Australia - Part Four - A Day in Cairns

We slept in. Well, we slept in until 8 which was glorious. I picked up a croissant, an Acai bowl (thank you Meg Dawson for introducing me to them) and some fancy coffee while Damian showered, and we spent a relaxing morning resting and packing in the room. Cozie Homes was kind enough to give us a late check out at noon – so we were able to take our time. Damian finally got a nap and I got to catch up on my journal.

At noon we took our bags and walked over to Anna & Mark's hotel for lunch.  We were able to store the bags at the front desk, so after grabbing a bite poolside we walked over to the Cairns Aquarium.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  Really focused on the Great Barrier Reef and the diverse animal life with lots of interactive displays. Plenty of places to just sit and watch the fish or sharks or turtles.  Definitely could have spent an entire day just sitting and enjoying the animals.  We were also able to identify alot of the fish and anemone we saw on our dives in the tanks.

Took a taxi to the airport and grabbed our flight to Brisbane - the flight was delayed, and boarding was absolute chaos when they finally did let us on the airplane.  In Brisbane, the bags took forty-five minutes to arrive - the monitors kept changing where they were going to be and there were literally people from four or five flights standing around with the same confused look on their faces.  I started getting claustrophobic, so I stuck with our carry-on bags and Damian went in search of the luggage, finding them on the wrong carousel and injuring his foot pulling mine off the carousel.

Anna and Mark found their bags as well and I suggested we just jump in a taxi rather than try and navigate the airtrain, which we did.  It was pricey (about $80AUD or $50USD), but I was frazzled, and Damian was hurting.   We got to the hotel, and Damian and I went straight to sleep while Anna and Mark went out in search of a 24-hour pancake house.  (Carpe Diem, you crazy kids!)

Australia - Part Three - Dive drama

Signed in at the diving desk in the Reef Fleet Terminal about 7:14 and were first in line – grabbed our boarding passes and headed to the boat, where we had to wait to board. The Down Under Diving ENCOUNTER leaves earlier than yesterday’s boat – but they were just a tad behind this morning.  After loading up supplies, they escorted us up to a nice booth to fill out our paperwork and check our dive cards (apparently there are only 5 certified divers in the 80 customers on board). We grabbed fins and a snorkel, set them in our assigned locker and helped ourselves to coffee and a muffin.

Again, we skipped breakfast – and were again VERY grateful for having done so when the puke fest began. I felt so bad for these people for not being taught by their dive instructor about BONINE – if you’re on the boat, you’ve waited too long to take it!  The sea was rough again, though not as bad as yesterday, and the boat was filled with snorkelers of all ages - all of whom were congregating on the back of the boat vomiting into little baggies handed out by the crew.

Our dive master today was Indy, a tiny little Australian gal with long brown hair and a great smile. She told us our trip didn’t include a dive master – so we were welcome to jump in when the boat stopped and look around, or we could pay $10/dive for her services. This was WEIRD to me as I've never been on a dive boat that didn't include a dive leader – but since we knew nothing about the reef, we quickly agreed to the cost – wanting to see the highlights on our last day of diving.

We got ready VERY early because I hate being yelled at. Let's just say that cramming my carcass into a wetsuit is neither a graceful nor a quick task.  The weird thing was nobody helped. Usually, the dive master will help make sure you’re good to go, turn your air on – nope, not here. During the briefing, she even said – turn on your own air (which I did) and check on your buddy. So it was a very different experience than yesterday. 

Jumped into the water correctly weighted down today, but visibility was not nearly as good as yesterday. Still beautiful – but didn’t get to see any more of the beautiful purple fish I was hoping to capture with my rented camera. Didn’t see ANY giant clams (amazing!) which was a highlight of yesterday.  Got some pictures, had a lovely 45-minute dive and then headed back up to the boat – only to find it covered with 80 snorkelers sitting on the steps everywhere, blocking the ladders, unwilling to move so I COULD GET on the boat. I tried swimming over to the other side – no luck and got bonked on the head pretty badly by the boat as it bobbed up and down. I descended again to the safety line and sat there wondering what to do, when someone grabbed the back of my tank and dragged me to the ladder. I think it was indy. When I got to the ladder, I struggled to pull myself up with my bad knee and all the extra weight I was carrying to balance my buoyancy. I made it up the ladder but still had to make it up the steps to the scuba deck – which were covered entirely by resting snorkelers. I finally just said, “move please.” “move please. “move please” “I need the rail to get up the stairs, move please.” And found Damian already removing his gear at the top.

I was so frustrated. I felt completely unsafe, and had a massive headache from being hit with the boat.

Damian noticed that something was wrong – he said I was just sitting there staring off into space. I don’t remember anything but NEEDING the safety of having my gear bungied into the spot. I was literally shaking from shock. From fear. From anger. Once my gear was in place, I made a beeline for the safety of our booth upstairs and began crying. 

The dive master came up and asked if I was okay, and I just kept repeating, “I'm okay. I’m okay. I’m okay. But I wasn’t. I finally calmed down enough to tell 
her what happened – she said they are supposed to keep the left landing clear for the scuba folks – but that didn’t happen. And I told her I felt completely unsafe diving in these conditions. She asked what she could do – I told her to take Damian out for an amazing dive, but I didn’t want to risk an injury on our second day of vacation – especially with my VIP day at Australia zoo coming up. So I turned in the camera, ate some lunch, and helped Damian into his gear (and some other random guy, since the staff wasn’t helping anyone) and then went upstairs to blog – but instead ended up taking a nap again.  The drama of everything just wiped me out emotionally and physically.

We got safely back to the dock and went straight upstairs for showers and room service. Except, I couldn’t figure out how to call an Australian number from my cell phone. I’m not kidding.  Damian, my sweet companion, volunteered to go downstairs and order food to go. We had some authentic Italian pizza and weird bruchetta and went to sleep around 7. Slept relatively soundly for about 12 hours, not counting the interruptions of Damian’s phone going off, Damian’s alarm going off, and my bladder needing multiple trips to the toilet.

Australia - Part Two - Cairns

FIRST DAY OF DIVING

We were able to check in with Silverswift on our walkabout yesterday looking for swimming togs – so we only had to get up and be at the boat no later than 8:00 am.  We skipped breakfast, took our Bonine, made sure our seasickness patches were still firmly in place from last night and headed out.

We boarded the boat, filled out some paperwork and then started out towards the reef. It was INCREDIBLY windy and choppy – people were throwing up everywhere, and if you weren’t throwing up you were being thrown from side to side. (And this was a pretty BIG boat, too!) Damian and I absolutely loved it – the medication was working; the waves were powerful and amazing – and it brought back to many good memories of previous trips.

It took over an hour to get out to the first stop on Flynn’s reef. The first site was called Links and we jumped into the water with Dive Master Sho to a breathtaking scene. I can’t even describe how beautiful it was down there. So much diversity of coral and fish and colors and movement. I mean you EXPECT the great barrier reef to be amazing – and this lived up to it. The visibility was PERFECT and I am kicking myself for not renting a camera to capture the underwater splendor – but I just wanted to enjoy my dives, which I DID.  Plus they have a professional photographer who dives with you to capture photos of you diving and the fish we see on the reef - and her photos are amazing!

Second dive was even better than the first we went to Gordon's (also on Flynn’s reef).  

After the second dive we had an amazing buffet lunch which included the best pork curry I’ve ever had, fresh prawns (head on, of course – blech) – and lots of salad options, some white fish, it was just really good.

Third dive was to Tracey's Reef.  I, having worn a massive piece of skin off my foot from the flippers, opted to skip the third dive.   I stayed on board to read and ended up taking a nap while Damian went out.

He told me it was a ridiculous amount of swimming and much the same scenery, so it was probably good that I skipped it. Don’t know if he was just being kind – but regardless, I needed the nap.

The boat made its way back to cairns, putting out desserts for everyone who was brave enough to start eating again. It wasn’t as bad as the journey out, but it was still quite rocky. And our medication was still working beautifully.

We had just enough time for showers before we got texted by anna and mark who were already having cocktails at the cocktail bar before our hotel. So we met them down there and headed over to Ochre for dinner. Since we bought dinner last night (Dundee’s is kind fancy) I expected them to pick something more reasonable, but they chose something even fancier and treated us to an amazing dinner.

At 8:30 we were exhausted and off to bed – asleep and snoring easily by 9.

Australia - Part One - Getting to Cairns - Sept 26-28

We checked in at the airport and relaxed in the Delta Lounge until it was time to board our “DELTA ONE” seats. Let’s be honest for a minute, I’m too old to fly 36 hours in coach – so earning those two Global reward upgrades was truly the deciding factor in FINALLY flying to Australia.

The trip from Washington DC to Los Angeles was nice – the food was incredible, the staff was really kind and happy to provide fancy mocktails for photos. The lay flat seats were comfortable, but I didn’t get any sleep from the sheer excitement of actually being ON OUR WAY.

In Los Angeles we again headed to the new fancy Delta ONE lounge, which was absolutely gorgeous. Outside seating, chair hammocks, fancy cocktails and mocktails waiting at the bar – and once again, more food than anyone could ask for. By the time we boarded our LAX to Sydney flight, I didn’t ever want to eat again – and yet, the food kept coming. It is tough to say no to Michelin star chef designed dishes with wine pairings, but seriously – there’s only so much food your stomach can safely hold.

In Delta One SUITES, you not only have lie flat seats, but you have a little workstation area and a door you can close on the aisle to mark yourself “Do Not Disturb” and sleep the flight away. (Or try to, anyway.) I didn’t get much sleep just thinking about the adventures ahead.  Damian sleeps like a professional - I'm quite envious of that skill.

Before I knew it, I watched all four John Wick movies and settled in for a nap JUST as we arrived in Sydney.   Ooops!   I broke out in giggles and seriously couldn’t stop as we passed through immigration and customs, then immediately dropped our luggage off at the Quantas desk for our connecting flight to Cairns.

The flight to Cairns was uneventful – we’ve never flown Qantas before, so there was no status or special seating – we were in the back of the plane with the other peasants, including a really lovely older lady from Mississippi who was travelling with a friend on a two-week tour of Australia and New Zealand.  She told us she had originally booked business class flights, but the tour company cancelled her tour at the last minute and rebooked it a week later - but her airline didn't - thus they had to spend double the cost of their tour just to get coach seats!

Apparently, that’s not uncommon, which is why I made sure to book our scuba diving days with two different companies to ensure we had at least one awesome day.

Once in Cairns we took a taxi to our LOVELY room at the Harbour Lights Condominium – we booked it on Booking.com, but it’s privately owned – a30 second walk from the harbour and pier, with a ton of amazing restaurants on the ground floor.  We had a gorgeous balcony overlooking the water, and the weather is absolutely perfect. A light breeze, some tropical music playing gently from one of the nearby nightclubs – just a glorious start to the trip.

Damian realized he forgot his bathing suit so we took to walking and exploring, eventually finding a Woolworths (I kid you not - it's one of their main grocery chains) and a little gift shop. We bought a swimsuit and some candy and crisps and headed back to the hotel to meet up with Anna and Mark, who have flown in from Adelaide.

We treated them to dinner at Dundee’s on the Waterfront – Damian and I shared the Australian sampler platter which included kangaroo skewers, crocodile sausages, barramundi, garlic yabby and tiger prawns.  It was absolutely delicious and I enjoyed getting to meet Anna’s husband and to catch up with her after thirty years. (We first met on my trip to New Zealand in the early 90s’)

We were in bed by 7:00 and asleep by 7:05. A wonderful start to the trip!

The Secrets to Success - April 6, 2023

 So, many people already know - or at least SUSPECTED - I'm an alcoholic.  It's no longer a secret, and I'm not ashamed to admit it - particularly now that I'm recovering.  But recovery looks different to everyone - and I wanted to share some hard-earned wisdom about my journey in particular.

There are the things that I needed to finally succeed in sobriety:

1) HONESTY - I had to admit that I'm an alcoholic.  I had to accept that there is no "moderate" drinking at this juncture in my life.  I can't think about being "cured" and going back to social drinking.  I now consider myself a non-drinker.  

2) WANTING IT FOR YOURSELF - The DESIRE to quit had to be there - I had to WANT to stop drinking.  Not because I knew I should, not because others begged me to, not because I saw the destruction it was causing, but because *I* wanted to quit.  That took some time.

3) CONNECTION - This is where most people attend 12-step meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous, which I feel is a wonderful organization.  It just isn't for me.  I hated going - I still hate going - but I recognize that the connection is incredibly important to my success.  So I found that connection in my Lampworking group - we get together and make great art and talk about anything and everything.  We have had extremely deep, philosophical conversations - but mostly it's just a bunch of goofy people having a really goofy time.  Without alcohol.  (Because let's be honest, when you're working with fire - being under the influence of ANYTHING is a very bad idea)

4) EDUCATION - This is another area where AA can fit the bill - but if that doesn't work for you, you must find ways to understand addiction and how your brain and your body work.  I've discovered that by reading EVERY day about addiction, alcoholism, and self-care I'm learning and growing in knowledge in ways that I couldn't by simply attending meetings.  I'm discovering WHY we do what we do, learning about other people's paths, and getting all SCIENCE-Y on my recovery.  It's really, really good for me and ensures that awareness is ever-present.

5) MOTIVATION - Finally, motivation is a big one.  While the motivation to NOT drink is good - I've found that adding some serious "non-alcohol" related motivation has been extremely helpful.  At the end of September, I'm going to take the "top of the bucket list" trip I've been wanting to do for 30 years - a trip to Australia.  I couldn't be more excited about it - and I know I will take thousands of pictures.  I WANT TO LOOK AMAZING in those pictures.  Now that I'm not drinking 1600 calories a night, I should be able to get into better shape for scuba diving and climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  It's pushed me into not only sobriety but eating better and getting more exercise - all of which are contributing to better health.

I'm sharing my story only because I've met so many amazing people over the past few years - some have succeeded, and many have not - but each one had its own unique challenges.  My point is simply that my journey is my own - these are things that have worked for me.  As Matt Damon explained in "The Martian" as he's trying to figure out how to survive after being abandoned on the planet, "In the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option.  I'm going to have to science the shit out of this one."  Work, experiment, fail, get up, try again - figure out what works for YOU.  Realize what it is that you want and need and then do what needs to be done to make it happen.

I'm cheering for you!  And I'm happy to listen to your journey if you need another connection to get you through.

A Little Excitement - June 28, 2022

 

I absolutely love my sweet little garden - it just gives me joy to see things growing in the backyard without dying, let alone actually bearing fruit!  (Or, more accurately, vegetables)

Today I went out to water my garden, and as I'm turning on the hose I notice there's a deer sitting in my backyard in the ivy.  Just laying there chewing away on something like she doesn't have a care in the world.  I just marveled at how beautiful she was - and stared transfixed for a few minutes until the peaceful calm was broken by Diesel coming through the dog door.

He didn't notice the deer at first and went about his business, sniffing to find the perfect spot in the yard to relieve himself, which he promptly did.

And then he noticed the deer.

I don't know if I've blogged much about Diesel - but he's the sweetest dog in the world TO HUMANS, and an absolute bully to other animals.  He tried to attack the next door neighbor's dog once, who easily outweighs him by about a hundred pounds.  So going after this giant six foot doe didn't even cause him a moment of pause.

My yard is 100% fenced - but the backyard has a small three foot iron fence because the bamboo is so thick back there,  I put it up literally to keep the dogs INSIDE, not to keep animals OUT.  So it was more than a shock to see the deer - but now that Diesel was in pursuit and she was in the yard, she JUMPED up and started racing for an exit with Diesel (in chunky, but determined strides) close behind.

Unfortunately, there's no place for her to go - both gates are firmly shut - I haven't had the chance to open them as I was gazing in stupor at the animal.  So she's running this way and that way and forwards and backwards.  He's barking and running.  She's leaping in panic and finally retreats back to the thick bamboo.  I can hear it crunching and breaking as she tries to hide.  I GRAB Diesel and put him back inside the house and slowly coax the animal back out into the open.

Just in time for Diesel to return through the dog door.  AGAIN the chaos begins.

I must say, though - the scene reminded me a bit of the road runner and Wile E Coyote - there was no way Diesel was EVER going to catch that deer, bless his heart. But he's trying and barking menacingly and she's doing her best to escape, eventually retreating again to the thick bamboo.

I manage to grab Diesel a second time and put him in the house, this time putting a propane tank firmly in front of the dog door.  I open both gates and go into the house - watching to see if the deer comes out.  It's been 40 minutes now, and I'm debating whether or not to go looking to see if she's still hiding back there or if she bolted through while I wasn't looking.

It's not weird to see deer in this area - although not normally in the middle of the afternoon - but I'm still a city girl at heart, and I love it each and every time it happens.  (Seeing the deer, not the animal anarchy)

Write your own Eulogy - Assignment 1.7 - If You Were to Die Years from Now in Recovery

 

To be read by my sister:

Award winning actress Nikki Roberts, 92, passed away in Tibet on June 20^th after completing a lifelong dream to climb to Everest Base Camp. 

Nikki spent a lifetime fulfilling her love of travel - visiting or living in at least 50 countries on all seven continents.  She retired 2 years ago having boasted multiple careers throughout her life including cybersecurity warrior, Security instructor, and television actress – most commonly known for her role as the crazy aunt Ginny on the long running series, “Divorced Dads”, for which she received three Emmy nominations.  I once asked her if she was upset about not winning and her response was, “I played the crazy aunt – you can hardly call that acting when you’re just being yourself.”  Touché.

Some of her greatest achievements (in her mind) were participating in the Miss Utah pageant after someone told her she’d never be a beauty queen, spending a summer in New Zealand backpacking and working on local farms to pay for her trip, fighting cancer in a third world country in the middle of a global pandemic, and being awarded two college degrees without graduating from high school.  She wanted her friends to know that she felt like the luckiest woman on the planet – having cultivated so many amazing lifelong bonds of love with truly remarkable people.  She loved you whole heartedly, but you know that already.

She is survived by the true loves of her life, her nieces and nephews, and the seventeen “honorary” grandchildren that she spoiled constantly – and often rebelliously as she’d take them to Monster Truck rallies, swimming with Manatees, or simply to the park as they all dressed as pirates and drove away the other children from the tower unless they agreed to join their pirate crew.  She LOVED dressing up for any occasion whatsoever – her favorite being, “It’s Tuesday.  I’m gonna wear the SILVER tiara.”  (As if everyone who dined at Dennys were wearing tiaras) Yes, you’re all laughing because you know it’s true.  She was definitely “extra” at one point owning 17 dogs at the same time, all of which slept in the bed with her.  She rescued over 100 dogs during her lifetime – and left a generous legacy to several animal shelters in her will, as well as ensuring that all her grandbabies had the means to attend college.

Nikki struggled with addiction in her 40’s, but overcame her dependence to become an advocate for affordable and available mental health services for everyone.  She believed strongly in Universal Health Care and would often be seen at rallies and marches  campaigning for change.

In lieu of burial, Nikki will be cremated and encourages all of her friends to take a portion of her remains and deposit them somewhere new and exciting that she would have loved to visit.  And please post it on her web page – because, you KNOW how she loved those views and responses!

There are so many crazy stories of her humor, her resilience, and her quirky nature – she would want us laughing and remembering, so I invite you to each come forward and share one of your stories – and make them good!  As Nikki would say, “It doesn’t count if you don’t do the voices, too.”