The Young and the Restless

Saying Goodbye

Neither one of us were ready, but all good things must come to an end. Our last day was spent squeezing in a few more sites on our list. Like Hyde Park. With the mother of all tree tunnels. Like stick a lighthouse at the end and maybe a kangaroo or two hopping down the middle and that right there is my wildest landscape fantasy come true. Clearly it doesn't take much to excite me. But isn't she just dreamy.....

ANZAC memorial

A clearly awkward photo of me, but it's a clearly awkward photo of me in front of a tree tunnel, so, yeah.

St Mary's Cathedral sorta blew me out of the water. I've been inside some beautiful old churches here, but this was like something straight out of the movie Angel's and Deamons. A sort of gothic eerie reverence with a side of the most stunning architecture and attention to detail. Unfortunately photos weren't allowed inside, there were so many details I wish I could have captured.

I feel bad because I held Melissa back on this one. You know me and tight spaces don't do so well together and when my friend casually mentioned that she had gotten trapped for a half hour in the elevator going up the Sydney tower, I knew there was no way I could do it. Melissa is always so thoughtful to cater to my every claustrophobic need, but I felt bad. I told her she could go up and I would wave from below, but we just snapped a picture and moved on.

We had to make a stop at the Queen Victoria Building. Otherwise known as The Most Freaking Gorgeous Mall In the World. Or at least it should be.

Town hall, and then a picture from inside another church where photos were allowed. At least I think so. I didn't see a sign.

We headed over to Darling Harbour, watched some Dragon Boat races then settled on Sharks 3D at the Imax theater. Only because we were about to melt in a puddle of sweat from the humidity and the idea of reclining in a dark air conditioned room eating over priced buttery popcorn and sipping Coke was about the closest thing to heaven at that moment. After we refueled we decided our souvenir shopping needed to be taken up a notch so we rummaged through bins of t-shirts and compared boomerangs while using "I heart Sydney" hats to fan us from the heat.

Sydney was one option we looked into when relocating, this would have been Jason's office. Not a bad view, eh? Maybe we should see if there are still openings available.

And then the weatherman didn't lie, and like clockwork a huge storm clouded over our crystal blue skies. We still had several hours before our flights left but we figured we'd rather kill time at the airport than get caught in a torrential downpour walking to the train station. The wind nearly knocked us over, but we made it just as the first rain drops came pounding down.

This is what it looked like literally a few minutes after stepping foot in the airport

We ate our last meal together then said our sad good byes. It makes it easier knowing I'll see her again in a few short months, and then we won't ever have to say good bye again. So grateful for a friend like Melissa, the kind that makes a Flat Stanley version of me to take along with them on girls trips. And facetimes me so I can be a part of important events like a friend opening a mission call, or a birthday lunch. And remembers all my favorite little things to spoil me with. And calls to remind me that the school registration date is ending. And makes me realize that no matter how many miles are between us, she's always got my back. Loved spending this past week with her making some pretty incredible memories, but I also can't wait to just kick it in the backyard pool eating popsicles and watching the kids having cannonball contests. This girl is one in a million.