Before I began my journey to Adelaide, I volunteered selling bandannas for CanTeen for their national bandanna day. It was amazing seeing all the people in the community who not only knew about national bandanna day but proudly supported the day as well.
When I got to where the stall was to be, it wasn't even 8.30am and there were already a line up of people waiting to buy bandannas!
Once I finished at the stall I still had so much to do before I left on the 10pm train to Sydney. I still hadn't packed and had a couple of rushed orders to make before I left. But I managed to pull it all off with plenty of time to get to the train station. Up until 4 hours before the train was due to leave I still didn't know exactly how I was planning on getting to sydney or more so how I could avoid the 9 hour stop over the following day.
Here are the two custom Hoot and Hootabelle inspired name banners I created for twins Ruby and Coopers upcoming first birthday!
So 10pm came and I headed on down to the train station ready to start my exciting trip. I was bursting at the seams with a mixture of excitement and nerves especially as I was praying I wasn't going to get sick while away but importantly while travelling.
Some of you might remember the last 6 weeks I have been suffering from acute recurrent pancreatitis and have spent several week long hospital visits trying to manage and control this painful illness.
In fact just earlier that week I was in Sydney for a couple of days seeing a specialist and booking in a procedure for a couple of weeks time, to hopefully fix the pancreatitis.
So I got to the train station in Coffs Harbour and boarded the train. An hour into the trip I highly regretted not booking one of those sleeper carriages so I could at least get some sleep. If you have ever traveled on the country trains you would understand how uncomfortable it is to try and sleep cramped up. Lets just say I didn't sleep a wink!
My amazing husband found a device at work that day that allows you to plug a portable hard drive into it and it creates a wifi network between your iPad and the media share device so you can watch tv shows or movies on your iPad. It certainly made the trip to sydney go quicker!
So I got into Sydney Central Station at 7am and went and booked my luggage ready for the next train which was due to depart at 3pm. I also left my pillow and carry on bag in storage so it wasn't as much to carry around with me for the next 8 hours.
My phone, iPad and the media share device had gone flat at this point. I found a waiting room which had chairs, tables and powerpoint stations set up so I sat charging my devices for the next hour.
I had this brilliant thought to go looking for a nice, home style cafe to have a lovely breakfast. I was trying to avoid eating anything that could trigger a pancreatitic attack.
I went for a wonder and found heaps of coffee shops and little cafe's but they all looked too crammed or didn't have any tables left to sit at, so I kept on walking.
I had this brilliant idea to walk to circular quay and Darling Harbour. "An easy walk" everyone said. I began walking in the direction of the Harbour and following the signs, going on a real adventure. At one point I was at the entertainment centre and for some reason decided to take a left turn.
Do not ask me why.
I ended up walking this massive hill then took another left turn at an intersection which also went up another big hill. I kept walking and ended up in Broadway. Turned the corner and I was back at the railway station. By this point I was regretting the heavy backpack that was still on my back and for not putting it in storage for the day.
Determined by this point to find somewhere to sit and still wanting breakfast I just settled for a sausage roll. By this point I was just frustrated.
Sitting there eating my sausage roll I get approached by about 5 people begging me for money or telling me their life story about how they can't support their children. A couple of them began harrassing me and following me around, grabbing at my handbag and backpack. I was really scared.
I got back to the platform where the train was expected to depart in another 6 hours and decided to just stay put until the train. I hadn't had any sleep, I was stressed and exhausted and was really hoping that this 'holiday' was going to be worth it. I really needed the break.
I sat there reading my magazines waiting for the time to pass and got talking to a really lovely couple. There was one lady who approached me who wasn't so friendly.
She first asked if I was waiting for the train to Adelaide. I replied "Yes" and she just dumped her bags and walked off. When she returned she asked what ticket I had if it was a Red, Gold or Platinum ticket. I said I had a gold ticket which was a single cabin. What she said next made me so angry I wanted to yell at her.
She went on to tell me that "You won't fit in the single cabin as you are too fat. I am much skinnier then you and I have trouble fitting in the rooms, they are quite pokey afterall. I was lucky I could afford the extra $1300 upgrade to have a twin cabin to myself so I have the extra room and space. But the food is fantastic which looking at you I am sure you love your food."
Then she walked away. My jaw was just dropped and the lovely couple sitting near me were flabbergasted by how she spoke to me. I hate how people judge me and don't understand just how much medical stuff I have that cause my weight problems. I didn't ask for this and I hate how people treat me as though it is my fault. I don't eat crap constantly in fact usually have a salad every night with a little bit of chicken. I don't drink any alcohol. I do all the right things but it is just hard.
So add feeling sad and angry to my list of tired, stressed and anxious. I felt like crap. I just wanted to throw in the towel and head back home. I was wanting to give up completely on my holiday and return to the comfort of my home and support of my husband.
At 12PM the train came into the platform and the excitement and nerves picked up once again. This time it felt real that I actually was going to make it to Adelaide and on this holiday I had looked forward to for months!
The train was a kilometre long, so long that it had to be split into two to fit on the platform, one on platform 2 and the other on platform 3. It was interesting watching the train set up and preparation happening.
At 3PM we got to board the train and it departed around 4pm. Although the rooms were smaller then I expected I still thought they were spacious and more then enough to sit in the lounge chair and to take in the remarkable scenery. I was starting to feel more at ease.
The restaurant manager came by each guests room to book in a time to eat dinner, I was scheduled for 9PM. But he went on to say that as the tables are fixed with fixed chairs it could be uncomfortable or squishy and embarrassing for me at dinner time because of my size.
He walked off to the next person and I just closed my door and sobbed. What a start to the holiday I was so looking forward too!
I decided to walk down to the bar carriage and ordered a drink (non alcoholic) as all drinks including alcohol were free for the entire length of the journey. I sat their quietly drinking to myself just hoping no one notices me.
That lady who horribly approached me when I was waiting for the train came and sat next to me and continued on her rant about me being fat. I finished my drink and returned back to my room to spend time alone.
Because of the tragic and devastating bushfires we had to divert the blue mountains so instead of heading through the mountains to Bathurst, Parkes and so on we went down through the illawarra region through to Yass, Goulbourn, Cootamundra then overnight went back up to Parkes and through to Broken Hill etc.
Going through the Illawarra region we passed some more remnants of bushfires and there was one house, car etc that was completely burnt and destroyed. My heart ached for all those people who had lost so much.
The time came for 9PM and I headed on down to the dining carriage where I was told I would be sitting in the bar/lounge area with another passenger. I didn't feel as embarrassed or singled out at that point.
The meal was amazing! I chose the roasted duck and must say it was quite a meal! In fact all the meals they cook are of top restaurant quality.
After dinner I headed back to my room where I was able to enjoy a good nights sleep, I was pretty exhausted by that point!
The next morning we were woken at 7am and announced breakfast had started being served. We were a few hours out of Broken Hill and experienced from breathtaking scenery. There was so much red dirt!
One of the reasons I took the train option was to experience and see parts of Australia I haven't experienced before.
I saw the incredible Menindee Lakes and was fascinated by how massive it was. I also got to see heaps of the wildlife I wouldn't normally see outside of zoo's or captivity. I actually saw several herds of wild Emu's! It was incredible!
Surpsiringly I had mobile reception most of the way and was able to upload pics to my instagram along the way.
One of my favourite shots would have been this scene that had bright green fields on one side of the fence, white fields towards the back, lavender fields in bloom with red soil at the front. The contrast of the colours was just absoloutley beautiful!
I got into Adelaide at around 5PM and was met by my amazing friend Karynne the owner and designer behind Chook Shed Designs with her most adorable little Lucy!
Karynne and I have been friends online for quite some time, we met through our businesses and talk everyday online. We hadn't had an opportunity to meet in person and my trip to Adelaide was amazing for one of those reasons.
Karynne and her family kindly let me stay at their house when I wasn't at the conference for a few days. I had such a blast hanging out with Karynne and Lucy and getting to know them more. Was even more fascinating watching Karynne sew and create her amazing teasets!! She has incredible talent!
So this was the journey down. Stay tuned to hear all about the 3 day Mumpreneurs on Fire conference event and the incredible guest speakers!
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