The Final Stretch

Spring has finally arrived in OZ, I think.  At least it feels like spring lately, and it couldn't come at a better time.  The arrival of warm weather makes being away from home a whole lot easier!  I mean, there is a really good reason that I live in South Florida!  Spring's arrival also means that my trip to OZ will be ending soon, so I guess it is time to get down to business.

A lot more of this beautiful country requires my exploring before I get back on a plane headed home.  Seriously, I have only scratched the surface when it comes to Melbourne, and it is so spectacular that I can only imagine what the rest of Australia offers.  The original goal was to visit Sydney, Perth, Queensland, and even New Zealand (different country-I know) during my six-month stay.  Unfortunately, I never factored in one little detail…COST!  Yes, leave it to me to overlook the obvious.  If I visit one more city it would be nice, but if not, I will still leave happy with Melbourne being the only city I know in OZ.

This journey has been one huge adventure after another since the beginning.  It involved not only discovering a new country, but also pealing back that notorious onion and learning a lot about myself.  Don't worry, I am not stepping up on my soapbox again to deliver another rant.  Nope, I will save that rant for another day.  What I will say is that every time I began to feel defeated during this adventure, God answered with a new blessing.  Sometimes those blessings came in the form of a person, and at other times they were disguised as phone calls, texts, and even nature.  Call it what you will, but the timing was always impeccable.

A few weeks back I was feeling a bit lonely, and out of nowhere I met Jonno Jones who was in OZ and visiting from outside of London.  We only spent a few hours together, hitting a few spots downtown, but it was exactly the sort of lift that I required at that time.  It was kind of cool to learn that he and his partner were moving to Melbourne in the upcoming months.  In fact, I think they are arriving just about the same time that I will be leaving.  

Yesterday I met two more people, and quite literally by accident.  It was such a great day on Saturday that I made myself stay outside as much as possible-day & night.  As part of my nighttime plan, I purchased a Walking Ghost Tour of Melbourne.  I arrived fully thinking that it would be a small group, but to my shock and horror the crowd was closer to 40+ people!  Well, in typical Tonka fashion, halfway through the walking tour I slipped on the curb and nearly took out a few of the participants.  The immediate recipient of my fall was a guy named Damian.  Thankfully he was pleasant about the whole experience, and as a result of my near miss I was able to meet two new people-Damian and his friend Belinda.  The two of them were in town visiting from Perth.  After the ghost tour the three of us had a chance to hang out for a bit and enjoy a few laughs before going our separate ways.  

I have roughly one month left in OZ (maybe), which really only amounts to 16 or so days outside of work.  Melbourne was voted the most livable city in the world, and the longer I am here, the more I understand why that is the case.  In the scheme of things, I don't have that much time left to create more memories and meet new people.  

Since it has been a while, I decided to post another video.  This video chronicles one of the best weekends that I have had since Chris left town.  I don't envy that guy… He has two full-time jobs.  The first job was planned, and it is stressful enough, but the second is more challenging and comes with little praise or recognition.  What job is that?  Well, managing me of course!

So Chris, this video is dedicated to you!  You see, pinky promises work every time!

The video link is HERE.

A few pictures since the last time: