I then noticed the concerned looks on the faces of my friends, and a couple of realizations hit me:
#1: Aussies don’t play Oregon Trail. Maybe Outback Trail, or Crocodile Hunting Trail, or Sentenced-to-18-years-on-an-island-penal-colony-for-stealing-a-loaf-of-bread Trail. But there ain’t no Oregon this side of the equator, at least as far as I know.
#2: I must really watch my accent, else I perpetuate a stereotype of sick-minded Americans who raise their children on games suspiciously titled, eh ehm: “Organ Trail.” Ahh nothing beats the classics: “You attempted to ford the river and your wagon tipped over. You lost: 2 oxen, 150 lb of food, and a spleen.”
Speaking of travelling, I’ve been doing a bit of that myself recently – not in a covered wagon, mind you. But I did set out on an intrepid journey last week with Kerryn (my Aussie slash South Australian slash uber-Melbourne-enthusiast) as we decided to conquer: the Melbourne Trail.
[I apologize to my Aussie friends who don't get this]
Here are some excerpts from the trail-log of our weekend adventure:
Thursday, April 7, 4:01pm - You lost the trail on the way back from Fort Bio Midterm. Pay $30 to take the (late) ferry across the river to Melbourne.
Thursday, April 7, 8:45pm – You have reached Melbourne – Cultural Capital of Australia. What would you like to do?
- Attempt to ford the tram river [click]
- Caulk the wagon and taxi it across.
<-- quite a treacherous tram system
Thursday, April 7, 9:45pm – You successfully forded the river.
Thursday, April 7, 10:00pm – You have reached Fort Backpacker’s Hostel. You bought:
- 1 8-person room
- 4 loud Englishmen
- 2 Irish folks with excellent accents
- 2 earplugs
Thursday, April 7, 10:30pm – Englishboy1 has died of fiancé-cheating-heartbreak. What would he like to do?
- sit around and mope
- take money saved to buy a house and travel the world for a year [click]
Thursday, April 7, 11:00pm – Englishboy2 has died of no-work-in-the-northern-hemisphere. What would he like to do?
- move back in with parents
- run off to Australia and hope someone will hire you [click]
Friday, April 8, 9:00am – You found a broken down hostel kitchen wagon, it contained:
- 3 free breakfasts
- 3 free questionable dinners
- 0 free internet (hey, it’s the 1800’s people!)
Friday, April 8, 2:00pm – Emily has caught tourist-fever. You lost 6 hours at the Aquarium, Federation Square, Botanical Gardens, and St. Paul’s Cathedral.
<-- me mingling the indigenous tiki-men
Saturday, April 9, 10:00am – Kerryn and Emily have caught shopping-bug. You lost 1 day looking for deals.
Saturday, April 9, 1:00pm – Your wagon was attacked by a candystore. You lost:
- the notion that Poptarts are a breakfast food
Saturday, April 9, 3:00pm – You find 2 shoppingbag wagons. You found:
- 3 souvenirs for friends back home
- 1 souvenir for a sister
- 0 extra cash
Sunday, April 10, 7:00am – You arrived at the Great Ocean Road. What would you like to do?
- caulk the pocketbook and rent-a-car across
- pay to take the tour bus [click]
<-- Taking the ferry is always a good choice
Sunday, April 10, 3:00pm – Stormy weather. You lose:
- 2 dry pairs of clothes
- 1 frozen companion on the bus
<-- brrr why is Oregon so cccold?
Sunday, April 10, 4:00pm – London Bridge has fallen down. Lose 2 days.
<-- Where did London Bridge go?
Sunday, April 10, 9:00pm – You successfully forded the Great Ocean Road.
Monday April 11, 3:00am - Mymind is lost. Lose 1 night's sleep as you attempt to find the cheap-airfare trail.
Monday, April 11, 8:35am – Congratulations! You reached Home! Let’s see how many photos you received… [check them out here! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=1733220972715&id=1304250203&aid=2090351&l=a03f5c177c]
In other traveling adventures, I attended a school-sponsored gladiator fight, disguised as a “research project,” and won first prize and a couple of squishy fishees:
<-- My sister and I have very intelligent conversations when we skype
If you’d like to meet the contestants, here are their mug shots:
<-- the little guy doesn't stand a chance
I then travelled to another planet, where I took this fantastic shot of a star supernova-ing behind my head:
[more pictures from my Moreton Bay/crab-hunting/sun-setting trip here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=1705573721551&id=1304250203&aid=2088576&l=6b4fb25bce]
I also travelled to the ends of the earth to indulge in two of the greatest pleasures of earthly existence: pancakes and chocolate.
Pancake Manor (aka 24-hour medieval-looking heaven on a plate):
Max Brenner Chocolate Bar (aka OMG everything on their menu is made of chocolate):
Ahh, nothing beats the good taste of my two favourite treats from home. Speaking of home – I finally mailed some postcards today! (Though it's just now midterms here, it kind of snuck up on me that there's only a few more weeks left of classes back home!)
Well that about sums up my travel escapades, fellow adventurers. Check back next time for an exclusive look into my next treacherous journey...the Spring Break Trail.
