remember you're a spirit on a journey.
After being home for a week I packed up my bags again and headed for the land down under to visit Ashlee and Kelsey! My travel itinerary went as follows:
- MSP to LAX (3 hour 59 minutes)
- Layover in LAX (6 hours 24 minutes)
- LAX to SYD (15 hours)
- Layover in SYD (3 hours 30 minutes)
- SYD to BNE (1 hour 35 minutes)
- Layover in BNE (2 hours 25 minutes)
- Bus to Lismore (4 hours 55 minutes)
TOTAL: 37 HOURS 48 MINUTES
Needless to say it was A LOT of traveling! But I was in Australia, so I was happy! When I got off the bus I was worried that Ashlee wouldn't be there as I had ended up having to book a different bus, but thankfully everything worked out and she was waiting when my bus dropped me off! :D We grabbed some dinner with Stef, Molly, and Ellie and then headed back to Ashlee's flat on campus.
The rest of the night we caught up and did a lot of talking. For my bed we ended up borrowing a mattress from Ashlee's friends apartment as well as a sleeping bag. It was quite eventful hauling that across the campus! :)
The next morning we all got up early. Ashlee had a final, and Stef and I went to get a rental car for the day. When Ashlee got done with her exam the three of us headed towards Nimbin. Nimbin is most well known for being the marijuana capital of Australia. Although I refused all the marijuana cookies I got offered, the town had a great vibe to it. I love free spirits! :]
One of many interesting shops.
I LOVED this sign! It was fabulous!
The bus that runs from Byron Bay to Nimbin.
Close up.
Another shop.
And another. I found this one to be the most amusing.
Nimbin is home to a museum all about Nimbin. It was pretty much a collection of anything and everything, which made it delightful to go to.
Einstein was a smart man!
Mural outside the museum.
Right above the exit to the museum.
peace.
On the way back to Lismore we pulled over at the scenic lookout for the Nimbin Rocks. From there I got the chance to drive on the opposite side of the road for about fifteen minutes before I let Ashlee take over again. At first it was really bizarre, but then it just felt natural. The hardest part for me was turning on my windshield wipers whenever I would try to use the blinker. Whoops!
Nimbin Rocks.
Me driving on the "wrong" side of the road.
Stef.
Ashlee, our actual driver for the day! :)
Once we got back to Lismore we ate some lunch and then went to the mall. I really enjoyed the stores, even though I didn't let myself buy anything. I was learning fast that Australia is expensive! Very expensive! So instead I just window shopped. After the mall we dropped off the rental car. By the time we got back to campus it had started to downpour, so we just watched a movie and passed out early. I was still a bit jet lagged and we had to wake up early the next day, so I wasn't complaining.