Red Head Wanderings

I did the thing where you quit your job to travel the world. After going to Asia I returned home for Christmas. Now I'm off to Australia!

[redheadwanderings-blog]

New Site Y’all!

Hey, so I got tired of how frustrating it was working with tumblr. Sooooooo I went ahead and made another blog. All my posts have been migrated over, although some of the formatting may be off. From now on you can go to https://redheadwanderings.com/ to get updates on my life and travels. In fact, you’ll find 3 new posts AND updates to previous ones to include photos over there right now. 

So what’re you waiting for? Why you still reading this? 

https://redheadwanderings.com/

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 19th

Note: I took SO MANY photos. I’m just going to put some of my favorites here and then upload the rest as separate photo sets throughout the next several hours. 

For all that I struggle to get out of bed early in the morning, once I’m outside and breathing in that morning air and seeing the world with early light I am so very happy. I think the world is most beautiful in the first hour of sun. So I took a lot of photos while walking in the city :) Hope you enjoy then as much as I do!

Why was I up early? Well if you read yesterday’s post you would know!

Lol, just teasing :p I doubt anyone (other than you, Grandma, cause you’re the best) actually reads all of these posts. I bet 90% of people just scroll through and look at the pictures. Honestly, if I wasn’t the one writing them, I’d only look at the pictures too.

ANYWAYS

I was walking to a meeting point for one of those guided-bus tours. So I met up with a group of 14 other 20-somethings new to Melbourne and we hopped on a bus and headed towards The Great Ocean Road.

We went to a few places I’ve already been, like Apollo Bay and Mait’s Rest. So I actually found most of the morning pretty boring. Everyone was sleepy when we boarded so no one was really mingling. Even when we did start talking a bit it fizzled out quickly. Aaaaaawkward

But by the time we got to the part that was new for me we all started chatting more and opening up. I largely spoke to/wandered the sights two people- Nisha and Ben. The first stop that really interested me was the Twelve Apostles. I’ve been wanting to see these rock formations for a while. I mean, just look at them! They are absolutely stunning!

Unfortunately, the area was absolutely packed with tourists. It was actually kinda stressful. And it all felt superficial. Go to a place, strike a pose, snap a photo, head out. Check it off that little box. All I wanted to do was sit away from the crowds and breathe in the sprit of the place.

But our drive said 45 minutes or we’d be left, so I only had 45 minutes. I could’ve spent hours there. I could’ve spent hours at the next two stops too for that matter.

We went to Loch Ard Gorge next. So named for the  the ship Loch Ard, which met an unfortunate end nearby. Only two aboard survived, a 15 year old boy who washed up into the gorge and a 17 year old girl who he managed to pull from the water. I would’ve loved to spend a morning on that beach, swimming some, reading some.

But no. Haaaaad to move on.

Checked out a couple other view points near the gorge and then headed back towards the Twelve Apostles and walked down Gibson Steps.

A mist had come over the region, shrouding the rocks in the distance. The contrast of the vibrant blue water with the bright white foam and mist was impossible to look away from.

As I got tired of feeling overheated, I set down my shoes and ran for the water. Jumping in those waves was by far my rose for the day. Another activity I could’ve done for hours.

I was very sad to go from this beach. I think we all were. While we had been pretty good about returning to the bus on time at all the other stops, at this one we pushed the envelope as far as we could. Leaving was hard.

I really want to return to these spots. I doubt I’ll be able to on this trip to Australia though. OH NO. I GUESS I HAVE TO COME BACK TO AUSTRALIA ONE DAY

We headed back towards Melbourne, but not without stopping for snacks. I got a golden Gaytime

Yup, you read that right

I spent the bus ride catching up on these posts (almost caught up with all the writing! Just have to edit the photos). Once in the city Ben, Nisha, and I went out in search of Dumplings.

We were successful :)

Working up the motivation to do some yoga after such a long day was real tough. But I did it! Revolution – Day  14 - Forgiveness Practice was my workout for the night. I’m starting to feel stronger. Downward Dog is not nearly as difficult right off the bat and I’m really tuned in to my breath. Go yoga! I don’t have a picture from tonight, sorry. Between the late hour, being tired, and honestly just not feeling great about my appearance in that moment, I didn’t take a photo.

For all the stress with crowds and fear of starting a conversation with strangers, I had a really good day. Finally saw the Twelve Apostles in person, met some new friends, and did over 20,000 steps. So I really can’t complain ^_^

Thanks for reading, love ya xoxo

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 18th

Saturday mornings at the Boyd house are usually pretty relaxed. It helps that the adults out number the kids :) Normally I play with the boys until their swimming lessons at 10:30, but the car had a flat tire which had to be resolved. So instead of swimming, Juddie and I took the boys to a fair being held at the local Catholic school. The school itself is a beautiful building and it has a very large field, perfect for setting up carnival rides and market booths. But a large field meant no shade. And that Australian sun is hot. But while Juddie and I melted, Dash and Orlando had a great time on the rides and playing around the fire trucks.

Firetruck! 

Our happiness levels in the sun

One of the things that I love most about Woodend is the community. It seemed like Juddie and the boys knew every person at the fair. Heck, even I knew a ton of people just from meeting friends of the Boyds’ over the last couple of months. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming. People here really take care of each other and it is beautiful.

After the fair Juddie and Godfrey took the boys to a birthday party.  It was too hot to run, so I did my daily yoga and then took Bing for a walk.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was pretty standard- play with children, trick them into cleaning, bath time, and dinner time. The only difference was I had a 7:37 train to catch!

Juddie kindly put some dinner into a container for me to take to-go and I left with 7 minutes to get to the station. Good thing too, cause the train was pulling up just as I stepped onto the platform.

Train Vibes- Every since I saw this episode of The Art Assignment, I’ve been really interested in reflections. 

Train Views

I’m staying the night with Juddie’s sister so I can hop on a tour bus to the Great Ocean Road early tomorrow morning. Expect lots of pictures tomorrow :)

Love, xoxo

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 17th

Well I thought the most exciting part of today’s post was going to be when I face planted while on a run and scratched up my hands and knees. Because otherwise the day was chilly weather, yoga mid morning (Revolution - Day 12 - In Sync Practice), cushion mountain building with Dash, chasing baddies on a trampoline as my alter ego Jeminey Peach with the great super heroes Spiderman (Orlando) and Super Speed (Dash). Some friends of the family stopped by in the evening so the boys cutely played with their girlfriends after eating and before getting ready for bed. 

Juddie and Godfrey thought they would get away for the evening, kid free dinner and conversation. You know, a date night that two loving and hard working parents rightly deserve and need. I was more than happy to stay home and put the kids to bed. Dash, however, was not. I went in to start reading the boys their bedtime stories and Dash ran out of the room to try and get his parents to stay. After much cajoling, Godfrey eventually carried Dash into the room and closed the door. I read the stories, but Dash was still upset. So he ran out of the room again. 

I wasn’t too concerned, it’s usually best not to give attention to their outbursts. I finished the story I was reading Orlando. Since Juddie and Godfrey had left, I told Orlando I’d read him his last book in a minute, but first I needed to check on Dash. 

So I walked into the hallway, peeked in a couple of rooms, looked in the kitchen, behind the couch, no Dash. Did another sweep of the bottom floor. At this point Orlando is following me around the house, repeating my every call of “Dash?” I lifted Orlando onto my knee and started checking Dash’s favorite haunts in the garden. While I didn’t hear the doors to the outside open and close, I know Dash sometimes crawls through the dog door. Still, no Dash.

Dash turns 5 in a month. He’s not very good at hiding. And he’s even worse at being quiet. Or so I thought. 

A couple weeks ago Juddie and Godfrey went out in the afternoon while I was playing with the boys outside. Dash had a similar reaction, going so far as to run to the front gate and try to leave the property entirely. So now all I can think is while I was finishing up Orlando’s book, Dash went out through the dog door and started running down the street in pursuit of his parents. 

So I walk out onto the street and glance up and down either way but don’t see him immediately. I go back inside, knowing that to search anymore I need more manpower. Because at this point my mind is back in the radio room at Philmont, going through the parts of a missing persons form and developing a plan. I go back inside, do a slightly more thorough search of the house and, when Dash doesn’t appear behind any beds or under any tables, I call Juddie & Godfrey. They start heading home. I recheck the house, now saying “Your parents are heading home now, Dash come out to say hello to them.” Orlando repeats me as I recheck the bedroom. And then I hear, from the hallway “Orlando!” 

It was Dash. He was behind a door. A door in the hallway.

-_-

Still in S&R mode, I call Juddie & Godfrey to let them know Dash was in the house the whole time. They continue to head home. 

I go into the boys’ bedroom where Dash in now very happily sitting on his bed. I did my best to explain to Dash why what he did was wrong, but unfortunately he was successful in his mission- his parents were in fact coming home. And at that point I kinda needed them to come back because I did not know how to discipline him properly. I mean, I don’t feel comfortable making that decision. Dash was asking for his two books to be read and I said no, he missed out on his story time. But I did promise Orlando his second book, so I read that to him. And then Dash asked for the prerecorded stories while Orlando asked for music. I said “I take requests from brothers who behave well, so we will listen to music.” 

But I really don’t think Dash was listening to my low level lecture and denial of his wants. Being disrespected and ignored by a 4 year old is just plain demoralizing. 

Well, Godfrey came in shortly after and I promptly grabbed a Dr. Pepper from the fridge. As I opened the can the carbonation escaped, along with the temporary fence around my emotions and stress. My mind became unfocused as images of missing persons situations I’ve been involved with in the past flashed in a circle that now included Dash. And how ironic it is that I -just- had a conversation with my mom in which she said “Just wait until the first time one of your children hides from you in a store.” 

Shout out to Justin for working nights in a hospital so even though he’s in Maryland I knew I could message him and that he would understand my head space, considering his job is one emergency after another. 

Once I wrote the story out to him I felt much better. I just needed a debrief. I describe a play by play. And then I felt settled. 

The Dr. Pepper helped too :)

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 16th

Still no photos, sorry y’all. I honestly haven’t even tried yet today. I just haven’t had the chance. It’s 11PM and I need to sleep. My goal is to get all the photos into these posts by the end of Monday. 

Sometimes things are too beautiful to ruin with a photograph. Like this morning’s sunrise. One day I’ll wash my windows and then I’ll take a photo from my bed as the sun comes over the mountain. But for today, you’ll just have to trust me. If I’ve left my blinds open over night, the morning light often gently wakes me. From my pillow I can only see trees, but when I sit up Mount Macedon enters my view. Framed by the light brown wood on the window, I watched as the sky turned orange, yellow, and pink. The colors bleeded into one another. It was one of those sunrises that help bring realism to the paintings of yesterday’s masters. 

I closed my eyes for a moment and they sky turned back to dusty blue and light gray. So I pulled clothes on and headed downstairs for breakfast. 

Dash went to kinder so I planned a special day for Orlando- rock climbing! I took Dash a few weeks ago and he LOVED it. As Orlando likes to do everything Dash does but with less fear (it’s a younger sibling thing), I was sure Orlando would love going to the rockclimbing gym. So I packed some snacks and we headed out. 

First stop was Il Caffe, conveniently down the street from the house and across from the train station. I grabbed a hot chocolate and Orlando got an ice cream (lucky boy!). We went to grab the train only to discover that, yet again, the trains were being funny so they sent us a bus instead. Oh joy...

A tram and a walk later we arrived at the gym. While waiting for the doors to open, a young woman came up, clearly going to the climbing gym as well. We struck up a conversation and ends up she was from California! Here for a couple weeks while her girlfriend was at a work conference. I’m really good at meeting people on business trips at this gym- 3 for 4 actually. 

When Orlando and I went into the gym, the kid took one look at the walls and said “I want to go home.”

:(

He was pretty insistent so we left. Climbing is something no one should be forced to do. If he’s not interested, he’s not interested. So we went to a nearby courtyard and had lunch. I was hoping his mind would change and he would at least be willing to walk around the gym and watch other climbers, but not luck. So we walked a few blocks to the gardens outside the Melbourne Musuem. Orlando had a grand time playing around a small duck pond by a huuuuge tree. I taught him an old camp song- The Green Grass Grows All Around (shout out to my Hong Kong Bitter Gourds- was thinking of y’all the whole time <3). Orlando is so adorable when he sings ^_^ We sang it for Juddie, Godfrey, and Dash at dinner (Orlando’s request) and he was grinning from ear to ear. Juddie and I are going to try to record the song sometime. 

I’ve started telling the boys how much I’m going to miss them when I have to leave in a month. Orlando keeps responding with “Noooooooo you’re coming home with me!” Which is oh-so-lovable. But hopefully he’ll start to understand soon. Dash seems to ignore the statement, but he seems to process things internally. 

Worked through Revolution - Day 11 - Align Practice today. Will add pic later <3

Since Monday night I’ve been spending every spare moment writing these posts and editing photos. With the technology fail last week I am frantically playing catch up. My sleep schedule has transitioned to bed sometime around eleven or midnight and awake just before seven, potentially with a nap in the middle of the day. Because the days are growing shorter, I still enjoy the sunrise every morning. 

Well, I guess this post has come full circle now. More tomorrow 

xoxo

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 15th

Still struggling with uploading pictures y’all

So when I first got to Aus I would wake up at 6am every morning and run. Now, the sun was already up this early and its rays would gently wake me. But as the days have shortened, and as I was up til midnight trying to get the first of these 31 Days post up, I set my alarm for 6:45 with the plan of not actually getting out of bed until 7:15. 

Well, plans are made to be destroyed. By 3 year olds. At ten til six in the morning.

Now, my bedroom is upstairs and usually the boys can’t get there because of the dog gate at the bottom of the steps. And usually my door is closed when I’m sleeping. But last night Slinky (the cat) was in my room so I left the door open for her. And this morning Orlando moved a chair so he could climb over the gate.

I woke up to strange thumping sounds coming up the stairs. Since it was still pitch dark outside, I was pretty confused. But I thought maybe Juddie couldn’t sleep and decided to get some work on a project done. But then the thumping noise entered my room, which is definitely something Juddie would not do. So I opened my eyes, rolled to face the door, and there was Orlando. Cheeky, cheeky Orlando. 

He wanted me to come down and have breakfast with him, but I managed to convince him to come lay down in my bed instead. I gotta say, I couldn’t even be upset. I don’t know if I was too tired to be mad or if he’s too cute to be mad at. Anyways, I managed to at least close my eyes for a few minutes. But then Orlando wanted to go star gazing. He didn’t know it, but I really can’t resist the offer to star gaze, especially if there’s a cute boy involved. And Orlando is the cutest. And that’s how I ended up star gazing at 6am this morning :)

No pictures, sorry. The iphone 4 is not the best camera (how I miss my LG G4!). And it’s really a shame, because this morning there was a 22 degree halo. Or, a perfect ring of light circling the moon. Probably my favorite sky-based phenomenon ever since I first saw one on the night of my 13th birthday party. I was stunned then and I am always amazed. The ring of light is caused by the refraction of moonlight through ice crystals in the atmosphere. But while there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for the ring, the effect is otherworldly. 

So really, I can’t be upset at all with Orlando. How he happened to drag me out of bed to look at the stars on a morning when my favorite optical phenomenon was occurring I don’t know. Kid magic? 

And that was the high light of my day. Since it’s Wednesday, both boys were in child care. I did some cleaning, some laundry, and some much needed napping. Just before picking up the boys from child care I did Revolution - Day 10 - Thoughtful Practice. I’ve noticed my breathing is improving and the big-picture ideas Adriene talks about are starting to make sense. 

I took the boys to the park for a bit. They found a huge branch that had recently fallen to the ground (most likely from the high winds we’ve been experiencing the last few nights). A direct quote from Dash as he ventured into the leaves “Come with us Megan, it’s going to be an adventure!” How can I resist that invitation? 

During/after dinner we sang an old camp favorite of mine- Baby Shark. I’ve sung this with the boys before and they LOVE it. We sang it several times this evening and Juddie actually captured one on video. It’s below, I’m sure it’ll give you a smile ^_^

Before bedtime, Juddie put on a yoga video for the kids. She found this great channel called Cosmic Kids that uses stories to get kids to engage in yoga. The instructor is perfect. The stories are little adventures that end peacefully- perfect for getting out the last bit of energy and then calming down before bed. I highly recommend checking it out if you have young kids. We’re going to try doing one most, if not every, night. Wish us luck! 

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 14th

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhn technology is NOT my friend tonight. Pictures from my phone won’t sync to my computer and pictures on my computer won’t upload into this post. So I’m going to go to sleep and try to add photos to this post later. Goodnight. 

Back with the boys :)

Today I took Dash and Orlando to a new playground in Rockbank. And let me tell you what, the playgrounds in Australia are awesome. Way better than American playgrounds. My guess is because suing isn’t a part of Aussie culture, playgrounds don’t have to be as “safe” (in quotes cause let’s be real, a child can break something just by running. Doesn’t take any sort of equipment for little ones to hurt themselves). So there’s way more stuff for the kids to climb on and jump off and swing. It’s fantastic. I want to play on these playgrounds. And with Dash and Orlando I have the best excuse to do precisely that :)

So I climb up ladders, slide down slides, jump on trampolines, and ride flying foxes (zip lines) through the air. And then go sit in the shade cause these kids have boundless energy and I get tired y’all.

Worked through Revolution - Day 9 - Empower Practice. No picture y’all. But it happened. I promise (as do my very very tired muscles).

And that was pretty much my day. Free time was spent cleaning and working on these posts. I got a lot of catching up to to!

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 13th

Mmmmmmm day three of waking up in a tent and damn does it feel good :) I need more camping in my life!

As the sun lit the earth I went through the familiar motions of packing my gear. I checked my map and started walking towards Halls Gap.

My plan was to hike north to Lake Bellview and then loop around the east side into town. Would’ve been about 9 kilometers and I would’ve arrived at Halls Gap around 10am, just in time to meet Lita and Casey. Buuuuuuuuuuut I just wasn’t feeling it. I hiked out to the lake and it was beautiful. Looked up at Mt. Rosea from below and appreciated everything I’d done the day before. But I knew I wasn’t in the right mindset (or heartset, wait, is heartset a thing? How about heartplace? I like heartplace. Let’s make it a thing) to hike. I really wanted to climb.

Loving the red and blue! And check out the reflection of the reeds in the water. So gorgeous <3 <3 <3

So I turned towards the highway, schwacked a bit, and walked along the road towards town. About 30 minutes later a car drove past and the travelers inside stopped and picked me up. Cool dudes, they had gone to an out-of-the-way campsite the night before and had it all to themselves. They had this huuuuuuge blow up mattress rolled up in the back of their car. Barely had room for me! 

Once in town I checked out the local outdoor store and browsed a bouldering guide for the area. Between the information I found there and an online database I selected a spot very close to town with some good problems. But on my way to the crag I suddenly got ravenously hungry. It was hot, I was tired, I was having a hard time finding the site… So I turned around, went to town, and a solid breakfast of orange juice, pancakes, and bacon.

Orange juice from Livefast Cafe. It’s not just the coffees and hot chocolates that they make pretty here!

The café I went to had communal tables outside so I ended up sitting with a bunch of other 20-something female travelers. We chatted about where we were from, what we were up to in Melbourne, and where else we’d traveled. After they left an older couple sat down and we also chatted about travel. Meeting new people is fun :) (when they don’t bring up American politics, that is)

Lita and Casey ended up wandering past the café a bit before my food came. They sat with me and then we loaded up the car and headed towards Ballarat.

Just as we were dropping Casey off I realized I had meant to get a picture of the three of us and hadn’t. So we quickly grabbed a selfie outside Casey’s house

I think Casey may have been a bit tired…

Lita was really kind and drove me back to Woodend so I didn’t have to take the train. Thanks Lita! 

At some point in the evening I worked through Revolution – Day 8 - Practice Serenity. I think the appropriateness of that for the day is obvious.

Other than that I cleaned and started writing these blog posts.

And now y’all get to read ‘em

By which I mean my Grandma. Because let’s be real, she’s probably the only one who reads all of these. Thanks Grandma, I love you bunches <3

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 12th

Today I went BACKPACKING

I may be very happy in the photo, but retrospectively the graininess of this phone’s front camera makes me sad :(

I woke up with the sun, packed up my stuff, and started walking into town. Luckily I was able to hitch a ride just beyond the campground so I didn’t have to loose valuable trail time by walking along a road.

Once in town I picked up a map and a bit more food to eat. Then I sat in a café, eating a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich while my phone charged. I also took this time to actually download some of those yoga videos. And at 10am I started for the trail head.

My planned loop conveniently starts and ends in Halls Gap (click on the link for a map). Since I’m going at it alone, I wanted to make sure I could meet Lita somewhere easy for her to get to when I finished. The only downside is the trails around Halls Gap were hella crowded due to the long holiday weekend and the same easy I was taking advantage of. Although, the constant presence of people meant I always had someone to ask to take a picture for me! So thank you, strangers, for helping me document my hike.

I absolutely loved the geography and vegetation in this area. I think Australia gets a bit of flack for not having tall, pointy mountains. But their gentle slopes contain dramatic contours. And the flora is incredibly varied. While yesterday I was seeing a lot of low level grasses and bushes with scattered eucalyptus, today I saw a ton of green and all of it was taller than me (I know, you’re thinking a short joke. HAHA VERY FUNNY).  

Venus Baths

Splitters Falls

On the way up to The Pinnacle

There were a ton of these thin sections that the trail wound through. This was the first one and it emptied of people just long enough for me to snap a photo. But every single passage after this one was not only thinner, but also filled with people. Several times I had to stand off to the side and wait several minutes for enough people to pass. Too many people! 

Seeeeeeeelfie

View from The Pinnacle

Selfie on The Pinnacle

I’m pretty sure Victoria is just a series of cool rock formations

Once I got past The Pinnacle the crowds disappeared. I still saw people on the trail, just not constantly. I only saw one other person at the Lakeview Lookout. And once I passed Rosea parking lot I was pretty much alone. As I like it :)

I decided to push to Mt Rosea and then stop for lunch. While the last few kilometers were tough (all the rock scrambling really wore out my knees), it was definitely worth it. I found a comfortable spot and just chilled, eating my lunch with the best view.

Lunch time

Uuuuuuhgn that view! 

Just as I was finishing up and mentally preparing to find a spot to do my yoga for the day, a couple walked up and said hello. Being friendly I said hello back and we struck up a conversation. I do not sounds Australian, so they asked me where I was from. Per usual, after my answer of “I’m from the States,” the woman asked “How do you like your new president?”

Now, let’s review. I am on top of a mountain. I just hiked 4 hours to get here. All I want is some quiet space to breath fresh air, get dirty, and enjoy the view. I want to get sweaty, not talk politics. If I wanted to talk politics I would be on my phone. But that thing is on airplane mode for a reason. But I’m an American under a Trump presidency. So eeeeeeeeeveryone wants to talk to the real-life American citizen about our politics.

I get it. Really, I do. What happens in the US echoes around the world. People watch us closely. And you know, for most of the last several months (because this started back in October), I haven’t minded the conversations. But recently they’ve grown weary. Everyone says the same thing. I respond with the same explanations. They satisfy whatever curiousity they have, and I get a little more weary having my countries issues thrown in my face once again.

But I want to be polite. So I respond to the woman with a simple “I don’t.”

Normally at this point the person I’m talking to comments on a few areas of American politics, perhaps exclaiming dismay at how inaccessible our healthcare is, how terribly we treat refugees, or how sexist, racist, manipulative, and ridiculous our new administration is. For the first time, however, I spoke to a non-American Trump supporter.

A Trump supporter who believed in taking money out of education

Who believed the US should build the military up even more

Who said, direct quote (there are some things one doesn’t forget hearing) “And it’s not the, the, the Mexicans we need to worry about, but the Asains. I mean, I’m not racist. There’s just so many people in China.”

Woah

Like, wooooooooooah

I just…

So I’m going to start with, if you have to say “I’m not racist” then you’re racist. Not probably, but definitely. And let’s be real. We’re all a little bit racist. Racism is built into Western culture. So we all gotta check ourselves because racism is a real live thing. It didn’t just disappear with the Civil Rights Act.

Second, anyone who’s tone has that much venom when speaking about another people has some deeply rooted inner hatred.

Oh, and did I mention the couple were not actually from Australia? Cause they weren’t. They moved to Australia from a socialist country a couple decades ago in an effort to create a better life for their children.

So according to this woman, it’s perfectly okay for white people to move in search of a better life, but nobody else can.

That’s called, you guessed it, RACISM.

This is the first time I’ve been confronted with such blatant racism since I personally realized it did still exist. So I had no idea how to respond. I just sat there in disbelief, wishing these people away and off the mountain I had sought out in search of peace. I’m embarrassed and sorry to say that I did not call her out on her hypocrisy and racism. I just didn’t know what to say that would both educate her and end the conversation. Because mountains are sacred. Mountains stand and watch over our stupid human issues, knowing when we destroy ourselves they will outlive us.

To his credit, her husband clearly saw I wasn’t interested in having this discussion. So he called his wife away and eventually she left.

I tried to find the peace that existed before she approached me. But my mind couldn’t stop spinning. I picked a train that it could settle on- developing ready to go statements to shut up racists and end political discussions I’m not interested in having.

“Can we change the subject?”

“I am not going to discuss this.”

“That was a racist statement.”

I hope, the next time I’m confronted with a political discussion I don’t want to have or someone who Is racist, that I step up and say something. I think having these responses in the back of my mind will help. Have any of you had such an experience? What do you do when you see racism? What do you say to stop conversations you are not interested in?

Anyways, I think this was a perfect bell story moment*. So in a universe in which I was a ranger once again and could tell a political bell story, here’s what I would say:

SO THERE I WAS, ON TOP OF A MOUNTAIN IN VICTORIA AUSTRALIA, WHEN A COUPLE WHO EMIGRATED TO AUSTRALIA FROM A SOCIALIST COUNTRY A COUPLE DECADES AGO TO PROVIDE A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR CHILDREN START LECTURING ME ON HOW WESTERN COUNTRIES NEED TO CLOSE THEIR BORDERS, INVEST IN INDUSTRY, TAKE MONEY OUT OF EDUCATION, AND PREPARE FOR NOT THE MEXICANS, BUT THE ASAINS. ALL WHILE CLAIMING TO NOT BE RACIST. AND ALL I COULD THINK WAS…

I eventually did find quiet in my mind again. I selected a flat-ish spot and worked through Revolution – Day 6 - Attention (and Abs) Practice. A very kind couple helped me take this photo and shared some snacks. One last view from the top, and I headed down towards camp- Borough Huts.

Once I got past the rock scrambling bit I just flew down the trail. It was the perfect grade for hiking and the air was beginning to cool. I got into camp around 7 and plopped down at a picnic table.

Despite my 23.36 kilometers (14.52 miles), I wasn’t very hungry. My appetite usually decreases while backpacking, so it wasn’t a surprise. I had a dinner of nuts (gifted from the kind couple on the mountain) and chocolate. I then set up my tent and did some more yoga! Revolution - Day 7 - Stability Practice. Two videos, one day! Told ya I would catch up :)

Really, today was fantastic. It’s been a while since I last just pounded out a bunch of miles. I’m covered in dirt and everything hurts a little, but life doesn’t get better than this.

Thanks for putting up with such a long post. As a reward, here’s one more beautiful view. Love you all, xxoo

*A Bell Story is a Philmont Ranger tradition. In front of the dining hall in base camp there is a bell on a stone pedestal called the Ranger Bell. Before every lunch and dinner, 4 rangers climb atop it. One lucky ranger shouts a story beginning with “SO THERE I WAS” and ending with “AND ALL I COULD THINK WAS.” At that point, all the other rangers start shouting the Ranger Song/Chant which begins with “I WANT TO GO BACK TO PHILMONT.” A one point the four rangers on the bell trust fall backwards and are caught by the ones below. There is much hip-hip-hurrary-ing and general cheering. It’s all very exciting. I find that former rangers (myself inluced) will often start stories with “So there I was…” and, if there’s another former ranger around, we’ll finish it “and all I could think was...” trailing off and sharing a smile with others in the know.

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 11th

Our tents were nicely situation beneath tall eucalyptus trees so the sun did not force an early wake-up. I naturally awoke before seven but rolled back over to replenish the sleep debt from Thursday night. A bit after eight I pulled on a jumper (Aussie for sweatshirt) and went outside to see if Lita or Casey was out and about. Seeing neither of my new friends moving around the camp, I grabbed my book and read under a tree :)

Mid-morning we piled into the car and headed towards a mountain range in the south. It took us well over an hour to drive to the trail head for our intended crag, but it went fast with scenery and conversation. Gear on our backs we delved into the Australian bush.

I now understand why it’s called bush and not wilderness. While Australian bushland is certainly wild, the thickness of the vegetation was astonishing, especially in such a dry climate. Despite the heat I was missing my high top hiking boots and canvas Aborwear pants.

Countless scratches and pricks later and a few hundred feet higher, we arrived at the base of our crag. It was almost one so I pretty much demanded a lunch break. I don’t deal well with hungry… We sat on a large boulder with a flat top that sloped dramatically towards the flatlands we hiked in from. Nothing quite like eating lunch with a gorgeous view :)

Unfortunately, the afternoon went downhill after lunch. By which I mean we did a lot of looking for routes, climbing to the top of a ridge, and no actual rock climbing.

See, Lita, Casey, and I met through a Facebook group of rock climbers in the Melbourne area. Neither LIta or I have the proper gear for outdoor trips (ropes, trad rack, etc.). Casey has all the necessary gear. However, there was a miscommunication in exactly what gear Casey possesses. So Lita and I went out expecting to sport and trad climb while Casey really only had the right stuff for top roping. This resulted in us going to a crag that pretty much only had trad climbs. Oops.

We tried to find a route to the top to set up a top rope, but there really was no safe way to get up with the gear we had. So after much searching, we made some jokes, took in the view, and headed back to the car. Since it was such a long drive back to our campground we knew we had lost our climbing window for the day.

I was pretty disappointed. I mean, at this point I know I’m two days behind in my yoga videos, I’m going to be late starting my blogging goal, and now my two days of climbing in the gramps have been flops. And yet, I still had a great time that day. We saw no one out at the crag. The land was beautiful, the air delicious, and the company very enjoyable. I did a short scouting hike on my own up to the top of the ridge and took a moment at the top to just appreciate the view. While not what I expected, the day was undoubtedly still happy.

During the drive back to the campground we saw an emu cross the road. Mah first wild emu sighting! I was surprised by how much the bird reminded me of a peacock. It moved like a large-bodied, long-legged, brown-feathered peacock.

We also hit a kangaroo :/ They are worse than deer, let me tell you what. The one we hit had already jumped into the bush, away from the road, and suddenly turned around and hopped right in front of us. It got up and hopped away, but we’re all fairly certain he had a limp. I hope he’s okay, but I doubt he has much longer in his life.

Once back at camp I went for a short run. I found a couple of 4WD tracks that were great fun to jump around.

I haven’t been able to charge my phone since it died last night so I took zero pictures today. But I think I’m getting some pictures from Casey later so I’ll add some to this post if any fit. So scroll down to this post in a few days to check for photos :)

Love y’all xxoo

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 10th

WHAT A DAY

Because I procrastinated packing like it was my job and the iphone I’m using was being difficult, I went to sleep at about 2am last night. But to make my train this morning I had to be up before 6. Ooooh yeah sleep deprivation :) 

Ends up the trains were running funny so instead of taking one all the way into the city, I just went two stops and then had to sit on a bus for an hour. Busses, myyyyyyyy favorite. Except not. So totally completely absolutely not. Best part of my morning was getting off the bus and onto solid ground. 

When Lita drove up I hopped in her car and off we went towards Ballarat. We were off to a good start for the weekend, by which I mean we were running late and made a wrong turn within the first 30 minutes. When it comes to adventure, plans are meant to be stomped on, discarded, and/or generally destroyed. 

In Ballarat we picked up Casey and all his gear. And then on to the Grampians! A quick stop in Ararat for food and a couple wrong turns later, we arrived at out campground. We stayed just north of Halls Gap at the (free) Plantation Campground. Other than the loud neighbors, it was a nice place to stay a few nights. We claimed a space and settled in.

After the tents were up we grabbed out gear and hoped in the car again, flipping through a climbing guidebook to select our afternoon’s destination. While debating the merits to various spots, we stopped briefly in town for ice cream. Ends up this town not only knew I was coming, but also had so much excitement they decided to honor my arrival in the best way possible: Naming an ice cream flavor after me. Don’t believe it? Check this out:

That’s right. Ginger Megs. Just so happens I’ve recently fallen in love with the flavor of ginger too. Clearly named after me. Yup. No other possible explanation. 

Coconut on top, Ginger Megs on bottom. Delish! 

After the discovery of my very own ice cream, we settled on a place to climb. We headed towards the crag following a combination of google maps and the navigation tips in the book.

Or we tried to

We never really made it to a crag... 

Whoops

But we drove on some fun dirt roads and saw some cool views. Pulled off at The Balconies and took in the view. 

Just look at that view o.O

A fox tried to become my friend, but really he just wanted my chips. He was cute, but I don’t like to share my food (not to mention LNT) so I just stared at him as I savored each bite of salty goodness.

No food for you Mr. Fox!

There was a fair bit to check out at this look out and we ended up hanging out until sunset. 

New friend Lita taking in the view

Casey looking cool standing on a neat rock

I love the way Lita’s hair perfectly drapes over her shirt, revealing just “I Am” 

In case you were wondering why the lookout is called The Balconies

I often think of Alessandro, the friend I made in Hawaii, during sunsets. He was spending several weeks travelling around the States and I remember him saying he had only missed one sunset since arriving, and the one he missed was the night he arrived. Finding a good spot and then sitting down to watch the sky change colors is wonderfully peaceful and I admire Alessandro’s dedication to taking a moment of meditation and appreciation. 

Same view, different sky

I’m telling you guys, these sorts of sunburst shots are becoming my favorite

In the evening I borrowed a nice picnic blanket from Lita and scoped out a quiet spot for yoga. I pulled out my phone and opened my YouTube app, where I had saved the practice videos I would need for the weekend. Or, I should say, where I -thought- I had saved the videos. Ends up they didn’t actually download -_-

But no worries! I have data! And service! I’ll just download today’s video now. Yeah, that’ll work!

And then the phone dies. With 44% battery life left

Damn you glitchy iphone >:(

So I didn’t do yoga today guys. I’m sorry :/ I’m pretty disappointed in myself actually. I was really hoping to actually do 31 uninterrupted days only to be thwarted on day six. I keep meeting challenges with this goal I set and it’s just frustrating. 

But I have a plan! I will post my four day weekend over just two days so by the end of Monday I will be all caught up :) 

Love xoxo

And here’s a selfie of me with the latest addition to my hat collection. Less snazzy than my usual style, but a girl needs to be casual too. Especially one who prefers living in the dirt. 

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 9th

Still no pictures y’all, I’m sorry. Juddie and Godfrey have lent me an old iphone 4, which I am so so so so so thankful for. Godfrey had to spend quite a while this evening working to unlock the device and make it usable. But it wasn’t ready until late in the evening. 

Today I did Revolution - Day 5 - Practice Rhythm, which I was very excited to start for obvious reasons. But I found it surprisingly difficult. Even though I am very connected to and aware of my breath, I’m still figuring out how to sync my breath with my yoga movements. Some motions are starting to feel natural though, like exhaling when lifting up into downward dog. Yet while I’m making strides with my breath, I struggled to find a sense of rhythm within the practice. Something to work towards I suppose!  

Thursdays Dash goes to kinder (American 4/5 year old preschool). So just Orlando was home most of the day. He was very excited for his friend’s birthday party that evening. After we picked up Dash from kinder, we headed to the party. I just dropped off Juddie and the boys and then drove about 30 minutes to the nearest outdoor store. I had to purchase some fuel for my camp stove.

That’s right

I’m going camping

Oooooooooh yeeeeeeeah :)

I’m taking a long weekend, Friday through Monday, to explore The Grampians. I’m going with some people I’ve connected with using the Melbourne Rocking Climbing Facebook page. Our plan is to do some rock climbing on Friday and Saturday and then hiking on Sunday and Monday. So stoked! 

Anyways, white gas (the fuel I use for my MSR whisperlite stove) is not called white gas in Australia. It’s called shellite. This caused some confusion, but one savvy clerk at the store did in fact know the American name so it was all sorted quickly. I also finally found a baseball cap I am okay with putting on my head, so if I ever get this new phone set to photograph you may see my latest hat :) 

Happy with my purchases and excited for my weekend, I drove back to the birthday party to meet Juddie and the boys. Ends up I missed quite the party. It was Fireman Sam themed and the mom throwing it made little cardboard fire trucks for all the kids attending. They also all got plastic fire chief hats. It was adorable! The best part? The kids got to bring their firetrucks home :) I’m sure Dash and Orlando are going to love playing with their new toys.

So now i just have to pack and download four days of yoga. music, and podcasts onto the new phone in preparation for my  CAMPING TRIP :D :D :D

Side note, the combination of the camping trip and the broken phone is why I started my daily posts late. See, I use the app A Color Story to edit my photos before posting them. I love this app because it really brightens colors that are washed out by the camera. I also find I can edit the photo to look more like real life or to better express the mood of the moment. Either way, my photos are greatly improved with the use of this app. Unfortunately I’ve become rather addicted to it. I really hate posting 99% of pics without editing them a bit first. And since I hadn’t yet gotten around to editing the photos from Sunday-Tuesday before my phone died and uploading posts from a camping trip is not a thing, I decided to start late. The good news is I didn’t lose any photos because my phone automatically backs everything up to google. 1 point for cloud computing :)

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 8th

Whelp, my phone got stuck in a boot loop today. I was trying to play music while doing dishes when it suddenly restarted. It’s stuck at the start up screen so my phone is basically a really expensive brick now. This happened back in August so I already know the solution- call AT&T and convince them to give me a new phone. Hopefully without costing me any money. 

But what are the chances of that? My phone is no longer under warranty and we all know how awful customer service is. Talking to AT&T customer service makes me want to take a sledge hammer and destroy some shit. So I was seriously dreading calling.

I spoke to a guy named Dalton and I have to say, he was dreaming. No, really. That is the best way to describe this guy. After explaining my situation, being across the world and all, he went and spoke to his manager. He managed to get special permission for me to get a new phone FO FREE. WOOHOO! I have to wait a bit before the phone actually gets to me, but at least I’m not out $700 to purchase a new one entirely. So yeah, Dalton from AT&T is dreaming ^_^

And as for now, Juddie and Godfrey think they have an old iphone lying around that I can use for the next month. But for today I have no pictures. Sorry guys :/

I did do Revolution - Day 4 - PRANA Practice video. So I made it to 4 days! That’s almost 5! 

Other than the phone thing, today was pretty low key. The kids were both in child care so I was mostly running around the house cleaning. When for a run through town. Talked to my parents. Chilled :)

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 7th

Tuesday means back to work! I must warm you, today’s photos will have adorable small children in them.

Started the day with Revolution - Day 3 - Honor Practice. I’ve pretty much stopped morning runs and moved them to the afternoon/evening because the sun is rising too late for me to run and shower before breakfast. But I can do 30 minutes of yoga! (side note: I’m still running, they’ve just been moved to sunset instead of sunrise) 

Totally forgot to include this pic in the original post... oops

Juddie had a meeting in the city this morning so we packed up the car and headed for the beach (it’s Australia, this makes sense).

I’ve fallen in love with the ocean since living in Hong Kong. It’s not the same as my mountain love, but it’s still pretty strong. I also find myself really drawn towards the color blue

Blue skies, blue water, blue blue blue <3

While Juddie was being a grown up, I played with Dash and Orlando in the sand. Orlando has developed a fear of the ocean (perfectly reasonable, considering the size of a 3 year old and the strength of waves) so he steered clear of the water. But Dash LOVES hopping in the waves. He really doesn’t go in past his knees, but he likes to hold my hand and jump over the waves. Very fun :)

Orlando squinting in the sun

Dash coming out of the waves

A moment of peaceful play between brothers <3 <3 <3

The sea shells on the beach were colored burnt orange and dark blue. I started collecting a bunch to arrange in some artsy manner, only to have my materials stolen by an Orlando. So you’re just going to have to imagine the colors cause I don’t got no pictures

Bluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuue

My constant reminder to be happy and appreciate life <3

Just like in Castlemaine, I got distracted by the architecture. The buildings are too cool! Also, did you know these palm trees are date trees? Facts learned from a 4 year old ^_^

I’m becoming obsessed with taking photos involving intense glare from the sun

We unfortunately couldn’t spend much time at the beach. The kitchen is being renovated and we found out the company cutting the bench top finished a week early (I know, it’s a little hard to believe anything having to do with a renovation is done early. But hey, it can happen. Just usually doesn’t). So we ended up rushing back to Woodend.

Once back at the house, the boys went outside to play. I was trying to give them some space to play without an adult around while still having supervision. So I sat behind this bush and watched them through the branches #spynanny It worked for a bit! Dash and Orlando have been playing really nicely with one another the last week and it is wonderful to see them happily chatting away instead of fighting over toys and turns. 

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 6th

So I was not able to start my day with yoga. But DON’T WORRY. No need to jump to conclusions people. I just did the yoga in the evening ^_^

But before all that yoga I did something else. I finally made it out to Hanging Rock. Hanging Rock is basically a big hill with some weird rocks on top because volcanoes. AND it’s really close to Woodend (where I’m living). It’s actually a little ridiculous that it’s taken me 2 months to get there.

So anyways, new Aussie friend Daniel and I drove to Hanging Rock and hiked up to the top. Not only were the views great, but there was also some solid rock scrambling to be done. Looked like a bunch of good bouldering too, but the park doesn’t allow rock climbing and it’s not like I have a crash pad in the bottom of my suitcase.

Getting my work out in- hiking, yoga, and boulder lifting

Old Man Dan with some dramatic lighting

View of the fields below

Balance is super key when the flat bit of the rock you’re standing on is about the same size as your foot

More views 

Selfie! 

When we got back down to the parking lot, there was a kangaroo. And while most kangaroos hop away from people, this one was super chill with humans walking around it.

The face of a kangaroo that gives zero fudge

Like, super chill

After hanging out with the kangaroo, Diel and I headed out. I went back to mine (a little bit of AUssie slang for y’all) and did Revolution - Day 2 - Practice Intention

Side note, aren’t those cushions (Aussie for pillows) awesome? This house is beautiful! 

[redheadwanderings-blog]

March 5th

As I’ve mentioned before I’ve been trying out this whole yoga thing. One of my friends who inspired me to try yoga did a 31 Days of Yoga dealio through a YouTube channel in January. Since the videos for the practice are online I thought I’d try it for March. I’d been planning since around mid-February to start on March 1st. And theeeeeeen I got the flu. Judge me if you will, but I postponed the start of my yoga revolution. I started the 5th instead. 

Since I’m pretty much terrible about keeping up with this blog consistently, I thought I’d pair this 31 Days of Yoga with 31 Days of Blogging. I’m going to make an effort to take more pictures each day and actually upload them here with some thoughts and stories. 

To make this achievable, I decided to upload each post exactly a week late. I know I won’t have time to do a write-up every day, but given a week I should be fine, right?

WRONG

Like, so very very incredibly wrong.

As in, my FIRST POST is 2 days late. 

I’ll get into the details more later, but basically my phone pooped out on me last week. I try so hard to be good to my tech and then it just poops all over my life and plans -_-

Instead of dashing all my plans to the ground I decided to go ahead with it all, just a bit late. Within a week I should be caught up to the original schedule. So hoo-rah here goes!

I started Sunday the 5th with a quick run around the block and then did the first yoga practice, Day 1 - Practice Ease. I’ll talk more later about why I love Adriene so much, but for now I’ll just say why I loved this practice. She was very focused on easing the yogi at home into the mindset for the commitment to daily practice. 

Revolution Day 1 - Practice Ease - Yoga With Adriene

Being me, after 30 minutes of focusing on easy movement I promptly jumped into the shower and raced to get ready for my day out... Whoops. Don’t worry, I chuckled at myself in the moment too. It’s just I smelled SO BAD after my run. And it had been a while since I’d washed my hair and goodness knows the crazy curly mop on my head takes some time (and a buttload of conditioner) to tame when washing. 

After getting ready, I met up with another au pair, Maria. She’s with a family in a nearby town and we’ve hung out a few times. We jumped on a train to Castlemaine to check out the Artist Market held there. I LOVE all the markets here. There’s always cool stuff to see, good food, friendly people, and live music. Add that to being outside in the summer and you got one happy red head :D

Maria and I on the train to Castlemaine! Sometimes my glasses get weird glares so my eyes look funny :/

Maria and I wandered the stalls for a bit and then snagged some seats near the musicians. I got a pizza, which we need to talk about for a minute. I mean, just look at it!

Pesto, mozzarella, parmesan, mushrooms, and tomatos. Deeeeeeeelish! 

Is that not an AMAZING looking pizza? It tasted even better. And that’s the pizza you can get at a monthly small town outdoor market. It was made in a trailer. I mean jeeze these Aussies do not mess around with their food. 

The guys playing while we ate were fantastic. I was so very very happy. Here’s a taste of what they played:

After eating Maria and I wandered around Castlemaine back towards the train station. I kept getting distracted by the buildings. My favorite part is the iron work 

I’mma gonna need this sort of design on my house. When I buy a house. In that dream-land future of mine where I can afford to buy a house.

This freaking beautiful church is in a teeny tiny town in the middle of nowhere. As in it is surrounded by fields surround by fields surrounded by fields

Casual hedge in the middle of town

Alrighty, well that was day 1! See ya’ll tomorrow :)

[redheadwanderings-blog]

Dash has the cutest laugh ❤️❤️❤️ (February 10)