and i'm back!!! USA USA USA

My last post was when i was headed to brisbane where i spent a couple days. Didn't do much. Mostly walked around the city, which i enjoyed, it was a great size and feel. I think if i had to live in one of the "big" cities i might choose brisbane. The evening of the second day i did a brewery tour at the XXXX (four x) brewery, which was fun and came with plenty of free tastings. later that evening i hit the town with the guys in my room, a couple of irish guys i could hardly understand. but the town was pretty dead so we headed back pretty early, they took the train and i walked which was a little scary but i actually got back just as fast.
My next stop was in Byron Bay, another place i want to return to and spend a little more time, its exactly what you would think of a surfer's town. another one main road towns, but they have done a good job keeping out the big businesses really only a big woolworths grocery store, no McDonalds, no mall or big department stores. and at night the few pubs and bars that were there had great energy, too bad it was raining and i didn't feel like getting soaked and spending money on drinks i couldn't afford at this point. The second day in town the weather was a little questionable to I decided last minute to take a tour of a nearby town called Nimbin... kind of the Amsterdam of australia. Where a certain herbal refreshments are illegal but laws aren't enforced. The bus ride was great! it was a bus from the 70s but a modern sound system blasting a great soundtrack to the adventures we were having. Most of us on the bus bought some baked goods but were a little disappointed, but we all had a fun time checking out the crazy museum and funky shops in town. the bus also took us to visit a hippie guy out in the middle of the woods, guess it was all farm land that he returned to jungle and the guy was crazy and funny. next the bus took us through world heritage forests to minyon falls. we also stopped at a few pubs and roadhouses along the way. in all it was a great day and had lots of fun. too bad i didn't get anyones email addresses they were a fun group.
when i returned to my hostel i found my stuff missing from my room and all the beds taken by other people! but luckily i was moved to a private room since a family had reserved the entire room for themselves and i was accidentally put in there too. so my that night i had a room all to myself, always a bonus in a hostel. even though this was probably one of the nicest hostels i stayed in, i think it was almost brand new.
from byron i headed back to sydney for my final stop on my trip!
after over 13 hours on the bus i arrived in sydney, quickly found my hostel and was checked in by midnight... a long day and i was ready for bed... too bad my bed was in probably the grosses room i've had yet... it smelled bad (think moldy gym socks and wet dog) and i'm pretty sure there was blood stains on my pillow, and the floor was covered in clothes and junk! i managed to fall asleep before they came back to i got woken up by the drunken laughter of 2 irish guys and a irish girl... never got their names. then they preceded to whisper loudly for the next hour, at one point the guy got in bed with the girl in the bed below me (hooray for top bunks o_O) he was begging for a some loving and luckily she was like not with these others in the room... BUT after i finally fell back asleep i was awaken by a violent shacking bed as they finished the final thrusts of passion.... eeeew gross... it was done and over before i could say anything and i was just waiting for one of them to say something to me but they never did. but on the up side in the morning i checked with the front desk to see if my case of wine from sevenhill showed up and it did!!! that made up for anything disturbing that may have happened. and even more exciting was i went on a mission to find a platypus before i left the country... and i did!!!! i went to the sydney aquarium where last time i was in town was unsuccessful in spotting any platypus, but this time spotted 3 separate ones!!! even though it was in a cage i didn't care! my "last night" in town i went out with a group from the hostel to the side bar (which i had a fun time at last time i was in town) ended up hanging out with a couple guys from holland all night and did a good job spending the rest of the cash i had before my flight in the morning.
so in the morning i grabbed my heavy box of wine, big backpack and little backpack and made my way to the lobby to wait for the shuttle to the airport... saw one of the dutch guys and when i went to say hello nothing came out! i completely lost my voice... i dont think i've ever lost my voice like this. when the bus arrived i juggled my gear out to the bus and after a short ride to the airport i began my search for the correct check in line... what luck a big united airways sign... and what better luck a big sign saying "san francisco flight cancelled" umm thats my flight! after waiting in line for like an hour i finally got to talk to a counter person and they were going to put me up in a nice hotel for a couple nights while waiting for the next flight! sweet! 2 more days in sydney! too bad i had no voice, was starting to feel pretty sick and the weather was rainy... but hey at least it was a free fancy hotel room! my own bathroom, big fluffy bed with clean sheets and 4 pillows, a big tv and an amazing view! and $15 a day for meals and drinks at the hotels bar. after i got all checked in, took a nap, i decided i had just enough time to get down to bondi beach and watch the sunset. which ended up being a little more tricky then expected... trains and buses and walking aimlessly... but i got there just in time and it was beautiful! the next day was kind of a waste, i was planning on going to the blue mountains (on most peoples don't miss list, which i did) but since it was rainy i decided it was better to explore china town and watch "transformers" that just came out... but as soon as i prebought my ticket for a later show the skys cleared enough that i regretted it... and for $18 or whatever i paid i wasn't about to just forget it and buy another bus ticket up to the mountains for +$20... i guess i have something to look forward to next time i'm in sydney. but the movie was awesome so i can't complain too much other than i could have seen the movie back home and the blue mountains are only in australia. still not feeling well i didn't do much at night, had a couple beers and fish and chips at the hotel, there was a guy playing keyboard in the bar but it was a little too weird for me so i headed back to my room and watch tv and took it easy.
next morning made my second attempt to leave the country. and was successful! all flights went smoothly except for my cough was keeping me awake so i was up nearly the entire time... i think it was nearly 24 hours of travel. Customs was fun! was worried they were going to charge me a ton for the 14 bottles of wine i brought with me but i think the guy i had was confused or something because i wasn't charged anything extra! there was a sign right there saying something like 1.5 L duty free... well i had over 10 L and still no duty! score!
Well i'm home now, still feel a little sick and my voice is finally almost back... still have a bit of a cough though. feel a little (ok alot!!) overwhelmed by what I NEED to get done in the next 6 weeks (or so) before i have to move to california and start work with pat at Jordan Winery. I have all my photos to sort through, i really want to send an email to ever person i met and make sure i keep in touch (thinking if i make an effort now, in a year or 2 when i finally can go visit they will remember me, its easy to forget or drift apart and most of the people i met i genuinely became friends with and do want to see again, its jsut a bonus if i can use that friendship to couch surf across europe :)) and theres the house... which is more of a psychological block than anything... just thinking about everything i still need to do brings on a anxiety attack and shuts me down... i need help! (in every way:-/)