Day 9: Saying Goodbye to Aroona and my new Mates

Mackay, QLD – 14 January 2011 at 12:40pm
Kansas City, USA – January 13, 2011 at 8:40pm

This morning was my last day on the Aroona. Since we had docked last night at Mackay marina, Ross need to add petrol to the boat and clean it up a bit before they set off for their next destination of Hamilton where they will drop off Katie so she can catch a flight back to Cairns for work and pick up Ross’ boss Andrew to finish the voyage of moving the boat to Cairns where Ross will captain private charters. To make reservations for the Aroona visit: http://www.aroonaluxuryboatcharters.com.au/

While I’m waiting for the 1:45pm bus to take me into town where I’ll catch a cab to the airport for my flight I thought I would write/edit a few of my posts and grab some lunch. So I’m sitting in a little ‘take away’ café poetically called The Lighthouse where I just ate fresh grilled fish and chips. Its next to the pub we ate at last night, where I had fresh grilled fish and chips. I love fresh grilled fish and chips! Especially when the fish has just been caught out of the Pacific Ocean and I’m sitting dock side listening to Xavier Rudd (Ross shared some of his Aussie music with me…good stuff) and enjoying the cool breeze blow through my hair.

Note to self: host more dinner parties for family & friends and serve fish and chips out of newspaper.

Update:
Mackay Airport, QLD – 14 January 2011 @ 4:25pm
Kansas City, USA – January 14, 2011 at 12:25am

Things got very random after I left the Mackay Harbour. While waiting for the 1:45pm bus that arrived at 2:10pm I met a lovely woman from South Africa who recently moved here with her family. Then I met another lovely and fantastic woman named Karen who was the driver of bus #64. High strung as all get out and thrilled to meet and American. I told her I was trying to get to the airport and the woman in the office at the marina said I should take the 1:45pm bus to Caneland and transfer to a bus that would take me to Bridge Road and then call a cab from there and I would save a couple bucks. Karen says “No, no, no, Love, take this bus to Caneland and switch to the South Mackay bus that will take you to Pompeii Street. From there it is about 1 kilometer walk.” I think to myself, I’m up for a walk, I’ve been on the Ark the last 8 days so I could use a nice stretch of the ole’ legs. So, she prints me up a transfer ticket to save money in the overall process but it is $0.30 more than a one way ($2.80 vs. $2.50) … She even calls the bus that I’m supposed to transfer to, to let the lady know to wait for me since her bus route is delayed (but the South African woman said they are ALWAYS delayed…I soon find out that the theme of this city is “delayed”). Anyway, Karen (the bus driver) drops me off at Canland and I get onto the next bus. I explain to Sue, driver of bus #84 that I’m trying to get to the airport and that Karen gave me these instructions for what streets to follow, yada yada yada…and Sue says “No, no, no Love…it’s too bloody hot for you to be walking to the airport and besides, it’s more than one kilometer, you’ll roast, there is no shade! Go through this shopping center and exit near Woolies (Woolworths – it’s a grocery store) and there is a taxi stand. It’ll cost you about $20.” Okay, sounds good, I can handle that…either way I really don’t care how I get there. There isn’t anything to do in Mackay and I really want to finish the book Katie is letting me borrow Water for Elephants, so I can read it on a bus, at a taxi stand or in the airport, it doesn’t really matter to me. So, I walk through the shopping center, mail the few postcards I have in my bag for my dad...my dad and I are very close and we have a little agreement…he wants to visit all the places I’m going to but he and my mom own a business and will never take the time to travel to any place further than Arkansas (ugh) so he makes me promise that I will mail him a postcard from every place I travel. So far he should have about 5 or 6 from this trip. 

I digress.

So, I’m still trying to get to the airport and I make one more stop through Woolies, which, due to the floods people are panicking and the shelves are bare…I’m talking bone dry. It’s very sad. Mackay is not due for any flooding but the shipments are not making it to the neighboring towns because the roads are closed. I go in and grab a drink for the wait at the taxi stand. While I’m waiting, with a bazillion other people (I guess more people use taxi’ than drive in Mackay), a woman named Pamela strikes up a conversation with me. Pamela is a seasoned beauty…she looks like Katharine Hepburn in the movie “Love Affair” with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening…it is a remake of “An Affair to Remember.” Anyway, Pamela is stunning for a 70ish year old lady. She asks about my trip and where I’m from and where I’m going, etc. and tells me all about her life as a nurse and how she never learned to drive, etc. She offers to share a cab with me and she’ll pay the first leg since it is on the way to the airport (she was headed to the casino to play the “pokies” – the slots, hahahaha) and then I’ll pick up the rest. Sounds good to me…just saved myself about 10 bucks. So the cab pulls up after a 40 minute wait (I swear this town does not give a hoot about punctuality – numerous people called for cabs and I was about the 4th person deep in the line) and we get in, she gets in front and I jump in the back…I notice the cab driver and her sock each other in the arm (it was a very sweet and endearing gesture among the two)…they obviously know each other…she introduces him to me. She says “This is Mark…he is one of the best.” Mark turns around, smiles politely and says “Rightio, here we go!” He looks just like Kevin Spacey…it is starting to get really weird seeing all these people who look like famous people, I feel like I’m in a movie or being punked by Ashton Kutcher. I notice Mark is wearing a St. Louis Cardinals hat…so we talk a little baseball…I told him that he needs to switch alliances to the Royals…he wasn’t buying it at first…but by the end of the car ride I think I converted him. We drop Katherine, I mean Pamela off at the casino and then Mark takes me to the airport. I said “How much do I owe ya, Mate.” His response, “Nothing, Ms. Pamela took care of it for you.” I honestly about cried right then and there. I had no idea that she had paid for my fair. I was stunned. I think the look on my face stunned Mark…he didn’t know what to say to me so he made an immediate exit out of the car and came around to open my door (something he obviously did not plan on doing before that moment). I asked him to please let her know how thankful I was for the generosity of a free ride and that I will pay it forward in her honor. We shook hands and parted ways.

Now I’m waiting for my flight back to Sydney via Brisbane and hopefully Jason will remember to pick me up…otherwise I’m hitchhiking to his house…I’ve been practicing my hitchhiker thumb, I haven’t used it since the 2002 trip to Ireland. Then tomorrow we are celebrating his 40^th (I mean 29^th) birthday with his friends and Lisa & Luke from KC at his favorite restaurant “Ribs & Rumps” and then we’ll all go to the Blue Sox baseball game (aka: his home away from home).

Numbers at Random:

# of liters of petrol that fill the Aroona: 8,000 (that is approx 2,400 Gallons)
# of approx liters we used on our trip: 2,113

# of free taxi rides: 1