Thursday, July 12, 2018

(Backup) July 10/11: 28 Exhausting Hours

28 hours. That’s how long it took me to get from Perth to Seattle. Cathie and Marlene took me to the airport the night of July 10th. Jared had joined us for dinner and dessert, but wasn’t feeling so great afterward, so we dropped him back at home first. In Australia, people can go to the gate even without a ticket, so Cathie and Marlene sat with me at the gate until it was almost time for me to board. We said our goodbyes with hugs all around. I boarded shortly after they left.

Bag packed

Dessert at San Churros

Goodbye Perth 

I tried to watch a movie, but I kept nodding off. In the whole trip (Perth to Sydney and Sydney to LA—there were no movies for LA to Seattle), I think I slept through parts of about 5 movies. 

The good part about the flight from Sydney was that the plane was not very full. 

Those seats were empty. People later moved into the aisle ones, but the seat next to me remained empty.

Sydney in the distance

Because I learned my lesson about layover times when you have to go through Customs, I allowed plenty of time in LA to get through Customs, drop my bags at the bag drop, and get to the Domestic Terminal. 

The last flight was the hardest because I was so tired. Fortunately, the pilot flew extra fast, and we arrived in Seattle 27 minutes early! Dillon picked me up. We were home by early afternoon. 

My Sweet Baboo came over just after I got home. He was as excited to see me as I was to see him. He drew me this picture.

That’s me on my bike in Australia (pretty amazing for a not quite 4 year old!)

So, now I’m home. All told, my tour was 6222.3 kilometers. That’s 3866.4 miles. Because I didn’t do all of the Munda Biddi, it ended up not being my longest tour, distance-wise. However, time-wise, it was my longest tour. 

I know I have thanked these people, but since there’s no way I could thank them enough, I must thank them at least one more time. In order of appearance...
Natalee and Ian in Melbourne—My intro to Australia was made fun and easy by these two! I am so grateful that they were willing to host me not once, but three times, as I arrived, went to Tasmania, returned, then went to Sydney, and returned before finally heading West. 

Patrick and Mikaela in Sydney—Without these two, I would not have been able to experience Sydney like I did. I feel so lucky to have met them. One of these days, Mikaela will be a movie star, and I will say, “Yeah, I know her!”

Cathie in Success (Perth suburb)—Here’s someone who really missed her calling. She definitely should have been a tour guide! I can’t believe all the things we did! She was willing to put up with me for 22 days. We had the most awesome time together. While Ian and Nat, and Patrick and Mikaela could have been my children, Cathie is nearly the same age as me. We have so much in common. I really enjoyed getting to see and do so much while I was with Cathie (and Jared, and Judy, and Marlene), but what I cherish the most is the friendship we developed. We will be forever friends, and I WILL go back to Australia (I will also make sure I see her when they come to the US next summer). 

Finally, I must thank again the two people who made it possible for me to meet my new friends, Kim Pearson and Katie Kolan. Natalee is Kim’s husband, Keven’s, cousin, and Cathie is Kim’s friend from their husbands’ Navy days. Katie is Patrick’s cousin. When they found out I was going to Australia, both Kim and Katie, right away, told me they had family/friends in Australia. 

Thank you all a million squillion times!!!

Now I must finish this up because I am falling asleep while I type.





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