Tom

First crush.

Stolen glances at 6:30 a.m., turning into hikes alone through the Australian wilderness, turning into multiple jumps into freezing cold bodies of water, turning into moments under the stars next to a lake in the mountains. Made my first trip especially memorable

Grew up in Bournemouth, now a British army captain and traveling Australia on his 5 weeks leave. Last served in Afghanistan. May I add, very, very, very into the English Rugby team. (Who, thanks to Tom, I now know has a chance to win the Rugby world cup because they beat Australia and New Zealand lost to France. I even talked to his dad on a pay phone in Sydney to celebrate.)

Now crashing with a friend in Sydney…said he’d e-mail. We’ll see!

Bones

Bones. Bones. Bones. AKA Craig, but Bones to those of us on the Oz Ed adventure tour from Melbourne to Sydney. It was recently revealed to me he was 39, but the man doesn’t act a day over 28. My favorite moment with Bones: getting continuously pummeled by him with snow balls, then finally getting him back right on the neck from 3 feet away. Brilliant.

Me: Sitting outside the Melbourne hostel with Jackie, freaking out about leaving to hit the road alone. An Oz Ex bus pulls up, and an older man with a crew cut hops out and asks me my name. Crew cut? Come on, this is an adventure! I find out he’s going to Adelaide. Five minutes later, tall, lanky man-boy struts down the street with the biggest head of hair I’ve ever seen. This is who I want. This is who I get

Asian fetish (also revealed by one of my tour-mates after we’d gotten off the bus); grew up in Torquay; 39; second longest-working Adventure Tours tour guide; wombat spotter du jour; overall awesome dude.

Stacie

Stacey — one of Jack’s best work friends and possibly the best dressed person in all of Melbourne. This girl looks impeccable ALL the time!

Stace put me to work at the Ford charity event Hot Dogs and Hot Rods. Also the best person to go dress shopping with

Dave and El

Dave and El. Two of Shan and Jack’s closest friends — they adopted me for my second Friday night in Melbourne!

Schoolteacher, footy administrator and one of the sweetest couples I’ve ever met. We went to the races Friday night, and I watched El lose $5 after $5. Oh well! We tried picking the horses, but were both awful. Oh well, what can you do! Prob. didn’t help I was picking the horses based on the jockey’s outfits. Go pink and purple stars!

If I go back to the BIG race — The Melbourne Cup — I’ll be betting with Dave and El!

Footy Boys!

Kangaroos! Casey, Daniel and Shannon.

After the win we went back to the apartment to have a few drinks. So much fun to see these boys in the paper and on TV. Casey just retired, but Daniel and Shan will be back next year. go ‘Roos!

David

David does not like pictures.

David looooves to talk about cars. Another one of Jack’s work friends, he came along for the ride to Lorne. We talked all about our lives, goals, what we wanted out of life. Also about chocolate caramel frogs and how Ambrose brought them along for us in his car, but David had none in his

21, likes to make Ambrose drink as well.

Invented my favorite phrase of the Ocean Road weekend: Let’s go to the party (say it: pah-ty) room. (IE: the room with 4 bunk beds at our hotel.)

Ambrose

Oh Ambrose. 20, adorable, young, sweet.

Forced him to drink with us in Lorne. Ate a lot of meat for his 21st b-day at BlueFire Grill at the Docklands. Watched me ride some sort of animal made of sticks in Lorne on the Great Ocean Road. A Queenslander.

Scottie

I met Scottie at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the first time. First game, first new Aussie friend!

He went to school with Shannon, and is one of his closest friends in Melbourne. We watched Shan and the Kangaroos win, he made fun of the fact that I inhaled a meat pie and he bought me a few beers: translation, I love this guy. Sweet as can be, awesome at trivia AND he offered me a ride on his motorcycle. When I get back to Melbourne I’m seriously taking him up on that. Seriously? Seriously!

Jack and Shan

My hosts. My wonderful, wonderful hosts in Melbourne.

For those of you who don’t know the lovely Ms. Jacklyn Honig, she and I went to high school together on Long Island. Before we became fast friends at Ward Melville, she was known as “tall Jackie” by Melissa, who knew her from Hebrew School.

Eventually Jackie decided to study abroad in Melbourne — soon after she met “tall Shannon.” Shannon is a defenseman for the Kangaroos footy team. Tall Jackie and tall Shannon fell in love, Jack finished Penn State and promptly moved back to Australia. Now they’ve got an awesome house, an even awesomer dog named George and the most grateful spare-room crasher ever, moi!

They are my base, my comfort and my best friends here in Australia

Jack on the Great Ocean Road, at Bell’s Beach.

Shannon in the car on the way to Healesville Animal Sanctuary.

People!

New feature! Let me know what you guys think about this, but I think I want to log this trip in terms of people rather than places. Little different, but I’m hoping it’ll be a fun read. I’m doing this trip for the people, dammit!