as I knew, only my toe hurt. Reflecting on it makes me realize that I would be the person who would quietly get up from dinner and move into the other room to choke to death, alone, because I wouldn't want to trouble anyone. I did my darndest to play it down. Kellie kept asking questions about the spider ("did it have a hard body?", "ummm...I dunno"). She was calm about it, but she kept a pretty close eye on me at first.

I figured that if I died, or lost my foot, at least my fear of spiders would be validated; thus, proving that I am, after all, a "glass is half-full" kinda gal.

To this day, there's still a bump on the bottom of my toe, and it only stopped itching last week (it would randomly itch after I climbed into bed at night).The creepiest thing is that after we got home, I looked online at photos of spiders that can be found in New South Wales. I found one that looked identical to what I remember, the male mouse spider... very venomous, but not agressive. A few other tidbits about it that only make me more convinced that I found my spider: 1. they have large hard fangs which causes a deep painful bite (check- very much a stabbing pain) 2. often wanders about on the ground during the day (check- it got caught on my flip flop) 3. especially after a rain (check- it had rained that morning) 4. while their venom is highly dangerous to humans, they are not aggressive- many of their bites do not require antivenom because they are dry bites (check- I didn't die, it just hurt like a mother bear).

It may have been a different story had I not froze with my toes up in the air when I felt the bite go in. Don't worry mom, I'm fine.

But the show must go on.

Becky said that they had found a young brown snake in their tent the first night they arrived (according to wikipedia, it's considered the second most venomous land snake).

Awesome. Three great stories to tell people back home. Increase my "lady danger" image.

With the sun hanging low in the sky, we took the boards down to the beach for an evening surf. Kellie and Keah disappeared past the break wicked fast, duck diving like a couple goddesses. Scotty and I were left knee deep in the water wondering how on earth they got out there so fast. Becky played down her skill, saying that she is awful and that she was just gonna play in the white wash with us (*pops up on every single wave*).

The water was warm and the current pulling us down the beach was strong, but we managed to have a great time in the white wash. Becky and her friends were super encouraging and would yell anytime we would get even close to standing. Steve (Becky's hubby) was standing on the beach with little Esme (Becky's little girl) dying to get back in the water (he's one of those 5am surfer types), and when he got the green light from Beck (who came in to hold Es), he shot over the surf so fast. He made it look way too easy. Luckily no one expects much from Canadians.

We weren't sure if we had time to spend the night, but the entire crew started working on us as soon as we arrived ("it's almost dark out there [nope, it's only 4pm], you might as well spend the night"). They force fed us vegetable couscous, and sausages (Scotty).

Sidenote: they don't call them "bangers" down here, I asked.

We sat and chatted while stink bugs and other insects dropped onto us from the trees (you never knew what it was that dropped into your hair or down the front of your shirt because it was too dark, but every once and a while, one of the girls would let out a shriek and madly flick at some body part). It felt a bit like home. A few of the guys reminded us of some of our friends back in Canada. We just sat there and laughed at ourselves- at the things that make us Canadian and the things that make them Australian, and before we dragged our tired bones to bed, they told us there would be coffee and pancakes in the morning with "real maple syrup" (a total specialty down here).

So we let them feed us breakfast the next morning and they tried to convince us to stay another night.

Oh how I wished we could have.