Flying High

Written by Evelyn

Today my trip begins and Danial's will start on Saturday. I'm so excited about the coming days and months. I finished work a couple of weeks ago which was an emotional time of reflection over my years with Centacare. I will miss working with my Centacare family everyday. There has also been heaps of excitement for what is to come in our marriage, on our trip, and beyond. Months of preparation will hopefully lead to less stress.

I'm at the airport and a few more passengers have started to arrive. I miss Danial already but I think he'll enjoy some time on his own. It was great to have Steve up on the weekend and see them both relaxed. I think I'll be able to chillax at little more by the end of the week after my appointments for finalising wedding details.

Last night I went through my mental checklist and packed then unpacked then repacked my bags and pulled a few things out. It's hard to pack things into one backpack? Deciding what I'll really need so my bags are not too full has been really difficult. I'd hate to fall over like a turtle on my back if a light wind blows. A few things wouldn't fit but Danial has a bit of extra space. I'll leave some extra wedding items in Townsville like jewellery, the table cards and shoes which will give me more space. I'm just pleased I don't have my dress and veil to bring up. Despite these extras, my backpack is only 11kg and my day bag is 5.5kg for my camera, laptop, etc.. Not bad for a four month trip. I've settled on taking four changes of clothes but I think I'm a little over the top with cosmetics and medication but I'd rather have the pills and look good than get sick and look sick on a tour.

We're a little disappointed we didn't go scubadiving. Yes, we had high hopes but decided before seeing specialists that we needed more time to get our final things together. Danial, my wonderful drummer, doesn't have any ear damage which is great, and he's been cleared for scubadiving, but, my heart specialist told me it's not recommended that I dive because of the pressure. I think we will need to check my history again and do some further testing before I'm cleared, so for now snorkelling is our best option, or there's always our fish tank. It was the right decision as I wasn't as rushed before leaving this morning. Time for boarding.

Wow! I have to write about this. What an amazing way to start my day, picture this: distant house lights below the plane, a layer of thick dark cloud on top, than a sudden contrast of vibrant burnt orange across the whole horizon blending softly up to yellow/white then the blue darkness of the night. Light clouds disperse as the plane cuts through and with each second lighter shades of blue begin to emerge revealing more of the earth below. The layer of thick distant clouds have formed to peaks like mountains but look so soft you could walk on them. As the burnt orange continues to fade with time, a fiery red is appearing on the top white peak edges of the clouds. The sun is almost visible. This is my favourite time of the day: The excitement of what is to come. "Thank you." My coffee has just arrived. What a lovely half hour show during breakfast. Good Morning Sun, Hello Townsville!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dan-ev/