July 3, 2018
Today was an exhausting day. I hardly slept last night, partly because I knew that I had to get up at 5 a.m. and partly because Rich was snoring so badly that I thought the cabin was going to blow down. We really need to do something about that snoring problem!
We got up at 5 a.m. and they came to pick up our luggage at 5:45, so we decided to just walk up to the lodge and wait for our driver. I was already having anxiety about the drive out of the mountains, because the 3 hour drive would only just get us to the airport with one hour before our flight and on top of that, this morning the fog is so dense, you can barely see your hand in front of your face. My mind starts going in all sort of crazy directions worrying about us driving off of the side of the mountain, etc. I am terrified of heights and mountain driving during the day is enough to about do me in, let alone on a dark, very foggy morning.
The lady working this morning said that they had packed a breakfast for us to take on the road and asked us if we wanted coffee while we waited for our driver. We both loved the idea of coffee, so we sent her to get some. By this time it is 5:50 and I am hoping that the driver is going to be a little early, because I am convinced that those extra 10 minutes in this fog will make or break our trip. As soon as she walked away to get our coffee the office phone started ringing. And ringing. And ringing. There was obviously no one there to pick it up and I looked at Rich and told him that I knew that was our driver calling, because you have to call to have the gate opened for you to get up to the lodge. By now, it is almost 6 o’clock and the phone keeps ringing and I am about ready to pick it up myself. My anxiety is continuing to build. Finally, about 6, the lady comes back with our breakfast, which consisted of some granola, fruit and pastries and our coffee and picked up the phone. She chuckled as she said, that was your driver, I must of missed him while I was getting your coffee. 10 minutes later, it is now 6:10 and our driver shows up. He looks like he is 90. So now, not only am I anxious about missing our plane, driving off of the side of the mountain in the fog, but I now have the extra worry of our driver croaking of old age while we are on the most dangerous stretch of road imaginable on our way up the mountain. I’m about ready to grab my luggage and stay here until the weather clears up enough to have a helicopter fly us out. Ugh. The driver says he has to go to the restroom and then has to load our luggage and I am chomping at the bit to get going. Finally, at about 6:20, we are off and I’m holding my breath and squeezing Rich’s hand.
It was so foggy, we were barely moving on the drive. Our driver ended up being very friendly and nice and talked to us a lot, so that helped ease my anxiety, the fact that he was all there (lol), and he kept apologizing for how slow we were going and told us that he would have been here a lot earlier, but the fog slowed him down and then no one would answer the phone to let him in the gate, which is a 10 minute drive. I know, I know, I heard the phone ringing! Anyway, I told him that I would rather be safe than sorry, so I would rather him drive slow and cautious than fast and get us killed. Finally, about half way up the mountain, the fog started to clear and I was able to start to breathe normally again.
Our driver kept us entertained with stories about how he drove Pink around when she was visiting Australia one time and took her to a children’s hospital to visit the children. He also drove Al Pacino around and told us about how he didn’t want to get out of the car or have anyone see him, because he knows that all of the women want to marry him, lol! And then he told us about Jerry Lewis, who ended up becoming a very good friend of his. He said that Jerry visited Australia often and finally requested our driver to be his driver every time he was there. He had a lot of funny stories about times that they shared while driving around and stops that they made and I got the impression that he was a little sad reminiscing about it, since Jerry is no longer with us. It was actually very sweet. I am finding that almost all of the limo drivers are old, retired men, they all have very interesting stories to tell and they are all very sweet in a Grandfather kind of way.
I am really starting to get anxious about missing our flight and a couple of times along the drive he told us that we may not make it in time, but what can you do? Nothing, so you just have to nod your head and agree that if we miss it, we will have to deal with it and get another flight. Anyone that knows me, knows that I absolutely hate being late, so this was going to be a test. The drive was 3 hours and he asked us a few times along the drive if we wanted to stop for coffee or a bathroom break and luckily I told him no every time, even though I did have to go to the bathroom, because we made it to the airport at 9:55 and our flight leaves at 10:40! Talk about stress, we ran out of that car, ran inside and tried to figure out where to go when we see that we have to check in and tag our own bags at the kiosks, before we can go to the counter. OMG! We have four bags to check, and neither of us can figure out how to do this and I am about ready to pee my pants! I shout instructions to Rich about how to get this done and run off to the bathroom quick so that I don’t have an accident. When I come back, Rich is still trying to figure it out, so I take over and start throwing luggage tags on the bags and watch Rich struggle with his one luggage tag that he has been assigned to. We finally wheel all of our luggage (it is not easy wheeling this much luggage, while loaded down with carry ons as well) and get in line to hand our bags off. As soon as we got in line, they announce a last call for our flight number, so we were able to jump out of line and go to the counters that they opened up for our flight. There were a lot of people, obviously this is a common thing here, to almost miss your flight. We get our bags dropped, but not before they rip off all of the luggage tags that we spent so much time putting on, and put new ones on, and head to security. The line wasn’t too long and we got through quick enough, but of course, Rich gets pulled aside for a special screening and bag check! Really?! I am debating whether I should ditch him, but decide I won’t enjoy the rest of the trip without him, so I wait. ;). I am bouncing up and down and the lady notices and I tell her that we need to get to our gate and thankfully she hurries it up and let’s me start zipping the bag up and putting stuff back in while she finishes with Rich’s hand test. We bolt down to our gate (this is where you assume that I say we just make it while they are getting ready to shut the doors) and everyone is sitting down, waiting for the flight to start boarding, our plane isn’t even there yet. The joke is on us, but in reality, I’m glad, there is a coffee bar right by our gate and we can get more coffee and relax for a few minutes.
Rich gets coffee and I sit down. I decide to save my coffee for the flight, because it was hot and that’s what I wanted to do, so I sat there with Rich while he drank his. It is now time to line up, so we get in line and the first thing they announce is that for safety reasons, you are not able to bring drinks onto the plane. ARGH! Really, a coffee or liquid beverage is no considered dangerous? What will be next! We are flying JetStar, the economy airline in Australia and I think this is going to be a mistake. I am not liking the domestic travel within Australia right now. Besides the check in process being a hot mess, and having to throw my coffee out, I took note that no where along the line from the time that we walked into the airport did anyone check our ID’s. I could have given my ticket to a terrorist and he would have gotten on the plane with no issues. So we board the flight and you have to buy everything, including coffee and water if you want anything to drink. I am now figuring out why you have to throw. your beverages out. ;(. The flight is long and I am restless, I can’t wait to just get to Uluru and relax.
We finally make it, and someone from Longitude 131 where we are staying meets us at baggage claim. This is a tiny airport, because the only thing people come here for is to see Ayers Rock. There is NOTHING else and I mean nothing. We get our luggage and head to the resort and even though we are in the middle of the outback and there is nothing but red dirt and rocks around, once we pull up, we know that we are going to really enjoy our time here. Plus, big bonus, it is warm here. Not hot, just warm, like no jackets, but it gets cold at night. I can handle that, I don’t plan on being out roaming around in the middle of the outback at night.
They take us to a patio outside and sit us down and bring us champagne and sandwiches and nuts, because once again, you guessed it, I am starving! I take a sip of champagne, grab a handful of nuts and throw them in my mouth, bite down and CRUNCH, I hear it, I know something is wrong, what is it?! I put my finger in my mouth and feel around and sure enough, my crown from the top right middle molar is loose in my mouth. For the love of God! What else is going to happen today?! Trying to access the situation with my tongue, I think everything is ok, so there is nothing I can do at this point but tuck it away in my pocket and try and figure it out later. It doesn’t hurt, so that is a good thing.
We schedule massages right away and they don’t have two massage therapists, so they have to do them one at a time, but that’s ok. We head to our tent (yes it is a “tent” to some degree, but this would be considered 100% glamping) to drop off my tooth (we emptied a medicine bottle and put it in there) and sit for a few minutes and the room is amazing. The view is amazing, so far this entire resort is amazing and the staff is wonderful. They all introduce themselves by name and every time you meet someone new they ask your name and it’s like one big happy family. I hope it is what it seems, because right now, it seems really damn good! I go get my massage first and it is wonderful. I head back to our tent and clean up for dinner while Rich goes for his massage.
We walk to dinner at the lodge at 7 and they hand us the tasting menu and tonights specials. They do two specials each night and they change every night. One look at the menu tells me that Rich is probably going to starve while we are here and that this may be our first problem. When the waitress came over, I ask her if they have a kids menu (my joke, there are no kids allowed here, extra bonus) and explain that the “kid” sitting next to me is a very picky eater and we are going to have a problem feeding him. Luckily for us, they have an ala carte menu with burgers, steaks and stuff, so Rich will be just fine! We ordered successfully and we were both happy, the food was fabulous, the service was excellent and we get all of the free alcohol that we can possibly drink during our stay here. I think this is going to be very good.
We left dinner and walked to our tent and out there in the middle of nowhere, the sky is one of the most beautiful things that you have ever seen. The stars go on for miles and miles and the Milky Way is clear as day. I didn’t bring my camera tripod on this trip, but I wish I would have. I had to at least try to get some pictures of the sky, so I got out my camera, made a makeshift “tripod” of sorts with a big box, took some pictures and called it a night. This has been one hell of a day!
