Day 8: On the Road

10:00pm – Today was all about being on the road. We checked out of the Oaks Goldbrough around 10:30am, said goodbye to our amazing suite, and hit the road to get to Coffs Harbour. The morning was pretty uneventful besides for running around Harbourside with my mom trying to find a road map. While my dad and Suny packed up our rental SUV, Mom and I went to try to get a map of New South Wales so we could figure out how to get to our uncle’s house. We had a GPS and we had printed out directions the night before, but you can never be too careful apparently.

It was so weird driving around on the other side of the road. Luckily, my dad did all the driving, even though Suny also had his international drivers’ license. The rental car place didn’t let Suny drive because he’s not 25 yet and apparently our vehicle is a “high end” vehicle so they didn’t trust a younger person with it. It’s a Ford.

Our drive up to Coffs Harbour took a lot less time than we initially thought it would. We thought it would be an 8 hour drive, but it ended up only being about 6 hours, including our stop for Fish and Chips. It was really fun though, driving up with my nutty family. We each had our own specific roles for the trip – Dad was the Driver, Suny was the Navigator, Mom was the Navigator Corrector, and I was just along for the ride. It was so amusing though, what with my dad and brother constantly arguing, my mom joining in on it so they would stop (but actually making it worse), and I just made some very interesting home videos for later. 0=)

We arrived at Coffs Harbour where we met our Chachaji and Chachiji (dad’s younger brother/cousin and his wife) along with their two really cool kids, our second cousins, Simerpreet and Harman. Sim’s 17 and a senior in high school and Harman’s 16, also in high school. Harman is probably the biggest clown I have ever met. He’s absolutely hilarious! Meeting the two of them has also made me realize how much of a true runt I am in the family. Sim’s about my brother’s height, maybe an inch taller, and Harman is about 6-8 inches taller than that, at least that’s what it seems like from down here. (Just confirmed with him that he's 6'4''. I think he's the tallest person I've ever met in real life.) They’re both mad skinny and lanky too while Suny and I are comparatively short and stout. I think if I were to give them each a celebrity look-alike, Sim would be like Parminder Nagra (Jess) from Bend it Like Beckham, and Harman would be kind of like a pre-jacked but mad tall Taylor Lautner. That was my first impression of each of them at least.

Anyways. I absolutely love their house! It’s so gorgeous and sits on a hill overlooking the beach and the other beach-front houses around here. Sim and Harman have talked about taking us laser tagging and bowling and to the beach. I’m really looking forward to these next few days with them, but I’m just bummed out that we only have really two days here. :(

 

It’s so weird how every time Suny and I meet our second cousins from our dad’s side (who we’ve met A LOT of), we always connect so quickly together and I never want to leave, i.e. every time we go up to Vancouver. I’ve been here like three hours and I’ve already asked my dad if I could just skip the first week of school and stay here for the wedding. I’m excited about these next two days though and we’ll see how they go! They also have this adorably cute baby here. I’m apparently her bhua (father’s sister)? Her name is Diya and we’re going to be best friends soon. She’s 9 months old and the cutest thing ever. 

I’m so excited for these next two days and getting to better know my family! This is going to be fun. :)