Finally, I'm Back

Yes, I know, I haven't updated in a while. But, I do have good reason. I've been swamped with school work and I had to cut down over 600 photos I've taken since my last post. There are far too many pictures to put in here so I'll give you my Flickr URL so you can see them there. As for my trip, I'll give you a short Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in Melbourne. It was the first time I ever stayed in a hostel. It was the last time I'll ever stay in a hostel. When I walked in the first thing I asked was where the complementary toiletries were. Yes, I was out of my league.

Day 2-?: Wandering around Melbourne. We went up into the Eureka tower (which is the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere) and I did something called the "Edge." You get into an all glass box and they push you out over the edge. It was awesome. It was like standing on air. We also went to an Art Museum and on a boat tour of the city.

Next: We get off on our trip to the Great Ocean Road. It started at around 6am -- so I wasn't in the best mood ever -- and we went to a national park that had Kangaroos (which I was so glad to see because I hadn't seen any kangaroos yet) and Emu, and an Aboriginal Learning Center.

Next: We arrive at the cabins we are supposedly staying at which are quite nice. They have a TV, clean kitchen, nice furniture, I was pleased because they didn't have the feel of a hostel. Well it turned out we had been dropped off at the wrong place and had to wait about 4 or 5 hours for our tour guide to find us and pick us up to take to the other place we were staying. This place was a cold hostel, but at least it had hot water.

Next: We are on the road again to a national park. Here we had to do a 2 mile hike up to the top of what I consider to be a mountain. I barely made it, and my lungs were on fire when I got to the top, but It was a pretty sweet view.

Next: We get on the great ocean road. We saw some amazing sights, which you can all see in the Flickr gallery. Stayed in a decent hostel. Finished Great Ocean Road, and then went back to Melbourne. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I took a helicopter ride up and down the coast of the GOR, it was one of the coolest things I've ever done.

Back to Melbourne: We spent some more time in Melbourne and went to the Aquarium and Botanical Gardens. Then it was time to go home.

That was the very abridged version of my trip. It was great, and I'm still having an awesome time in Australia. I can't believe I have less than seven weeks left. I don't think I'm ready for the real world. Although, I am ready for 24-hour stores, conveinience, cheaper crap, and having a car.

I also came to the awful realization that I'll be a Graduate in less than a year. UT had graduations last week, so, the real world is fast approaching.

Here is the link for my photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47131936@N02/

I'll try and get on a few more times before I head back to the good ole' US of A.

Cheers.