After many long flights of 30 hours and three layovers, I finally made it to the city of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. My, it is worth it! I came here to escape a major blizzard headed to Rockford like a metal cap to a magnet. Meanwhile, it’s 78 here in Newcastle. Weather was beautiful, water was great as well as the Best Western Blackbutt, and I learned Oz Slang.
In case you didn’t know, this city is culturally diverse. There are Aborigines, Europeans, Americans, Micronesians, Melanesians, Polynesians, Asians, Africans and even Arabs. Each one blending in together to make our diverse Australia we know today.
The next morning I slowly rose, I saw surfers talking and surfing.? I went down and had a traditional brekkie of fried bacon, two eggs, some mushrooms, baked beans, sausages, tomatoes, and toast with vegemite spread. When I turned on the “Telly” I saw a bit of Australian Idol before moving on and I could see a familiar building. Then I said, “Wait a minute, that’s my hotel building!” Sure enough, I heard singing outside. Before I changed the channel I heard sand being loaded into a boat, Coal carts and boats chugging, and the singing.
After four hours of TV and video games I went for a drive. No, I went for a walk along the beach until I reached an area called Port Honeysuckle. I walked the streets until I reached a kitschy hole-in-the-wall place called “MJ Finnegan’s Irish pub”. The place outdoes the one in the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Food was great, my wait was short, and they had the Vikings on just for me! Dang! I felt like a king!
When I got to my hotel I received a call from Mom and Dad. Through the wind I could make out “Hi Spencer, we are terribly swamped by the blizzard up here and we are stuck here. We wish we were in Hawai’i or Bora Bora…” and then it was like “Bweeeum, Bweeeum, Bweeeum. Doot-doot-doot! We’re sorry, the number you have called has lost telephone coverage.” Great, I thought. I lost communications with mom and dad. Did I mention the major blizzard would bring at least a foot of snow in Belize? So, imagine what it’s like in Michigan. The thought worries grandpa, in Florida.
I had to get back to the states to help, but how? “It’s worthless to try,” I said. I had to have Italian food to calm down. So why not go to Gerardi’s Italian Restaurant? It was quite splendid food, despite the fried calamari being overdone. Okay, so I was a bit of a pig, but who cares? Then, I went to the beach to relax.
Around here is where the UAE part kicks in. I heard them call off a flight to Grand Rapids. The day was April 1st; April fools, so this was false. In reality, it was a flight to Abu Dhabi. I couldn’t resist because imagine what the hotels are like there.
After two layovers and 21 hours and 10 minutes of flying, I have arrived! But I haven’t arrived in Grand Rapids. I have come to Abu Dhabi with a reservation for the Visions Hotel Apartments for spring break that only costs $150 a night. This time I didn’t leave the hotel at all. I mean, why would I want to? The thing is a super swank hotel at the price of a fleabagger! Basically, I vegged out all of Abu Dhabi. *sigh* such a beautiful hotel. And so much to do and eat! I was flabbergasted when I first walked in. Finally on April 11th I had to leave. It finally looked like spring in Rockford, according to mom. And finally, I left the hotel.
It took 18½ hours to get here, but now I’m finally backed in the United States! It was really nice to know that everyone still liked me even with me leaving them during a blizzard that lasted for a month. The event changed my perspective on friends. I thought “Unless you feel their pain, you’re not friends”. Guess I’m wrong. God said it was the right thing to do, escape the blizzard. My friend really enjoyed my stories and I enjoy his blizzard stories a bunch. Then it hit me. No matter what we have or don’t have, we should be thankful. Now in the words of Walter Cronkite, “And that’s the way it is! Good night!”