Holiday laughs in Oz

Day 174 of the project,
Christmas Day in Apollo Bay, Australia

"You're sitting like you're a baller at some fancy hotel. Like this is the Ritz Carlton of Apollo Bay instead of the YHA and you are drinking a vintage champagne instead of quadruple X lager."

Her eyebrow arched and pinky shot out from the gaudy yellow can, posing for a ridiculous Instagram post. It was contagious and within seconds, we were both giggling uncontrollably. Not quite our signature silent hyena laugh, but enough to make my eyes tear up a little. It was a good release after a long meandering day on Australia's Great Ocean Road.

The summer before our parents divorced, my sister and I took a road trip with our mother across the southwestern United States. We saw the major national parks, the desert cities that rise up as oases and the extended family. It was a forced bonding excursion with two awkward teens: excruciating stretches of empty roads punctuated by exciting and interesting stops, all crammed into three weeks. It was our last real travel experience together, endured at the painful adolescent ages of sixteen and fourteen, respectively.

I moved to Austin two years later for university. My sister and I saw each other for a few days at Christmas and the occasional family-centric events. We didn't talk much....an email here, a phone call there, sporadic text messages, usually dealing with our parents. Even after we both landed on the west coast (me in San Francisco, her in Santa Barbara), our visits were irregular and dictated by work schedules (me spending a weekend in Los Angeles, her attending a conference in the city).

She moved to San Francisco for her job in January. I had no idea of what to expect from us. Our relationship was certainly good, but it lacked the depth one might imagine of two sisters in their late twenties. We are so different... a scientist and a marketer, a petite blond and an athletic brunette, a fashionista and a tomboy. How could we possibly have common ground?

Nearly a year later, our similarities still surprise me. The intonation of our voices, our quirky humor, our mannerisms, our realist views. I am unbelievably grateful for the chance to build a real friendship rooted in sisterhood. To squeeze the last few drops of time before careers, husbands and babies render carefree adulthood obsolete. Needless to say, I was thrilled when my sister promised to join me for the holidays. She creatively dubbed it #GbursAustraliaExtravaganza....a fitting end to the project.

Five days have raced by on the Great Ocean Road bringing many memories. A day in Melbourne, a few days in Torquay and now Apollo Bay. Each place has brought us closer as we share something new, from surf lessons to an international Uno game to a tasty Christmas dinner. Not to mention great conversation in the car, more inside-joke hashtags and many good laughs. So this Christmas Day, I thank fate for giving me the best sister on the planet.