Moab, Utah

What can I say, he swept me away on an impromptu vacation to an amazing location. We stayed at the most romantic place - a luxury tent hotel. We hiked and took in some breathtaking sights. See for yourself, although the photos don't do it justice.

Our first day, standing outside our tent.  Up relatively early and ready to explore the parks.

Our tent with a teepee, ideal for families.

Our first stop wasn't really a hiking trail.  We saw a few people on mountain bikes and ATVs.  We were so excited, we didn't care.

This place is so incredibly beautiful!

After a great hike, we sat on a ledge under a juniper tree watching a few chipmunks scurrying around.  Adorable.

Canyonlands National Park.  The winding road is Shafer Trail.  Little did we know, that the next day we'd drive up this trail.  What an amazing experience!!  This photo doesn't do it justice.  This place is vast and deep and far and huge!

Before 7:30am and after 6pm, you can get into most of the national parks for free.  We didn't know this till we drove up at 6pm and found nobody there to take our money.  Daylight was limited, but we still managed to see enough to want to return the next day.  Balanced Rock in Arches National Park, Moab, Utah.

He didn't like me sitting on the ledge at all.  There are trails below that you can drive on and camp and it can take up to 4 days to drive the whole trail.

He was a lot more comfortable with this ledge.  hahaha.

A cute little chipmunk.  This is the first time I have ever seen one. 

This looks like Arches National Park.

This is the amazing reception area of our tent hotel.  I love that there's no electricity. 

Shafers Trail again.  You can see a vehicle driving up.

Arches National Park.  Double Arch.

Rafting the Colorado River.  It was very tame.  We were both expecting an adrenaline rush, but it was drifting.  We ate at a winery, then drifted a bit more.

Exploring.  We saw some dinosaur tracks on this small hike.  Dereck's balanced rock just behind me.

Look at how big those rocks are! 

His favourite rock ever!

My Adventures Downunder

After recovering from my jet lag and cold/cough, Australia became more enjoyable.
We drove south to New South Wales to visit a friend in Byron Bay.  Byron Bay is an artsy, hippy, alternative living, green town with 9000 residents, however the small town sees over a million visitors a year.  In my opinion, it's a lovely town but more touristy than hippy/alternative.  There were so many tourists there, that there was a traffic jam along the main street.  Thankfully, our friend lives very close to the town center and we parked at his house for a visit and a stroll through town.

Pretty winding road to Byron Bay

The countryside in Australia is just so gorgeous

A wonderful welcome!

Jeff's patio.  So relaxing and beautiful

Across the street from Jeff's

I was told this is a macadamia nut tree.  Lots of blossoms that had a soft fragrance

Gorgeous purple flowers

Jeff.  I was showing him my GoPro and he was quite fascinated with it

Tony, Jeff and me

Byron Bay

Someone doodled on the beach!  Amazing work of art.

 We drove to Brisbane to visit Keith and Rita, some good family friends.  We spent quality time with Keith and Rita, spent the night and the next morning, Rita dropped us into the city (Brisbane) where we met up with Ceri and Luke.

Brisbane marina

I cannot begin to explain how beautiful Rita's garden is.  It's her "baby" and it shows.  So many flowers and trinkets line the garden. 

Me with Rita and Keith

I wish I could have captured exactly what I saw.  This really doesn't cut it.  The beauty of the colors and the spread out showers on the horizon back lit by the setting sun was a spectacular show.  Little curtains of shower.....shower curtains.

Shower curtains lit up by the setting sun.  So beautiful.

Today, we drove up into the mountains to Springbrook and saw Purling Brook Falls.  The photos do not do the view any justice.  The drops were deep and the heights were breathtaking.  

A nice welcome to Springbrook

The tree canopies were so tall and beautiful

"Best of All Lookout" and it sure was the best.  This view is so vast and the naked eye can see beyond what the camera lens can capture. 

Looking to the right of "Best of All Lookout"

Ceri and Brendan and I at the lookout

Left to Right:  Me, Ceri, Brendan, Tony and my mum at the lookout.

Purling Brook Falls.  I honestly couldn't capture the vastness of the falls and surrounding cliffs and deep valley.  You can see the tops of tall palm trees; the wall face makes them look tiny.  Standing looking out onto the valley put things into perspective for me.  Everything became quiet and made me think how insignificant I am in comparison to the earth and it's beauty.  All of us, the earths creatures, nature, plants, trees, bodies of water all make up the beauty of this wonderful planet.  Sorry....it just took my breath away.  Great place to visit.  There's a full hiking trail that takes you down to the bottom of the falls.....next time.....

A local of Springbrook

A massive fallen tree.  I took a photo of the trunk alone, but there was no reference, so I climbed up.  Big, isn't it.

Later on, I went with my mother to take Bella (their dog) for a walk.  We went to a different place near the water.  I stood on the division of New South Wales and Queensland and saw the most magnificent sunset.  

Grungy stairs.  My mother and Bella.  As you can see, I take after my mother with my love of bright colors.

One foot in QLD, the other in NSW

I believe this is Rainbow Bay.

Sunsets....they never get old.  No filter.

DBar all lit up for the night.  A popular hangout bar/restaurant/art gallery and lookout. 

Australia

To say I felt less than human upon arrival in Australia is an understatement.  With very little sleep,  I bounced out of bed and got ready for my 7am flight out of Miami on Tuesday morning (Tuesday night Australia time).  The time difference is confusing, so bear with me.  I flew from Miami to Los Angeles and landed at 9:30am and still no sleep.  My mind was racing and wasn't able to shut down, so after a long 5 hr flight, I still got no sleep.  A friend picked me up and we ate breakfast and then hung out at her place all day till it was time for me to leave.  My flight out of Los Angeles to Sydney left at 10:20pm.  I got to the airport 2 hours prior to departure and as I checked in, I was told I needed a visa.  What??!!!  A visa?  This proved to be easy.  The agent gave me an address and using my phone, I searched for it and filled out the application form.  Within minutes, my visa appeared on her screen and she was able to check me in. 
I got seat 10C.  My first time on a lay flat bed in first class.  Yes!!  I am mentally and physically exhausted by this time and after take off, I ate my dinner, settled down with my down comforter and 2 pillows, put my seat flat and passed out for 7 hours.  wow!!  I think I could have slept more, but I was too excited. 
I landed in Sydney Thursday morning at 6:20.  Did you notice I haven't mentioned Wednesday?  Well that's because Wednesday just didn't exist for me.  Poof!  No hump day for me.  I got a short 4 day week.  I was so dazed and confused because not only am I still quite tired, but jet lagged because of the time difference.  I paced up and down Sydney airport till I found the right person who answered my question:  "Where can I purchase a ticket to the Gold Coast Airport?".  She was the right person, she gave me lots of options, one of them meant taking a bus to the domestic terminal, but I was too tired and opted to pay more for the ticket she was offering right there.....Sydney to Brisbane then take a train to the Gold Coast.  I bought a local cell phone on arrival, so I was able to call my mother who offered to pick me up from Brisbane airport.  Music to my ears!
The drive from Brisbane to where my mother lives is about 1.5 hr.
I had to find all sorts of things to do to keep me awake so my mother dragged me to the stores to buy food and show me around.  I found a yoga center walking distance from mother's house. 
Later that night, I fell asleep before 9pm and slept soundly.  Best sleep ever.  I feel human once again.

This pretty much sums up how I felt and probably looked upon arrival into Sydney.   hahahaha

I didn't take any photos the day I arrived because I was tired and brainless and just couldn't think about anything but how tired I was feeling. 
The next morning my mother took me to an art show on the beach.  It was cold and wet and a bit rainy.  But the art was good.  Here are a few photos of my favorites.

Feeling human after a good nights sleep. 

Love this one. 

This one is carved out of a big rock and there were 4 or 5 of them.  Titled Rock Stars.  Brilliant.

One of my favs.....love the textures and colors.

My amazing mother

My second morning we visited a farmers market with an abundance of fresh produce. 

Lots of stands with organic produce

Big beautiful carrots

Cauliflower for tonight's snack.

I have yet to find a farmers market with as much produce in Florida as I have seen in Australia where my mother lives.