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Down Under trip Preparation

a travel blog by exumenius


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Recovery - Night 10

Tucson, United States

We checked out at 9 am and Chad and I took Chris out to the JW Marriot resort at Starr Pass. I had never been to this part of Tucson before, and though it reaked of suburbia, that fact that the resort bordered Tucson Mountain Park made it quite beautiful, and I will admit that the developers did a pretty good job of blending the place into its natural environs.

After arriving home, I had work to do. A half an hour call into the office left me with a busy afternoon, when all I really wanted to do was nap. I finally got my relief at about 3pm, when I finished what was due only an hour later. It seems every Friday I get a call with something due in two hours. I’ll be happy when it is over.


My Temporary Tucson Home

My hosts’ presence was required at the dress rehearsal, so I got to spend some time relaxing, reading, and watching the latest season of Entourage. A so often happens, while I was sitting on the balcony reading, I had what may prove to be a major breakthrough in our (Max and mine) little “appraiser assistant” software development scheme. I really hope the next six months of reading and relaxing will have as many such “ah ha” moments. Called it an early night and was in bed by 10:30 for some much needed sleep.

What I learned Today: It is a good thing I am going overseas and out into the jungle (or the outback) because I am finding that I am just one of those people who cannot seem to let go of work. I used to think people mad for working on vacation, etc, but now I find that I am constantly volunteering to do extra tasks and cannot seem to just let work go. I guess we all need something to keep us busy, however, we should fill this need with things we want to do, not things we are supposed to do. I guess part of me enjoys solving problems and being the man in the know….it is likely an ego thing and I hope I can transform it into a positive attribute in the future.

permalink written by  exumenius on October 5, 2007 from Tucson, United States
from the travel blog: Down Under trip Preparation
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Robyn and Chris's Wedding - Night 11

Tucson, United States

Today was the big day for Chris and Robyn and

My old roommate Chad and I
the reason for my visit to Tucson. Chad was in the wedding party so he had to leave early for pictures, meanwhile Chrissy and I headed to the historic Hotel Congress to check into our hotel for the evening. Tonight was also the Annual Club Crawl, a large festival downtown with bands and beer tents. The very epicenter of the event is Hotel Congress, so we would be right in the middle of the action. But first the wedding.

Since Chris’s family is Catholic, the wedding would take place in a Catholic Church right after the 4 pm mass. By the time the local families filed out and we filed in it was nearly 5:40 by the time the wedding began. A surprisingly large showing considering none of the family, and only a few of the friends actually live in Arizona. Though it was a traditional Catholic wedding, it only took 40 minutes (which was still a bit on the long side in my book.) The priest, whom the Etzkorns flew in from Seattle, was an old, fat man who had enough of a sense of humor to keep us all awake. His homily focused on the three types of love; erotic, friendship, and sacrificial, which I thought was very interesting and somewhat philosophical.

The reception followed at the Tucson Museum of Art,


The Wedding Reception
a sheik and elegant venue. The food was excellent, especially the rubbed shrimp hor’s de ouerves. We ate outside, dancing was limited and booze was free. Music was provided via an Ipod and the Museum was open for cavorting. All things considered, probably the ideal reception, as far as I am concerned.

At around 11 we headed back to the Hotel Congress and the madness that was Club Crawl. Courtesy of our hotel guest status we were able to jump the lines and get in for free. We changed out of our dress clothes and rushed downstairs to the outdoor stage. The remainder of the night was fairly non-descript, just some music, more drinks that I didn’t need and stumbling to bed around 2 am. A long, but enjoyable day.


Jessica, Crissy and I at Club Crawl
What I Learned Today: The Catholic Church explains the existence in the Bible of Song of Songs (that old erotic Egyptian poem) as the book that describes God’s love towards us. Not surprisingly, it is the only book of the Bible that doesn’t once mention God. Why can’t they just admit that they borrowed this text from another religion, like so much else in their holy book. But then again, what fun would the Bible be without a little taste of erotica.

permalink written by  exumenius on October 6, 2007 from Tucson, United States
from the travel blog: Down Under trip Preparation
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Recovery: Take Two - Night 12

Tucson, United States


The Hotel Congress
Awoke to the sound of train whistles and large trucks removing the fencing and other apparati from last night’s festivities. Our room was at the very end of the hall, at the strange triangle peak of the building, perhaps one of the most character-ful rooms in the place. Though the Congress would not be considered luxury by today’s standards, at one time it was the place to be in Tucson. What it lacks in modern amenities it more than makes up for in quirk and class. It is absolutely great to stay in a hotel that doesn’t have television in the rooms. It forces the guests to leave their rooms and socialize in the downstairs café, lobby, or bar. I think one of the toughest parts about traveling by yourself, especially for work purposes, is the isolation that occurs after the normal working hours. Suburban, Interstat-ish hotels and motels lack true public space and thus each evening is spent mindless watching reruns in the oversized and under-interesting rooms. Not at the Congress. No the Congress is a throwback to the time when traveling was done for the experience and the encounters, not just to say we’ve been somewhere.

We checked out and headed home in order


Raja - The Cat
to get breakfast and nap. For dinner, we stopped by my old favorite Long Wong’s for a mini-bucket of wings. The evening was spent watching CSI – Las Vegas reruns and playing with Raja the cat. Early to bed.

WIL: Sometimes when you fall upon a new idea (or at least an idea new to you) you immediately begin to find manifestations of that idea or thought in everything you see, hear and read and everyone you talk to. It was almost as if it was there all along (it usually is), but you were just too blind to see it. I find this happens most often with ideas or recognitions that challenge, or often change, our most basic ethical and moral principles. It has made me realize that perspective is so very important in our lives, whether it be politically, socially, or spiritually. And since perspective is shaped by our experiences and education, we should strive to enhance these two at all costs.

permalink written by  exumenius on October 7, 2007 from Tucson, United States
from the travel blog: Down Under trip Preparation
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Last Night Stateside - Night 13

Tucson, United States

Columbus Day, a second rate holiday if that.

Tucson Mountain Park
My hosts, however, were required at their day jobs, so I had the pleasure of taking the Volvo for a ride today. After another conference call tying up some loose ends at work, I drove west on Speedway Boulevard up to Gates Pass Recreation Area in Tucson Mountain Park. I hiked a short way up to a small, rock outcropping that likely had a name, though I don't know it, and hung out for a while letting the warm desert wind blow through my hair. From my perch I contemplated the dangerous beauty of this place. Life clings so precariously to the rock and dirt here. The plants and animals use each drop of water as if it were their last, and when given the chance they explode in beautiful colors and odds shapes, vicious bites and sharp points. Tis a small and juvenile mind that finds the desert boring and dull.

Tucson Mountain Park

Tucson Mountain Park

In the afternoon i finished up some final shopping errands. Chad and Crissy returned home and we headed to our old happy hour haunt, Bison Witches, for my last supper, as it were. The waitresses remained as good looking as ever, though the potato bacon soup was a bit more watered down than I remember. Justin met us out and I spent the night as his place near Mountain and Grant.

What I Learned Today: I have some truly amazing, generous friends all across this amazing land.


permalink written by  exumenius on October 8, 2007 from Tucson, United States
from the travel blog: Down Under trip Preparation
tagged Hike and TucsonMountains
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An End and A Beginning

Los Angeles, United States

Today brings an end to my two week barnstorming tour of all the places I used to live. It was great to see so many old friends again. These reunions made me realized how poor of a job I have done keeping in touch over the years. In this day and age, it is so simple (not to mention free) to send an email just to keep up to date on old friends, yet we all seem so hard pressed to do this elementary task.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all those people who've offered me hospitality over the past two weeks: Jeremy and Chessa, Jesse, Brett and Miranda, Matt and the rest of the Dugout, Joanna and Julie, Rick, Chad and Crissy, Justin, and Ed. This trip wouldn't have been possible without each and every one of you, and for that I am indebted to you all.

Sitting in the Los Angeles Airport it finally hit me that every person I meet for the next six months will be a new friend. Every face I see is a new face, an unknown, but an opportunity. Chances are that some of the people I meet over the next six months will be people who may end up being some of my best friends or maybe my wife (or quite possibly a mortal enemy), but, what if i had planned my vacation a year later, a month, a day; i may have met a completely differenct set of people. How can anyone deny free will in such circumstances? Fate is bullshit. Our experiences are the the simple circumstances of our decisions. Thus is any decision wrong? Or are the consequences of it merely undesirable (at the present time, given our present perspective). I hope this trip can be my chance to open my mind and take each decision and its consequences for what they are, and learn and grow from each of them.

Here's to new friends, new places, new experiences, and, likely, a new me.


permalink written by  exumenius on October 9, 2007 from Los Angeles, United States
from the travel blog: Down Under trip Preparation
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Nimbin the Way Home - Night 18

Nimbin, Australia


Main Street Nimbin
We checked out of the Caravan Park by 9 am (actually 10 as daylight savings time had snuck up on us, unbeknowingly) and headed into town for some breakfast to calm the queasy stomachs in the group. All but two of us made it back to the caravan park after the bar last night. Aaron and Jana, being out of money and a bit lost couldn’t afford a cab and ended up sleeping on the beach.

I bypassed the group breakfast and headed to the Tribal Travel office to book my Fraser Island tour. They had a special including Fraser, the Whitsundays, and a Noosa Camping trip all for $300 up front, but I just didn’t have the time to fit in the two add-ons. I ended up getting the Fraser trip – three days, two nights on the island plus two free nights in Hervey Bay – for $155, plus an additional $80 later for fuel, food, and insurance.

The troupee rolled out of Bryon Bay around 11:30; destination Nimbin. A bit out of the way, Nimbin is a popular destination for the alternative crowd and curious daytrippers like us. The city, or community rather, began in the 60’s as a refuge for hippies and has continued to offer such a lifestyle right up until today. The physical setting is beautiful, tucked into a river valley with lush, green mountains on all sides. The city itself was a bit disappointing. One long street full of cafés, bookstores, and herbal bakeries with numerous strange characters selling pot on the streets.

After a half an hour of perusing the shops we hit the road for the long climb home. We unpacked and had a delicious dinner of beef casserole and rice. The sun dropped below the horizon and a terrific storm began to form in the northeast. Lightning like I have never seen before; not once every couple of second, or even every second, but literally non-stop for hours and it appeared to be moving ever so slowly directly toward us. The storm hit at about 1 am and continued for hours. I don’t think too many of us slept very well at all for being in tent during a massive thunderstorm is much like being directly outside in it, except for the water, of course.

What I Learned Today: Regardless of the cost of drinks or my overall level of thirst it never fails that I’ll manage to spend all the cash I have in my wallet when out at the bar. Since I cannot seem to break this habit, I am going to have to put a quota on how much cash I can carry with me, much like I do in Vegas.


permalink written by  exumenius on October 28, 2007 from Nimbin, Australia
from the travel blog: Down Under trip Preparation
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A Day at Darling Harbour - Night 44

Sydney, Australia

The weather proved to be dour again today,

The Iceman
as the clouds hung low over the top of the concrete jungle’s canopy. Outdoors the elements were more like a November day in Seattle than Sydney. For lunch we had American cuisine, large juicy burgers from Burgerlicious, a Red Robin-esque chain restaurant here down under. Quite surprisingly, the burger actually tasted as fresh as advertised.

The rest of the group had plans to walk the gardens and peruse the Opera House, activities I had already checked off the list. Thus we agreed to go our separate ways and meet again at the Sydney Aquarium around 3 o’clock. To pass the time I did some preparatory shopping for New Zealand and eventually stumbled down to the free National Maritime Museum. The actual maritime exhibits were less than enthralling, however, the ancillary showings were well worth the price of


My Kind of Boat
admission. A small room on Jellyfish proved informative and interesting, but the real prize was the Iceman exhibit. Otzi, a resident of the Alps was found completely intact and buried in a glacier about 15 years ago by some hikers in Austria. Dated at 5,325 years old, his remains included everything: clothing, weapons, and even the contents of his stomach. Forensic evidence has shown that the cause of death for the man, in his mid 40’s, was from an arrow through the back, shot uphill from approximately 20 meters away. The curators joked that the culprit remains at large. Through pollens found in his stomach the murder likely occurred in the month of June.


The Aquarium
My scientific exploration continued at the aquarium. Although the entire place was an attraction, the underwater walkways taking you beneath sharks and huge manta rays were the clear highlight. The coral exhibits were captivating as well.
After the aquarium Paolo took off to meet some family and Charlie and I headed home for some dinner and beer. Later on we all me up at Jackson’s on George, minus Paolo who was still at dinner and Karen who was on a date with a guy she met the night before. The night ended early again as we were all exhausted from the day.

My time in Sydney was enjoyable but tiring. Being a morning person I can’t help but wake before the 7 am hour, a fact which makes travelling with evening people a bit challenging. After a whole day of activities I am dead tired by 9pm. That combined with the cold I am fighting meant I was a bit of a bore most nights. It seems every time I try to do a short two week type vacation I end up being run down at the end of it. Though I enjoyed the last 10 days with friends I am also most definitely looking forward to a few nights of sound sleep in Auckland.

What I Learned Today: Despite my best efforts, when tired, I can be a horribly impatient bastard.


permalink written by  exumenius on November 23, 2007 from Sydney, Australia
from the travel blog: Down Under trip Preparation
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