Holiday Report: Mismatched Doggos, Vegetable Pie, and Hair-Eating Wombats
World Championships
So, World Championships happened. In case you’re just tuning in, they were in mid-November in Dubai and were pretty amazing. I tied my season best time for a 6th place finish in the T52 100m. Not quite where I want to be, especially since my training times have been quicker, but I’ll have more chances to demonstrate this coming up soon! Luckily, my semifinal and final times were both B qualifying times which make me eligible for selection for Tokyo 2020. Now I’ve just got to keep getting qualifying times during the qualification period to better my chances of getting a spot. No sweat. Or, more accurately, ALL OF THE SWEAT.
R&R in America
After World Champs, I jetted off to LA with my mate Dave to hang out with Q for some well earned R&R before hunkering down completely for Tokyo prep. I made the not so great decision to fly back to Australia first for two day before flying to America. The jet lag was real, people. Dave and I touched down in LA and a part of me was saddened when I wasn't ferociously tackled hugged to the ground by Q at the terminal like last time. Although this was a holiday for resting up, Tokyo is just around the corner so I took my race chair over to get some training in on the athletics track at UCLA. It’s a fantastic track and is going to make a great training facility for the 2028 Paralympic Games.
Thanksgiving in NorCal
Next up was the road trip up to see Q’s family in Northern California (NorCal) for Thanksgiving. Dave and I took shifts driving the almost 8 hours up the coast soaking in the amazing scenery of mountain passes and open farmland along the way. Side note, we stopped at a Wendy’s on the way and I got to say, hands down best hot chips I’ve had in the states so far… It was slightly terrifying driving on the opposite said of the road at night in the pouring rain… it kept me on my toes… which would be great if they worked. Heh, quad joke.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by Brandy! How to explain this particular creature… Some would call her a dog, others Falcor from The Neverending Story. Check out this adorable mismatched doggo. What a cutie! Follow her on Instagram if you can’t get enough.
Our 2-day NorCal excursion included a couple of unexpected adventures. We went to the Chabot Space and Science Center where we saw an amazing view, played Beat Saber in the VR exhibit and checked out constellations in their planetarium show. We also got to stop by the UC Berkeley Martial Arts Program. We tried a bunch of things including medicine ball exercises, wrestling around, and sparring techniques. Dave even learned the basics of stuntman falls, jumping and rolling off platforms onto mats, with a grin on his face.
We were in charge of dessert for Thanksgiving and made both Sweet Potato Pie (shout out to family friend Steve for his awesome recipe) and Pavlova. That's right, countries coming together in the form of dessert at the dinner table. Thanksgiving morning the kitchen was a flutter with culinary skills, 25 avocados were being turned into a mega bowl of guac (you may think this is excessive, but Q’s mum’s guac is addicting and disappears fast!), 10kg of potatoes steamed and mashed to perfection and of course Dave, Q and myself working wonders on our pies!
Going into Thanksgiving I thought I was prepared for the feast, after all I’ve experienced Christmas day, so it’d be the same right? No. This was a whole new level, and it was food from all over America, dishes from the south, traditional Thanksgiving staples like marshmallow sweet potato bake (cause that's totally not a dessert) turkeys (yes, plural, courtesy of B&DD), salads, stuffing, ham, bread and all sorts of delicious goodies. Safe to say I was glad I could unbutton my jeans to make some comfort room by the end. Worst part of all by the time dessert was served we were all so full we only ate a tiny bit of pie and had to throw in the towel for the night!
Sparks, NV
While Dave went to go take pictures of National Parks, Q’s family and I went to Sparks, Nevada to visit family friends. It was such a beautiful drive heading up through the mountain pass and down into Nevada. I’ve never seen a snowy mountain wilderness like that before and it was just beautiful watching the snowy pine forests whisk by in the car. We did two back to back escape rooms in Reno and while we escaped the first one with some time to spare, we weren't so lucky in the second one being wiped out by assassins in a casino. Quite fitting for Reno. Next we headed to an all you can eat buffet, where, naturally, I had to sample all the desserts being offered and unknowingly making the next 30 hours of my life hell. I somehow caught norovirus/gastroenteritis during these travels which I rapidly found out about later that night… and then every 20 mins over the next day and a half. Have you ever exploded from both ends at 4am? I don’t recommend it. Highly unrecommended.
Nevertheless, It was lovely seeing a different part of the country, I’m always amazed at just how diverse the American landscapes are. And as a sign of things getting better and my luck turning up, on the flight home, not only did I not have to run to the toilet but, Q and I saw Hawkeye himself flying back to LA on our flight!
SoCal: back at Disney
Now being back in LA, it was time to do the best thing you can do in SoCal. Disney, baby!! We used the excuse that Dave had never been to Disney to go back after having gone only 5 months earlier. We were always going to go anyway, let's be honest here. Q’s a fanatic and I’m basically a convert at this stage. We made sure to hit all the big rides making sure Dave got as much of the full experience as you can while jamming everything into one day. I’ve got to say Big Thunder Mountain is still my favorite ride. Thunder Mountain Boy for Life! The sun went down and Dave parted off to go watch a parade as Q and I snagged spots to see the Christmas-themed World of Color show. Disney, for the most part, nails a lot of things, but I have to say they absolutely smashed this out of the park; it was just jaw-droppingly beautiful. Like there were several times we’d look at each other with our mouths open! All praise aside, it was a perfect way to finish a big day, drinking hot chocolate on a cold night, watching this spectacular with a loved one in the happiest place on earth.
Our trip had come to an end in LA, but as a parting gift to ourselves Dave and I stopped for one last Double Double at In-N-Out on the way to drop the car off before flying home. Thanks Cali, you've been good as always. Now time for an Australian Christmas!
Return to Australia
Dave and I flew home and Q followed behind 40 hours later. So, while I was jetlagged out of my mind, I panic-cleaned my room as soon as I arrived. It didn’t work very well, as I left one of Q’s Christmas presents on a shelf, in full view, which of course she asked about as soon as she walked in and I wanted to hit my head against a wall. Genius move. Although Q had to work remotely for the first week and a half and was a complete hermit from 7am-3pm, we managed to fill the rest of the trip with good adventures like seeing some of the Great Ocean Road. On her last day of work, we drove up to Melbourne to stay for a day and a half to get her parents and brother from the airport.
Melbourne
Mebourne was a whirlwind. Did you know Melbourne has a Michelin rated dim sum restaurant in a random side arcade in the CBD? I didn’t. We had to try it. Yummy! We saw the new Star Wars movie in IMAX 3D and in the words of John Mulaney, “We don’t have time to unpack allllll of the that.” Additionally, I think we came to the conclusion that Melbourne simply has too many malls.
Christmas Eve: Q’s Mum Vs. Wombat
Being the dutiful partner that I am, I really wanted to make a good impression on Q’s family. Meeting and getting to know your partner’s parents can be a little nerve-wracking. Now, add in that they spent a lot of money to fly 8,000 miles and forgo Christmas with all their loved ones, well, the pressure was on! I racked my brain for a good “Australian” thing to do with them and thought Jirrahling Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary would be perfect! How wonderfully Australian, educational, and some good bonding moments! Easy-peasy! Everything was going well, and then a baby wombat ripped out and ate a chunk of Q’s mum’s hair. Yes. You read that right. My “soften the parents with Australian charm” plan was foiled by a hungry baby wombat. On the bright side, the fun animals, koalas, dingoes, kookaburras, emus, kangaroos, etc. were definitely a great distraction from this incident. Note for all of you though, don’t let baby wombats eat your partner’s mother’s hair on Christmas Eve. You’d think that’s simple enough and not a warning you’d need...
Christmas Day
Anyone familiar with a quadriplegic lifestyle knows that the morning bathroom routine can take anywhere from a nice 1.5 hours to an exhausting 5 hours. Therefore, to be sure we didn’t miss the festivities like Christmas breakfast, Q and I got up at 4:30am and unwrapped our gifts in the bathroom while I pooped. Classic quad. We spent the rest of the day filling our bellies with good food and surrounded by family, just the way Christmas should be.
Post-Christmas
Just after Christmas we also got a chance to have a meal with the Lappin boys, Jake and Jarrod. Shout out to that family’s genetics for impeccable bone structure! Thanks for coming all the way to Geelong for a meal! We all got to check out the classic Geelong floating Christmas tree.
Sadly, Q’s family had to leave right before New Year’s Eve. I hope the wombat incident didn’t taint their impression of me and Australia!
New Year’s Eve
Finally, all the hustle and bustle died down and it was just Q and me for New Year’s. We had all these big plans, driving to Sydney, Adelaide, or Melbourne, checking into a B&B, going to a New Year’s Eve party… we did none of it. We decided that a nice low-key night together was the best way to spend it. We cooked together, bundled up in whatever we could find and watched the Barwon Heads fireworks from the Lookout in Ocean Grove at 10pm, watched corny Netflix movies while eating ice cream until midnight when we watched the Sydney spectacular on TV. It was the most incredible fireworks we had ever seen. Maybe we’ll get to see them in person someday. We celebrated New York and California New Year’s as well with glasses of sparkling apple juice and good cheer.
Sadly, now Q had to leave and I had to stop using the excuse “It’s Christmas” and snacking on shortbread and bon-bons. Both terrible things. Emotions always are high when we have to part and it’s so stressful and sad. There was some crying, weeping, not wanting her to go and, oh yeah, more crying. But we’re both ready to jump on to 2020 and be awesome! Now, back to all the sweat and a lot less shortbread!