Parents Gone, Break Continues

Hey, all!

It's been a week since my last post, and I was planning on posting the day my parents left, but obviously that didn't happen. I was having a bit of a hard time with them leaving, even harder than when I initially left for Australia. I think it might have been because I had so much fun traveling around Australia with them and we never really do that when I'm home any more, so it was nice to do it again.

Anywho~!

Wednesday (July 5), my mom was feeling better enough to go to Melbourne Zoo and we did that for a bit. Apparently, it was boasted to be The zoo to go to in Australia, or Melbourne, or something. I honestly wasn't that impressed with it since I had gone to the Australia Zoo. I feel like the Australia Zoo is the best zoo I have been to (and I don't think I'm being too biased since that's where I pet and fed a red panda >.> haha). The one thing that made this zoo worth while, to me, was that they had two red pandas and one of them was the most active one I have ever seen. We got there about 30 minutes after the zoo opened and one of them was already laying down to nap throughout the day. The other one, however, was running around his cage and up and down his tree marking everything (I noticed that from the information the zookeeper gave when I pet and fed Ravvi). We were there a good 15 minutes, if not a little more and he was still being relatively active. It was great and I loved it. There was one other thing that made the zoo trip and that was at the end, when we visited the Japanese garden as well as the Siamangs that were near by. They were making such a huge ruckus that we heard them well before we got to them. On the way over, I was trying to figure out if the noise was from a bird, a monkey, a man, or a recording. Found out that it was from a type of monkey called Siamang. They were rather humorous once I knew where it was coming from.

Later that day, after we had left and gotten back to our hotel (my mom was feeling ill again and needed to rest up) and relaxed a bit. My mom and I went out shopping a bit and found some souvenirs.

Thursday, we left Melbourne to go back to Sydney and in the process it was a little hectic between my parents since my mom had planned on doing a straight shot train from Sydney to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, but something happened and it didn't make it's way into my parents' travel folder, so we didn't know exactly what train she was talking about. So we ended up taking a couple of trains to get there. It was about a two and a half hour travel time, but I think it was nice. We spent one night in the Blue Mountains before heading back to Sydney. We didn't do too much in Katoomba as my mom was too sick to travel their hills. We did relax a bit and my dad and I walked around the hotel a little. My mom and I had both picked up a haunted-like sensation, so we suspect there were ghosts there.

I felt better when we left the next day to go back to Sydney. We went to a cake place that I had been to before to get a birthday cake since I still hadn't had any cake with family for my birthday. We ended up getting the Italian Chocolate Mousse cake for me and my mom (and for me to talk back to my apartment- I still have a piece left. I will be eating that tonight), and a Hokkaido Strawberry for my dad. The cafe gave us candles on the house, but we forgot to buy matches and so I just pretended to blow out the candles, haha! It was a fun time and after we had cake and dinner, my mom and I went back out to go souvenir hunting since they were leaving in the morning to go to the airport. We got back to the hotel about 10 pm and I stayed up a bit longer while my parents went to sleep.

Saturday, I still woke up before my mom and after my dad and we had breakfast downstairs while my mom slept in some more. My mom was a bit upset at that, but it had already happened. I guess the lesson for next time would be to briefly wake her to see if she wanted to join us. Will probably try that next time. After finishing packing, we checked out and waited for the shuttle to pick us up downstairs. I helped them navigate the airport a bit to get where they needed to go to check in and get to security, but that's where I left them since I couldn't go with them passed security since I didn't have a boarding pass. That was rough for both my mom and I, but probably more so for her. After getting back to my apartment, I got caught up on anime that I was watching and started watching new TV shows on Netflix.

Sunday and Monday was much of the same. Monday, I remembered that I needed to rewrite one of my stories to make it more of a children's book format instead of the short story I had originally written it to be, to help collaborate with the artist. I started reading a few children's books I got as well as watching some Final Fantasy X play-through to get an idea of how to write. This is for a club and it will get published into a book/magazine format and sold within the club, maybe a little outside, if there's interest. I'm a little nervous since I've never written a children's book-like story and I haven't written in about six years since I graduated high school. I may be nervous, but hopefully it'll come out fine as most of the material is there, I just ultimately need to shorten it and rewrite it in a way that fits the children's book type.

Today, I watched more of Final Fantasy X and played games on my phone. I also got my grades posted to my UNSW account today. I passed all of them, though one was barely passed and I didn't pass them as much as I would have liked, but that's something I'm learning to let go. I may not have gotten the grades I wanted, but I did the best with what I had even with no idea of how they would actually grade things or what their expectations were. So, unless something unexpected back home happens, I will be spending one more semester here and hopefully this semester, I will have an easier time. I will be taking an engineering course, a math course, a Japanese course, and a Greece history course. I feel like the three former classes better fit how my brain works, but we'll see this semester.

Tomorrow, I will be watching more of the Final Fantasy X and hopefully start (and maybe finish) the first draft to rewriting the story and send that to the artist for her advice.I'm hoping to also make it out to a tattoo shop and see about getting another tattoo before I leave. We'll see how that goes.

I think that's all for now. Until next time!

^^: The Siamangs making noise

^^: Active red panda climbing tree above me. Like, literally above my head.

 ^^: Left, inside a building in Melbourne. It was interesting and artistic to look at. Right, a bunch of wires over a pair of cross streets. I suspect it's for their tram service, but I don't recall seeing trams run in that area.

 ^^: The view from our hotel room in Melbourne.

 ^^: Left, a lion eating breakfast or lunch. Right, a koala!

 

 

 ^^: Above and left, the red panda that was pretty active. Right, a meerkat!

Adelaide and Melbourne!

Hey, all!

It has been a little more calm since my last post, so not a lot has happened, but there's still enough for me to post on, as well as share some pictures!

Friday (June 30, 2017), we left Sunshine Coast and arrived in Adelaide, which has an odd time difference than Melbourne and Sydney: just 30 minutes off. Not even a full hour, which my parents and I found odd, but whatever, I guess! From the airport, we had a little adventure through downtown Adelaide trying to find our hotel, which was supposed to be about an hour and a half drive away. After putting in the correct city in the GPS, we found the correct hotel/cabin and it was indeed about an hour and a half away. It was a quiet drive and my dad  has been getting better about driving in Australia. The time going to and from the Australia Zoo really helped, I think. By the time we got to Victor Harbor, where we were staying, it was evening time (about 4pm) and we hadn't eaten anything since that morning, so we were pretty hungry. Unfortunately, a lot of places were closed for another hour or so, but we managed to find a place to go to and eat at. Afterward, we came back to our cabin and relaxed.

Saturday, we thought we would go for a walk and ended up staying out all day. We bought tickets to do a quick ferry tour thing in the afternoon and while we were waiting for that, we explored the town a bit. We started with Granite Island and walking across the bridge they had between Victor Harbor and the island. We spent some time there, just enjoying the ocean and watching for wildlife. I took quite a few scenic pictures. When we left there, we went back to Victor Harbor to have some lunch before we went on the tour. The tour itself was nice. I was pretty tired and actually was fighting to stay awake when we were moving and didn't really have anything to look at or watch for. We went by Seal Island and one of the seals went in the water to investigate us and we actually had to back the boat up since the boat drivers were worried the seal would hop on the boat. That was pretty funny, but it was cool to see the seals so close. We left them and went by another island and saw some mountain goats and tried looking for some dolphins or whales, but we couldn't see any so we went back to port and got off.

Sunday, was a more calm day and we just went to some shops for souvenirs and had a nice chat with one of the shop owners. Learned that wild kangaroos can be quite mean, especially the male ones. They can live through being hit by a car and can still fight afterward. I found that interesting, but I also asked about koalas and they can also be pretty mean, especially if you get between their them and their food. We had lunch at a cafe that the shop owner had recommended and then spent quite a bit of time on the beach collecting some shells. We then decided to try and go to another spot nearby to try and spot some whales and found some more shells. There was also a lot of crab and clam remains from the sea gulls eating them. It made me sad every time I saw a crab corpse or claw. We didn't find or see any whales, but we saw a couple dolphins. It was beginning to get dark when we decided to head back to town and get some dinner.

Monday, we left Victor Harbor early in the morning and left for Adelaide to make the plane on time to Melbourne. My mom started getting sick and we tried getting it ahead of time by giving her some medicine from the airport pharmacy. When we got to Melbourne, it was a bit chaotic in trying to find our way to our hotel since we weren't going to be renting a car and weren't sure how the public transit would work. It turned out to be okay though, even though my mom was worrying a lot. The hotel is very nice, even though there were a lot of problems in the beginning, like the internet not working, not having a phone, and not having pots and pans to go with the kitchen. The reception was very helpful and did all they could to make things right. I would definitely recommend this place, if you stay in Melbourne. It's called Little Collins Apartment Hotel. The internet is slow and you have to reconnect often, but it is included with the room, whereas previous hotels it was not included. We ate out at a Greek restaurant and then went to the grocery store to get food for the morning. We relaxed back at the hotel when we got back.

Today, my mom felt worse when she got up and she urged us to go to Melbourne Zoo without her, but since she really wanted to go, we decided that we would wait until tomorrow to try that. Instead, my dad and I went and explored the area a bit while my mom rested up a bit in the hotel. We got clothes that fit better, since I have gained weight since coming to Australia. I will be trying to work on getting the weight off when they leave Sydney, but in all likelihood, it will most likely happen when I return to America and am back on a restricted diet. After getting the clothes from Target, we decided to wander about a little longer and found a mall. It was about six stories tall and seemed to have infinite amount of levels to go up. It even had another mall connected to it at higher levels. By the time we reached the top, where more food was, it was about lunch time and I had some Vietnamese pho while my dad tried a Mexican burrito. My pho was really good, but my dad said the burrito was very bland and didn't have any spices at all. We went to the grocery store again and got my mom soup to have for lunch. When she finished, my mom and I left to go to the same mall and get a pedicure. It wasn't what my mom was expecting as they pretty much did the bare minimum that a pedicure requires. At least, that's how we felt coming from Arizona where we had found a nail salon that we liked to frequent. We relaxed more when we got back and then my dad and I fetched dinner (Hot and Sour soup for my mom and Seafood Fried Rice for me. My dad was still full from his lunch). My dad asked about movie theatres and seeing Wonder Woman, so I looked around and found a place and my dad and I went and saw that while my mom stayed in the hotel to head to bed early.

Tomorrow, we are planning on going to the Melbourne Zoo as well as to the National Gallery of Victoria where there is one of the world's largest stained glass ceilings. We might go shopping some more, if my mom feels up to it. I hope she feels better and that the medicine, soup, and rest has helped her get better since whatever has her seems to have hit her hard and I would like her to feel better with her last few days in Australia.

I think that's it for now! Until next time!!

 

^^: Some flowers that were near the cabin we stayed at in Victor Harbor!

 

 

^^: The sunrises and sunsets in Victor Harbor were really pretty.

 ^^: Left, my mom and I posing next to one of the horses they use for horse drawn tram to Granite Island! Right, a resting sea gull!

 ^^: Left, a seal in the water. Right, a spongy coral we picked up from one of the beaches near Victor Harbor and my mom hopes to take back to the states!

^^: One of the panoramic and scenic pictures I took!

^^: I found it funny and cute that there is a restaurant in Melbourne called Rice Paper Scizzors.

Whale Watching and Australia Zoo!

Hey, all!

It’s been an very eventful four days since the last post! A lot of exciting things happened!

Monday (June 26), we went to the SeaLife Sydney Aquarium in the morning. When we were done with that, we had lunch and walked around Darling Harbour while we were waiting for the boat to appear to go whale watching! There was a bit of a rough start as the boat didn’t go to the wharf it was supposed to go to, but the one next to it and my mom was a little upset, but things worked out for the better. We were able to watch the humpback whales breach and such, so it was a great experience. We also managed to see dolphins swim in the wake of our boat! That was really awesome!

Tuesday, we woke up early to check out of the hotel and head to the airport to head to the Sunshine Coast! The way through security was much more simple than it was in America. I didn’t even have to take off my shoes! My mom could take her coffee through, though it needed to go through the same X-Ray thing as our carry-ons, but she could take it through. We rented a car after we landed in the new city and had the experience of my dad driving in Australia and my mom freaking out and making sure he was doing things correctly. We checked in to the hotel (a rather expensive, but not the most expensive resort) and then walked to the nearby mall to see if they had swimsuits (since there was a jacuzzi and I didn’t bring my swimsuit). We didn’t see any swimsuits, so I ended up getting some exercise clothes. My mom and I went to the jacuzzi shortly after and relaxed. We ended up seeing a bat fly around before landing in a nearby tree and messing around in the tree. I didn’t get the chance to take a picture since some kids chased it off before I could get to my phone.

Wednesday, we traveled to the Australia Zoo, the home of the Crocodile Hunter! We saw a bunch of different animals and I took a ton of pictures and a few videos! I learned that day that I would be going to see a red panda up close and personal (a special encounter) the next day at the zoo! It was a birthday present from my parents and it was extremely awesome to experience that!

Today, Thursday, we returned to the Australia Zoo pretty early (an hour before the opened) so I could check in and sign some paperwork. I was to have about 30 minutes with the red panda, by myself (with the photographer and zookeeper)! The zookeeper put food in my hand since the red panda was in my lap and kept giving me food to keep him there. She also told me a lot about their red pandas and how they train him and it was a great experience! About half way through, he decided to jump from my lap and go into his tree, even though he hadn’t finished the food the zookeeper had for him. I was okay with that. I had a lot of alone time with him. I was told that there was usually at least two or three people in the sign up, but it was just me that day and I was so happy! We finished the rest of the zoo and I got more pictures of the red panda and got a few souvenirs from their gift shops. After we got back to the hotel, we left to go to the nearby beaches! We did a lot more walking and got a few shells and enjoyed the water, even though it was a bit cold at first. When we were done, we had dinner at a restaurant near the beach and had gelato after that! It was fun and tomorrow morning, we leave for Adelaide! I’m not sure what we’re going to do there, yet, but I’m sure it will be fun!

I think that’s it for now! Until next time!

^^: A video of the whale breaching!

 ^^: a part of the show they did at the Australia Zoo!

 ^^ & >>: Me feeding the red panda during the encounter!

 ^^: Komodo Dragon!
>>: American Alligator being silly!

 ^^: Dingos!
>>: Wombat on a leash and taking a walk!

 ^^: Kangaroo just chilling and what their hands look like!

 ^^: Tiger!
>>: Macaw!

 ^^: Left, red panda! Right, dingo!

 ^^: Left, dingo! Right, a koala who was interested in the sounds my mom was making, haha!

 ^^: Left, koala stretching out! Right, otter!

 ^^: posing with two awesome birds and zookeepers!

 ^^: Left, octopus from SeaLife Aquarium! Right, penguin!

 ^^: Whale breach!

Parents are here! More adventures begin!

Hey, all!

My parents arrived yesterday (Saturday 24 June 2017)! A little bit has happened since my last post, both good and bad. I'm going to try to start posting twice a week. My aim is to post on Wednesday as well as Saturday or Sunday.

Monday (June 19), my sister and I didn't end up going to the Blue Mountains since the return trip was the next day and my sister didn't want to stay the night. We didn't find that out until an hour before we would have had to leave for the bus, so she wasn't very happy. We decided to go to Taronga Zoo and on the way to the bus stop we Skyped my parents to say "Happy Father's Day!" to my dad and do a quick chat since it was Sunday and Father's Day for them. We didn't do very much or see a lot at the zoo, since my sister was more interested in seeing animals she couldn't see back home (at any California or Arizona zoos).

Tuesday, we went to Lady Bay Beach and stayed there for a bit and left just in time for a bunch of people to come down the stairs for it. Before that, we had the beach to just my sister and I and it was nice. While we were waiting for the bus back, my sister and I got food. Since there was still some time left, she went up the stairs to a scenic view to take soem pictures, but on her way down, her foot got stuck in the last step and she ended up crashing and scraping her knee and hand as well as twisting her foot/ankle a bit. She was pretty sore after that happened and ended up taking a nap when we got back to her place. Later, we decided to try and feed the birds at the park, unaware that the sun would set really fast and we would reach the park in the dark. We had quite an adventure in trying to get out of the park after it was dark. It was really dark and pretty much no lights anywhere and we traveled through tall grass, haha!

We went to bed early Tuesday night since we would need to wake up pretty early to be at the airport by 7:30am. I didn't do much after I dropped her off at the airport, though my goal was to do some studying for the final exam the next day. I did manage to do some studying, but not a lot and it was night time before I did that.

Thursday, I woke up with a really sore throat and I walked to the exam and it went okay. I'm hoping I did well enough to at least pass. I also wish the grades for my other classes would be posted since their assessments and assignments have been long over by now. I just want to know if I at least passed 3 of my 4 classes so I can continue on next semester.

Friday, I relaxed a bit before going out to a farewell get together for a friend before she left for back home. I won at a game of Scrabble (without cheating and looking for words in dictionaries or on the website). Other than that, I had food and a little bit of vodka mixed with this soda-like thing to help with my throat. A friend (that was hosting the party/get together) gave me vitamin C every hour or so and was very nice about that. After the party, we ended up running to catch the train, which I shouldn't have done because when we got to the train, I was feeling bad, mainly in my chest area and it was a little difficult to catch my breath. After we got on the train, my stomach started bothering me and after the stop before ours, I ended up throwing up on the train and my friends supported me and when we got off the train, the two girls in our group went to the bathroom with me to clean up. I felt really bad about throwing up on the train and having them witness that, but I was really grateful that they did stay with me and support me and helped me clean my stuff as well as myself. At least enough to travel more. I even had two friends (male and female, one who was leaving the next day to go back home) take me back to my apartment building to make sure I was okay. I really appreciated it and I know I can call them true friends now. I definitely would not have expected this from anyone back home, unless it was a select few people.

Anyway, I got about 6 hours of sleep that night before I got up to head to the airport to get my parents. They came in the domestic terminal since they stopped in Melbourne first. The terminal and carousel set up was pretty cool and took a picture of that. We didn't do much Saturday, other than go to their hotel and then back to my place to pack a suitcase since we will be traveling a lot around Australia.

Today, we went to Featherdale Wildlife Park! I was able to hold a dingo puppy and get a few pictures with him! They were so cute and I'm really happy I was able to do that. I was even bouncing in anticipation in the line. We will be in Sydney for another day or two before we take an airplane to the Sunshine Coast to see the Great Barrier Reef as well as the Australia Zoo (where Steve Irwin worked and his family work)! I'm really looking forward to this zoo since I really loved Steve Irwin when he was on Animal Planet and I was really sad when he died and I still get sad when I see something related to him.

I think that's it for now! Until next time!

 ^^: Some flowers I saw and wanted to take a picture of!

 ^^: I took a picture of a flower and the beach we were at.

 ^^: Tasmanian Devil seen at the Taronga zoo!

 ^^: Domestic Terminal where you picked up your luggage! I thought the design done for the numbers was cool!

^^: Me holding the dingo puppy! It looks a lot like a Shiba Inu puppy ♥

 ^^: Me bending over a fence to feed an animal!

 ^^: More animals and feeding them!