Fingers crossed for Aussie!

In celebration of my love acquiring so many airline miles this past year (he actually made Platinum status, what up first class!), we're looking into where we can spend *our* miles. We'd considered Palau and Fiji, but then my darling hubby actually went and put in for a weeks leave (GASP!) without me even prompting him (forcing him) to do so!! So there it is, a little chunk of time come December left clean and unmarked on the calendar just begging to be filled in with an exciting new adventure. And the decision is, drumroll please, Cairns, Australia!

Australia has been my number one need-to-see-it-while-we're-so-close travel destination. Ideally, we'd be spending a week in Aussie and a week in New Zealand, but that's just not in the stars for us right now. So in leu of pricey christmas gifts, we're spending the money on a hotel room.

I do wish it was wintertime there, because once again we will certainly not be escaping the heat, but at least we'll be used to it. I was checking out touristy attractions and the Cairns Zoo is obviously number one on my list. In case it wasn't joyful enough to see the animals (assuming their happy and healthy, unlike the God-awful excuse for a zoo in Saipan that I actually wrote to PETA over..), this is the real selling point for me:




I NEED TO HOLD A KOALA! AHH! I also demand that Richard hold one as well.

Apparently they also offer "crocodile holding" and "Boa Constrictor handling" but I'm all set with that.. I prefer the cute and fuzzy and keeping all of my limbs. I have visions of really hitting it off with my koala and bringing him home with me. He could sit on my lap and we wouldn't have to purchase an extra plane ticket for him.

Anyway, this is all still in the very beginning of the planning stage (the trip, not the koala). But I'm excited and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this magical week of leave actually goes through and we will have something special to look forward to come December!