The Epic Adventure Begins!

I can’t believe that I am here at LAX waiting to board my flight to Australia.  It’s almost as if someone hit the fast-forward button on the past few months of my life to get me here, ‘to the good stuff’!  However, there was good stuff leading up to this moment, hard stuff of epic proportions in the name of graduate school that stretched my perception of how much I can do. It’s more than I thought possible. It’s also what allowed me to get to this moment sitting here at the airport with a newly earned Masters degree ready to celebrate the ending of one epic adventure by embrace another.

But what makes something ‘epic’?  I hear the word ‘epic’ casually thrown about in reference to almost everything. “That movie was epic!”  “It’s going to be an epic party!” But what does that really mean?

For something to be ‘epic’ in my book, it is a once in a lifetime experience, planned or unplanned, that allows one to know thyself better.  It encourages one to step out of their comfort zone, and through the process, unleashes the hero or heroine that secretly lurks inside us all to do great things we never fathomed we’d achieve.  It’s an experience that lingers in one’s memory and imprints itself on one’s heart for a lifetime.  It transforms us for the better. 

I want to live such a life, an epic life, to seize each opportunity to grow into the person I was created to be, even if I’m at first looking at the challenge with nobbly knees.  This is why I like to travel and why I am looking forward for my trip ‘down under’ to begin.

To help me embrace my Australian epic adventure, I have created a scavenger hunt of experiences I hope to accomplish.  They are as follows:

1. Hold a Koala. (This is for many of you!)
2. Pet and feed a kangaroo.  See kangaroos in the wild.
3. Catch up with dear friends.
4. Find Nemo in the Great Barrier Reef.
5. Meet a ‘croc’ (safely of course!).
6. See if Australian toilets flush counter clockwise.  Since they are in the southern hemisphere, I’ve heard they flush in the opposite direction than in the USA.
7. Meet Crocodile Dundee or someone that looks like him.  (That’s for my Dad and Grandma!)
8. Hike in the outback and see Ayers Rock.
9. Walk among the treetops of the rainforest and go jungle surfing.
10. See glowworms light up the night like twinkling stars.
11. Experience God in Australia.
12. Walk on top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
13. Visit Steve Erwin’s legacy (the crocodile hunter), the Australia Zoo. (That’s for mom!)
14. See the Sydney Opera House and experience a performance.
15. Experience an Australian barbie (BBQ) with native foods such as kangaroo, crocodile, or snake.
16. Pick a mango from a mango tree.  It’s my favorite fruit!
17. Find out why the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney look blue.
18. Ride the world’s steepest train.
19. Learn more about the interesting history of this country originally populated with convicts.

Above all, I look to experience the people while on this journey.  It is these encounters that often end up being the most meaningful and entertaining! 

With that said, it’s time to board the plane.  I’ve got my backpack slung over my back, my Aussie hat in one hand and sunscreen in the other.  Let this epic adventure begin!