We took the beat up old chugger and Havah worked her way through the mountains and up narrow neck road until we found the golden staircase. We'd packed snacks and lunch and plenty of water and other than my camera we were alone in the vast wilderness. It was a gorgeous walk, the scenery changing every hundred steps or so, and the weather was perfect! We stopped frequently to admire the precious creatures and plants with their sweet ways. It was wonderful to be submerged in creation and have an opportunity to talk about anything and everything without interruption. At the bottom of the golden staircase we reached the path leading us to the ruined castle. (There must be a children's book about this place somewhere, and if not, I'd like to change that!) We made a friend at the peak with the most captivating yellow eyes and shared a bit of our food with him, though he wasn't very generous in return to the fat lizard who scurried up the rock next to him to eat the onion he'd left. There was also one other person near the top who surprised us when he told us it was quarter to five! We had to get a move on and scurried along ourselves back to the car park! Being quite distractible in nature, there were many stops nonetheless. At one point we encountered a camper in his thirties trying to light a camp fire and had a friendly conversation. Apparently Havah was scared out of her wits that he was going to come after us! It was amusing to me to see her face and raised walking stick as age frequently looked back to make sure we were safe. It certainly made for a hilarious story back at the cafe!
Once we huffed and puffed our way back to the top and realized there was still a couple hours of daylight left, we decided to do some exploring in the Megalong Valley. As we drove down the dirt track from narrow neck I sat in the window looking out into the vast valley. We passed a man who suggested it was more comfortable on the roof, so Havah pulled over and we both got up there to look. The Blue Mountains are stunning and I knew I would be sad to leave them. We realized Havah didn't actually have her Learner's license on her so I drove and she navigated. Our next stop was Mermaid's Cave where we walked under a magical waterfall at the bottom of a stairway in the rocks which seemed to lead to the enchanted forest. We appreciated the color and coolness of the atmosphere and the ancient trees growing from the stoney ground. We decided we'd like to see the sunset from the top instead of wander through the valley so we charged back up to the car and saw the last tinge of daylight glowing on the treetops. We hopped back in the car and encouraged our little beater as we chugged up the hill. Back on the top we took a left into the fading sunlight and rushed (safely (..enough)) towards the lookout point at the edge of the cliffs. We occasionally got a glimpse through the trees at a lit pink sky, encouraging enough that we still had a chance to catch the sun before it was gone for the day! We flew down the road and around the bend just in time to see the hot pink light slip behind the cliffs, blessing us with my final Australian sunset. We cheered and celebrated hopping out of the car and through the bush to the cliff side where we admired the blazing colors illuminating the sky, a brilliant pink lining encrusting the clouds above the horizon. It was a most perfect end to the day.
We returned to a very quiet house where we discovered we were the only ones with a vehicle and needed to deliver dinner to the cafe workers! So we loaded up the car again, this time with veggie sticks and hot soup! After a bit of a scolding for taking the generous invitation to be back before midnight too seriously, we joined the others in dinner. I had my first full serve of cafe nachos (after dishing up hundreds of plates for other customers) and enjoyed an apple mac (apple macadamia crumble) for dessert. Tsedek called it salvation material and recalled his own experience sitting where I sat a month earlier. I had The Prince and The Pauper in hand and cafe music dancing in the background with friends all around me, happy and thankful for life. I had come to the conclusion, just a day before, that though I didn't really want to leave, maybe it was time to go be with my family again. I knew in my heart I was going to feel connected to the cafe even once I went out the door.
The morning of Thursday, February 7th, I had a few loose ends to tie after breakfast with my community family. I had an inspirational conversation with Israel before saying goodbyes at the house and even got a phone call in to the farm to send my love down there as well! It was for the best that he and I talked so long because I imagine it would have been difficult to extend such long and heart wrenching goodbyes to people I've become so connected to in love and friendship. They sent me with a package of yummy treats and food for the plane (thank goodness) and Havah made me one last amazing Havah-smoothie. I offered hugs and gratitude all around and pulled myself out the door to the car. Derushah and I had an incredible conversation on the way to the airport and I was so grateful for her support and encouragement. I check in smoothly, feeling excited that the rearranging Havah and I did the night before allowed me to fit everything in just two checked bags!! The weight on both was 22.5 kilograms!! And the max was 23. Perfect!! Derushah waited with me until I had to board and with a big hug we said goodbye. I headed through customs smoothly followed by security (who took my unfortunately-misplaced leather man from me!! What a disappointment that was!) and caught the back of the line boarding to San Francisco. I sat in my seat at the waaay back contemplating whether I was really doing "what was on my heart" to do. I also considered the many many things I hadn't done in my rush to pack and leave so last minute! I suppose I will be forgiven and if not, I'll discover some true colors. Anyway, I had a Whole Row of four seats to myself! This meant that after dinner and movie (and The Office!!), I sprawled out across those empty seats and curled up in my Comfort Blanket (thanks Auntie! That thing was an amazing travel companion all through my journey!) and went to sleep at about 8pm Oz time, 1am SF time, and slept for about 8 hours! Perfect. I woke up the next morning at 8:30am on Thursday, February 7th, an hour before landing.
Customs was a breeze, though I didn't even realize I was smuggling in a peach I'd forgotten about! Then I got turned around and was heading towards connection flights and had an adventure exploring the airport. Eventually I found the international arrivals lobby and tried to work out if I'd actually told anyone when my (new) flight arrived! It didn't help that the flight was early so I decided to just wait it out. Eventually my dad showed up with flowers and balloons and a big hug! It began a day of very surreal feelings of being back in the States. I kept getting confused about being on the left and had a couple of close ones with people! Our first stop was meant to be about my cell phone, working out technical details and considering things like a job and taxes for two countries. Bleh! We got a Jamba Juice and sat outside in the chill of the Bay Area Winter. I had to really judge myself in Trader Joes not to get all my favorite snacks and treats! I did choose some peanut butter pretzels though, yum! When we got home we settled in a bit, then went for a bike ride! Again, there was a subtle level of culture shock of sorts regarding the Right side of the road And the chilly weather.
We spent the rest of the day working out technicalities of "real life" and having conversations about my experiences away. After a most perfectly cooked Papa Murphy's dinner, I knew I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I wasn't looking forward to waking up alone after being in a house full of people every day for the last month. It wasn't helpful that it was totally cold either! I realized that although my sleep schedule shifted in a conveniently easy way, it still felt like waking up at 9 was actually waking up at 4am. I'm feeling a bit slow today and missing my friends and life back in the mountains, but looking forward to seeing my sweet baby girl, Maren. And it is wonderful to see all the familiar buildings and places where I've spent the many years of my life growing, developing and changing into the person I am today. We'll see how I go driving Dad's truck through the busy Bay Area traffic back on the other side of the road.
Welcome back Hannah! What a great adventure. You really took it on and ran with it. Good for you. Looking forward to seeing you. Take care and as always, safe travels. GB
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