by Mel | Apr 28, 2015 | Australia, USA
You would have thought the Jet Star rep had just announced the end of life as we know it; an enormous crisis of some abhorrent, unprecedented, universe-altering magnitude. I spooned some more Pad Thai into my mouth and watched with amusement as the chaos erupted around me. Children were crying and clutching at their mothers hems, men were red-faced and twitchy, women were anxious and screechy. Somewhere in the vicinity voices were being raised, and distraught phone calls to loved ones were being hastily made. I can only assume that cancellation of a flight to Hawaii, is, naturally, something of great vexation to normal people- with only two weeks’ vacation and expensive reservations in paradise, it is somewhat less than ideal to find yourself herded to a hotel in Brisbane, of all places, I’m sure. But my disposition these days is such that very little, outside my control that is, really bothers me in life. My travel mantra (one of them) is this: provided I am psychically unharmed and remain in possession of my passport and credit card, then nothing is insurmountable. I had only a $30 hostel bed awaiting me, and personally- something which everyone around me seemed to be curiously forgetting- I had no real desire to fly 9 hours across the Pacific in a vessel with a broken windscreen. Call me cautious, but I was only too pleased to wait for one which wasn’t going to deposit me gruesomely into the clutches of a shark. Original image source: Creative Commons That aside, I was admittedly rather chuffed to suddenly find myself, alone, in a five star...
by Mel | Nov 27, 2013 | USA
I have titled this final ‘Murrica installment aptly. By the time we got to this leg of our travels, the outer limits of my long-lingering student overdraft had been raped and pillaged. We had scraped the barrel, and were coasting indeed. But what are friends for, if not to dignify your financial ruin by allowing you to crash on their sofa? So this last leg of our trip, we stayed entirely with friends along the West Coast. So blessed by this hospitality! The last leg of our trip consisted of 2000+ miles of FUN. We returned the car at Salt Lake city (our baby, booo!) donated our camping stuff, ditched the blankets and the pots and pans, and caught a flight to Seattle. From Seattle we ride-shared to Portland and back, before flying to L.A, then driving to Vegas and back for one final blowout. Luckily our flights were booked from the beginning, so that was one expense already covered! We had two weeks for this last hurrah, and given that we flew the main stretches, there was plenty of time for explorations and adventures. Seattle Argh Seattle, I remember you (or not, as the case may be) from that awesome summer camp when I was 19/20. Now that was an epic summer! Most of my friends across the States are from that summer of delight, and a few from my second summer camp in Croatia. But for the most part, there are many friends in the NorthWest. We picked Torri. Mainly because she’s awesome, but also because she was SO MUCH FUN when we worked together. Torri...
by Mel | Nov 27, 2013 | USA
Having had our collective breath taken again and again ( four national parks in a week, lucky us!), and having roasted alive in the desert and hiked ourselves blistery, it was time for a wee rest. So we left behind the majestic, hair-raisingly epic, expanses of fiery rock and headed North, from Zion to Provo, where Harry has friends. I say we left the beauty behind, but thats not strictly true; the drive to Provo was spectacularly remote. Cue photo shoot. What’s more alluring than an open-road in the arse end of nowhere? Not all roads were so open, however. A mere 20 minutes away from Provo, after hours of nothingness flying past the windows, reality caught up with us. We got pulled over by a policeman for speeding, 93mph in a 70. OUCH. In between biting my tongue (trying to contain a treacherous utterance of “I told you so”) (My ovaries had sensed danger hours ago), I managed to get a quick snap. It was mainly embarrassing. We got chased down the fast lane, then lights flashing and sirens blazing, had to move over across five lanes of traffic. He was actually really nice however, and for some reason (British Charm) he dropped the fine from $200 to $90. In the end, we got away with it completely. And for perfectly legitimate reasons too: their website wouldn’t accept foreign cards, they didn’t take phone payments, and we wern’t there long enough to go to the office in person. So what can you do? The threat that they wouldn’t let us leave the country was obviously complete rubbish; however...
by Mel | Nov 24, 2013 | USA
Following three days hiking in Arches, complete with a humbling dose of mild heat stroke (leading to the surgical attachment of a grotesque hat atop my boiled-egg-head), we hit Canyonlands. Again, no awards for poetry, it is literally, a land of canyons. But what Utah lacks in lexicon (I hear Mormons are un-frivolous and to the point, can you tell?), it more than makes up for in beauty. My earlier comparisons, likening this place to the Grand Canyon, should be mentioned once more. Because it really is very similar; its part of the same raised plateau that puts the whole region at altitude. Its the same type of rock, morphed into this spectacular landscape, created by the same geological phenomenon. Of course, the Grand Canyon is one of the wonders of the world, something everyone would probably wish to see in their lifetime. But don’t be fooled by labels. If you like, this is the Own Brand of canyons, and it does exactly the same job. Except its quieter, its cheaper, its hidden away in oft overlooked Utah. Shhh. Its more majestic; because instead of just one big canyon, there are thousands of interlinking ones as far as the eye can see. But thats just my opinion. I thought Canyonlands was epic! The photos don’t come even close to capturing the grandeur. It takes your breath away, the scale of everything; both how far you could fall to inevitable death, and how this masterpiece of nature runs off into the distance, beyond the realms of your vision. Yeah, really, even your eyes can’t take it all in. Its beyond...
by Mel | Nov 23, 2013 | USA
We left Colorado with a car full of clean washing and clean cooking pots, many thanks to Sarah. I had some clean knickers again too, and if theres one thing a girl needs for an adventure, its clean knickers. And so we headed out into the desert lands, West, into Utah. This leg of our journey was barren, wild and intoxicatingly beautiful. This was the stuff I’d read about, drooled over National Geographic pictures of, lusted after seeing for years. Those famous desert-scapes that get your pulse racing. Our exact route took this form: Thats a lot of driving. For Harry that is; I am Chief Navigator, Chief Tent-Putter-Uper, Chief Planner and Chief Bookings Manager. We did all this in about two weeks, taking in the breathtaking geological formations of Southern Utah around the Moab area (Arches and Canyon Lands National Parks), before dropping further South still to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. Incidentally, Zion is part of the same rock mass that makes up The Grand Canyon, and indeed we were tantalisingly close to that and Las Vegas (where we would end our trip a few weeks later). But I’d seen the Grand Canyon before on another trip, and in my opinion the grandeur of Canyonlands, or indeed anything else in Southern Utah, actually tops that of the Grand Canyon. Not least because the Grand Canyon is crawling with coach loads of obese Americans with sun stroke; Utah, on the other hand… well thats where the real hikers lurk. Quietly. Southern Utah is equally impressive as the Grand Canyon; more so actually, because of the quiet. Nature that...
by Mel | Jul 29, 2013 | USA
The next leg of our road trip took us straight through the middle of the USA- Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado; camping, hiking and lake-swimming along the way. Cue vast expanses of open rolling beauty, deserted roads leading off into the sunset and wide blue skies arching across the horizon. Land of the free? You bet’cha. We left New Orleans with some 1500 miles to cover till our next major stop in Denver, Colorado. There are several ways to cover this much ground, and we opted to bash it out with three ‘driving days’. In between these 8 hour driving days we stopped twice, each time for two-nights, so we actually got to chill out and see some stuff instead of just whizzing along the highway. Next we had to decide the route. After much discussion and sourcing of local opinion, we consulted ye olde map and saw the plethora of greenery and state parks around the Arkansas/Oklahoma border, and a huge lake with free camping in the Texas panhandle. So our route ended up as depicted below, and herein lies the highlights of journeying through America’s heartland. Oklahoma Upon leaving New Orleans, it took about 7 hours to drive up through Louisiana and Arkansas before we hit our Oklahoma state park of choice: Beavers Bend. “Ohhh this one is called Beaver’s Bend. Ha. Ha…. Okay, seriously, we’re going here”. Leaving behind the hot, sticky swamps of the bayou, we found ourselves in fresh, dry, pine forest land. The air was pleasantly warm and smelt of pine needles, not a trace of humidity in sight- not that...
by Mel | Jul 24, 2013 | USA
Welcome to the Deep South… where ya’ll is considered an actual word and chicken wings are a food group. Delicate cultural intricacies linger in the wake of a complex racial history, but the warm hospitality will blow you away. This is a land of stopping to talk, fried foods, the blues, rocking chairs on porches and big waistbands. Our journey through the South started in North Carolina and took us through South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Harry and I very quickly settled in our roles, with me relinquishing the driving to him and becoming the organiser and planner (and eater of giant cheetos). It wasn’t long until Harry discovered sunflower seeds again (he was pretty much addicted in France and left a trail of shells everywhere, much to bar staffs annoyance), and every petrol station stop meant stocking up. Sigh, seeds everywhere, AGAIN. When on the road, Harry and I loved to stop and have a rummage at yard sales, second hand stores and thrift shops… it become a tradition, and we found many weird and wonderful things in the south. Anyway, herein, lie the highlights of our journey through the South… North Carolina My previous post covers our time in North Carolina, but essentially I spent three weeks frolicking in Lake Norman. Would hate to disappoint ya’ll by not letting the babies out. Georgia Once we had stocked up and finally had everything we needed, we headed for Georgia. Georgia included three stops for us: Athens, Savannah, and St Mary’s. Athens Our first port of call, is a bustling university town with a huge party scene....
by Mel | Jul 18, 2013 | USA
This summer, the manship and I have hired a car and are driving across America- the ultimate road trip of well over 5,000 miles. Frequent blogging continues to elude me, and as such I have been travelling across the States for over a month now without putting fingers to keyboard. Don’t get me wrong- I enjoy writing greatly and love documenting my memories (for later in life when a child eventually claws its way out of me and I start caring about things like wallpaper), but when internet is scarce and adventures are numerous, it follows that I will be otherwise engaged. But finally I have found some internet and a spare hour to sit down and begin to write… Granny and I The journey began in little old Tadley, with a 6am knock at the door from Granny- who I think was surprised to find me awake at all. Awake is actually generous- after a rather heavy night in Reading and two hours sleep, the reality was somewhat different. A teary goodbye with Harry (who at this point still hasn’t decided if he should follow the snow to New Zealand, or follow me to the States… MEN), and we’re off. Just to give some context, the opportunity for this trip arose when Granny mentioned she was going to America to visit my Aunty (her daughter) (who recently moved out there with work) for three weeks, and did I want to join? Well yes I did, and why not make a trip of it and go visit all my old summer camp buddies too? And so it was...
