My inherited traveling companion 👵 and I 👩 had a fairly uneventful flight from LAX headed 'Down Under'. It was a night flight, packed to the tin sides of the aircraft with humanity, and still the mandatory use of face masks was in place 😷😷, Blech! but we understood, especially if it meant we could now travel.💨🛪.
She and I sat a few rows apart, I with my window seat and she in an aisle seat. We waved 🙋 once we got settled and hunkered down for the long haul.
It was late at night when we took off but there were movies and a dinner. It was an international flight and the joy in that is the FREE WINE! However, I didn't last long, not even to eat the meal provided. I was exhausted....ZZZZZ😴 huddled snug into my window seat, my hooded fleece over my head, ear buds in place, I watched, wait for it..... Lord of Rings, The Hobbit.
Yup, had too. 😂
Okay, okay, I was headed to Australia but I had to land in New Zealand on the way to my final destination, so technically, I was headed to Hobbit Land on my way to a Grand Adventure!
I didn't last long, I was exhausted. Remember, this whole World Traveler bit, quite new for me and the trek to LAX , then finding my way to the hotel, then back to LAX , finding my entry point, meeting new friends 👵👨👧👦👸👱, waiting in a crowded terminal, drinking my mini's.... Yeah, I had a couple, and then finally finding out where I was headed, THEN boarding the airplane and it was a big one! Biggest airplane I've ever flown on. Then getting settled, I was pooped!💩
My biggest worry about the long plane ride? 'how was I going to make it through a 12 hour flight?'. I'd never flown more than a 7 hour length and, back in the day, that was a challenge for my neurosis of claustrophobia, fear of heights, and other anxieties. Amazingly...by the time I settled into my seat, these complications didn't enter my mind.
A) I was really tired, not just from the couple of days leading up to this moment but I had been tired of my life up until then and for the first time I began to understand that I could rest, I wasn't going to lead THAT stressful life any longer.
B) It had been an exhausting week prior to my departure; saying goodbyes, visiting my family and friends because, perhaps, I wouldn't be returning for quite some time.
What happened? I slept. I missed dinner, didn't hear a peep from my aisle mates, and I zonked out for 8 solid hours of the 12 hour flight.
Note: The term Mate is used universally throughout Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. If you even begin to approach these areas of the world, that phrase is particularly evident in the English language, and it's a friendly 😉
I'll jump ahead now as the in-flight experience is puurty uneventful, other than climbing over my seat mates as they slept to go to the loo and watching the sun rise as we began our descent upon Gold Coast, Australia.
Landing, it was a moist and wet day ☔, we all yawned and stretched 🥱🙆and made ready to disembark 🏃. Needless to say I was a bit nervous 😟.
Remember, Cam and I had just begun our relationship and I had no idea of what our future would hold. I was of two minds and over different conversation with my new friend, I had stated that I hoped he would be there to greet me but I was planning for the worst to happen, which was that I was on my own and I had to think about my next steps should Cam have 'ghosted me'.👻
Perish the thought! 💕
Learning Curves:
This is the part where I try and give advice or recommendations based on my experiences.
This portion of my trip was a huge learning experience for myself because of my personal fears. I had to dig deep within my own psyche to find my own strengths. No one was there that I could rely on to hold my hand, share in the expense of navigating hotels, transportation, or potential pitfalls that could have been complicated.
I knew that I wanted this and I put myself in the mindset that I WAS GOING TO DO IT! Even if it meant I was on my own 💪.
I contrived a back up plan, or rather a forward thinking plan. I had a budget, friends who lived around the world, and places I wanted to see. My research in the weeks before I left the US sought out how 'I' would begin if it was just me traveling.
I had planned on a few months, that's how long my savings 💲💲 would last, if I was careful but more important was relying on just myself, finding resources, meeting folks who could be helpful, and being safe. This was my initial plan. I had pages of research and resources, even what flight I would take from Gold Coast, Australia to my next destination.
Whether Cam was there or not, I then had to think about long term. What if I was able to continue my adventure. Then there had to be research about working while abroad. I had done a little bit before leaving and I had thought I would find work writing, just as I had done at the beginning of the pandemic.
🌟Working while abroad will be another blog post.
Cam wasn't there to meet me at first...... The panic ensued! 
BUT after some delayed communications, a couple of hours at the airport bar sucking down some delicious Australian chardonnay, I met him off the plane he was on coming from New Zealand, his home country, where he had been visiting his mother.
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