Ridge and I have been in Australia now since 3 December, and are just now finding the time to sit down, relax and update you all on our trip so far.  First up: the 14 hour plane ride to get here from LA.

So, those of you that know me, know that I am not fond of flying…SO not fond of it that I actually went to see a hypnotist this summer to help with the problem.  I definitely think that it has helped make me less anxious and stressed while flying and would recommend it to anyone with the same fear of flying.  By the time we landed in LA, I had already flown from Ft. Lauderdale to Atlanta, and Atlanta to LA with zero problems.  I wasn’t pawing at Ridge when there was minor turbulence or staring at other fliers when there was a bump to see if they looked concerned or if they were still working on their crossword puzzles.  I was actually able to do things that I never could, like enjoy a film or four, or even sleep—things were going great! When the time came to board our long flight, the 14 hour one from LA to Sydney, I was ready to go and just so excited to get to Australia that I wasn’t concerned at all.  Not long after take off I was able to fall asleep, and did so off and on for a good part of the trip.  There was definitely some turbulence throughout the whole trip but for some reason it didn’t concern me much at all.  At about half way through the flight, however, 6 or 7 hours in, I started to feel a headache coming on.  I tried to sleep it off a few times but each time I awoke…it was worse and eventually I knew I had a migraine coming on and it was going to be a rough next 7 hours.  I used to suffer from migraines all through my middle and high school years so I knew that migraines for me = vomiting.  The pain just gets so bad that I actually get sick from them.  For the next 7 hours, I was getting up every few minutes to run to the bathroom to get sick, hoping that every-time I ran there, it would be vacant.  I also saw the same faces so many times, starring at me quickly running back to the bathroom that I think they were scared to eat what the plane was providing, fearful that it was the reason I kept returning.  I went 14 hours without eating anything and 7 without consuming water or any liquid, simply because I couldn’t keep it down.  I was totally kicking myself for not bringing any medicines with me.  By the time I asked one of the flight attendants for drugs, it was about an hour before we landed and I couldn’t keep anything down so couldn’t even take it.  It was ROUGH.  Once we landed, and I showered, I felt slightly better.  By this time I had gone about 16/17 hours with no food and not a lot of liquid, so instead of sleeping the day away, we went to get a bite.  Although I had to eat verrrrrry slowly (Ridge took this opportunity to sneak bites) so I wouldn’t get sick, I did eat, and started to feel better as the day went on.  A few days later, however, I caught a bug somewhere and have been sick ever since! I have been a sneezing, stuffy, annoying mess and  I am just starting to feel better— THANK GOODNESS!  Even though I haven’t been feeling 100%, ever since we landed in Sydney, Ridge and I have been on the move non-stop and I’m not complaining—if we didn’t push through the sickness, and the jet leg, we would never see anything!  So far we have seen a lot of Sydney: Bondi, Bronte, Coogee, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House.  We spent time in the Gold Coast with friends and saw Burleigh Heads, Point Danger, Byron and Kingscliff.  We spent a short time in the Sunshine Coast with friends near Mooloolaba, a quick stop in Rockhampton and we are now in Cannonvale, right next to Airlie Beach.  Although the trip getting here was a bit rough, the time we have spent here, sick or not, has been incredible—looking forward to four more weeks of traveling Australia and New Zealand!