You can see photos of my trip at Oz Odyssey
You can see photos of my trip at Oz Odyssey
Thursday, April 24 - Home to airport to Sydney
I was picked up by Roadrunner shuttle service. The driver, Angel, was very
nice. I enjoyed the ride. I was the only passenger.
I had asked to get to the airport by 7:30, as LAX recommends being three hours early for
international flights.
We arrived at 7:00. When I went to check in, I saw that they were dividing people into two groups.
One group had their luggage run through an x-ray machine. I was in the other group, where
they opened our bags and ran a wand around inside.
They didn't take anything out, though. They kept the bag until we were called up to the
counter, and brought it to us.
I was all checked in by about 7:35. I got a hamburger at McDonald's,
since I knew I wouldn't find any of those in Australia. [VBG]
I was glad
I had brought plenty of reading material, since I had a long wait.
When we finally boarded I found that, instead of having the aisle seat I
had requested when making my reservations months ago.
I was sandwiched between two strangers!
The seat itself was uncomfortable, and my back and/or neck hurt for almost the entire trip.
Everybody had an individual TV screen (about 5 x 6 inches) where we
could watch movies or TV or play games.
I watched part of Catch Me if You Can and played a lot of games.
Slept a little on and off. Dinner was served about midnight.
It was a chicken dish with rice, salad, and a sort of cheesecake dessert. The other choice was a
vegetarian spinach thing.
Breakfast was supposed to be a choice between continental or hot. My two
seatmates said hot, and I said continental,
but the attendant brought us
all three the hot.
Then, instead of a spinach quiche, they had brought
us the same chicken dish we were served for dinner!
The other two traded
for quiche. I ate the chicken.
Saturday, April 26 - Sydney
We landed at 6:10 a.m., and I got an Airporter shuttle to the hotel.
It
was $13 Australian for a round trip ticket - much cheaper than a taxi.
I had reserved my room for an extra night so I could check in right
away.
I expected to take a nap, but after lying there for a couple of
hours, I realized I still wasn't sleepy. I called Barry (BigBazza), and
he came and picked me up.
He drove me around quite a few areas of Sydney
and showed me various neighborhoods and districts. He bought me lunch,
and we drove around some more.
We visited a Bahai temple (I'm sure I spelled it wrong), which was interesting.
Eventually he took me to his house and let me use the computer to send a message to AFPF, along with any e-mail I wanted to send.
Then his daughter Rebecca joined us, and we
drove around some more.
He showed us one of the older parts of Sydney,
with homes and buildings 100 to 200 years old. He pointed out where his
parents had lived and had married. Later he took me back to my hotel.
I wasn't hungry - or sleepy at first, so I did a little organizing,
watched a little TV, and went to bed about 8:00. I slept until 3:30.
Then I was wide awake, so I read for about half an hour and went back to
sleep until 7:30.
Sunday, April 27
Got up and went downstairs for breakfast. Then went back to my room and
tried to call a woman from my cat Newsgroup. She lives in Wollongong,
but had planned to come to Sydney and spend the day with me. I kept
getting a busy signal, so I finally decided to send some e-mail, try her
one more time, and then go out on my own if I couldn't get hold of her.
Just as I was ready to walk out the door, the phone rang. It wasn't
her, but it was a Toastmaster who had said he'd be passing through
Sydney and we might meet briefly. He was in the lobby, so I went down.
He didn't stay long, but he gave me a District Directory, a koala pin,
and a pin for his District.
The Internet cafe closest to the hotel (which I used on my last trip)
was closed all day, but I found another one down the street.
I went back to my hotel and asked the woman at the desk how to get to
two places I wanted to visit. I expected her to tell me what bus to
take.
Instead, she just pointed and said,
"The aquarium is this way and
the tower is that way. If you want to go to the tower, just walk up
that way until you see Pitt Street."
I asked her how far it was, and
she said it was a 15-minute walk.
I started in the direction she had pointed out, then decided to take a
picture.
That's when I found out the batteries in my camera were dead. I
had spares at the hotel, but not with me, so I went back. I had brought
my recharger - and an adapter - so I decided to recharge the dead
batteries while I was sightseeing. I plugged the charger in and there
was a pop.
Then smoke spiraled up from it. I unplugged it quickly and
threw it away.
I walked that way, and after a while (at least 15 minutes) I got
concerned, so I went into a shop and asked. I was going the right way,
but it wasn't on the street I was on. I got better directions and went
on. Finally, I was able to see the tower. Finally I went by a church
that had a map showing me to get there.
I saw the Skytower Show (a mix
of walking through hallways supposed to be mines, listening to narration
on earphones, and watching a film in those seats that move and jerk
around. Then I went to the top of the tower and walked all the way
around. It has a great view of the city, and a sort of coffee shop where
I had lunch.
By that time I was really tired and decided to skip the aquarium. I was
going to take the bus back to the hotel, but I just missed a bus, so I
ended up walking.
It started to rain, and I got pretty wet before I got
back. When I got back there was a message - Barry had called to read me the
posts in response to the message I sent from his house. That was really
nice of him, and I enjoyed hearing what people had to say.
Before I left I had called about a Toastmasters meeting that evening.
The man I talked to was having a problem figuring out how to tell me to
get there.
Then he said, "Take the East Hills train to Beverly Hills,
and I'll pick you up at the station."
I had quite a time finding where to get the train. The station was just
up the street from my hotel - and I do mean up.
However, it's big. I
had to climb about a million stairs, but I finally found the platform. I
had picked up a timetable, and was glad I did, because I was at the
platform early, and there were a lot of trains. By watching the time
and listening to the announcements, I made sure I got on the right
train.
By the time I arrived, it was pouring. I had forgotten to pack an
umbrella, so I bought one before I left for the station.
I was glad I had it. Chris (the man I had called) met me and drove me to the
meeting. It was very small (only six people counting me), but I had a
good time.
At the end of the meeting I got out the timetable to check on
the time I needed to catch the train back. I had looked earlier, and it
looked as though I'd have a wait, and I was hoping he'd offer to wait
with me.
Instead, as soon as I pulled out the timetable, he told me he
was driving me back to the hotel, because he didn't think I should take
the train that late. I was glad. I was dreading the thought of all
those stairs.
Monday, April 28 - Sydney to Brisbane
I slept really well from midnight to about 5:00. Then I was wide awake.
I laid there for a long time, then finally turned on the light and read
a while.
I never did get sleepy, so I got up earlier than I had planned, and went
down for breakfast.
Then I went upstairs and washed my hair and packed.
I didn't have to check out for about another hour, and my pickup for the
airport
was about half an hour after that, so I decided to go to the
Internet cafe and send some e-mail, and then just wait in the lobby
after I check out.
To get out of my hotel to the place where I was being picked up, I had
to go down a flight of 10 or 12 steps.
I was struggling to get my
suitcase down the steps (along with the smaller bag and my purse) when a
young Asian woman came by.
She stopped and helped me get the suitcase
down. Then she asked if I was going to the airport and if I was alone. I
said yes to both.
Then she asked, in an anxious tone of voice, if I had a way to get to the airport. That was the first of several experiences of Aussies going out of their way to help a stranger.
The flight to Brisbane was lovely. I had a window seat, and the other
two seats were empty. Also, it was right behind First Class, so there
was extra leg room.
When I checked into my hotel I was given a message from a Toastmaster
friend I had visited on my last trip.
She took me to a Toastmasters
meeting in the evening, which was a lot of fun. Her mother, who had
showed me around Sydney on my last trip,
has moved to Brisbane and
joined the club, so she was along too.
Unlike the other club I visited,
this was a very large club, with 40 or 45 people in attendance,
including five guests.
They asked me to speak about my three clubs and,
ham that I an, I enjoyed doing that.
Tuesday, April 29
Hilda and her husband Michael picked me up, and we had a lovely time -
or at least I did. ;-) They drove me around some of the areas in
Brisbane,
and we went up Mt. Coot-tha where there is a lookout with a
wonderful view. Then we went to South Bank, which is an outdoor area
with a long, rambling walk, all sorts of shops and restaurants, and a
theatre complex. It also has what is billed as the world's only mid-city
beach.
We had lunch there, then visited the Queensland Museum, where
they are currently having a dinosaur exhibit.
We saw all sorts of interesting things there, and then Hilda and Michael took me to their
house, and Hilda let me use her computer to send e-mail and a message to
the group.
Michael took me back to my hotel and I rested for a while, then went
upstairs to the Tower Restaurant for dinner.
I wasn't very hungry, so I
just had some big prawns, which were delicious. My hotel is called the
Metro Inn Tower Mill.
It seems to be part of the Metro Inn chain, it's a
10 story tower (The outer wall of my room was curved), and it's across
the street from a famous mill that was built by convicts many years ago
to grind grain.
Actually my last sentence isn't quite accurate. Its
official name is the Metro Inn Tower Mill. People in Brisbane call it
the Metro Tahr. ;-)
Wednesday, April 30
Today I planned to repeat my experience of hugging a koala. I knew I
could get there by bus (if I could find out where to catch it),
but I
wanted to repeat the lovely river cruise I took last time. I asked at
the desk how to get there (expecting to be told where I could get a bus
to the river) and was told to go down the block until I came to some
stairs. Then I should go down the stairs to the mall, then follow it to
the river.
Yeah, right.
There were 95 steps (I counted). Then I had to walk two or three more
blocks to get to the street where the mall was.
Then I walked some more.
And some more.
Eventually I got to the river, and even the right spot on
the river, only to find that I had almost an hour before I could board
the boat.
I had passed a casino about a block back, so I went back there
and found a coffeeshop, where I had some lemon squash - and some rest.
I'll bet it was a two-mile walk, at least. I live in Southern California, where people walk for exercise, but never to get someplace.[G]
I enjoyed the Lone Pine Sanctuary as much as I did the last time (once I
recovered from the rather steep climb up stairs and ramps from the
river).
I held a darling little koala named Kasino. I told the handler
that I'd been there a couple of years ago, and she asked which koala I'd
held.
I told her it was Conrad, and she showed me where he was, so I
could say hello. I went into the compound where they have kangaroos and
wallabies that will eat out of your hand (if you buy the food, which I
did).
I sat in a gazebo where a woman who works there told us about the
differences between kangaroos and wallabies, and a wallaby named Combat
came in to see us and eat out of our hands.
After the boat trip back, I couldn't face the long walk back to my
hotel - especially since it was uphill this time - so I asked at an
information stand how to get a taxi. I was directed to a taxi rank,
where I had to wait a while, but eventually once came along.
The driver
asked about my trip, and I mentioned that I was going to ride the Ghan.
He said he used to work on the Ghan, when it was run by the government.
Then it was privatized, and a lot of people (including him) were made
redundant (laid off). He thought the quality of service had probably
deteriorated. (If it has, it must have *really* been fabulous before.)
I was really tired. I rested for a while, then went up to the Tower
Restaurant again.
This time I had a T-bone steak with mashed potatoes, a
wonderful mushroom sauce, and delicious vegetables.
Afterward I watched
some TV. Reality TV has definitely made it Oz! One show I watched was
called "Surprise Wedding".
Five young women had told their boyfriends
they were going to be on a make-over show. The boyfriends were invited
to the unveiling of the "after" results.
Actually, it wasn't a make-over
show at all. When the boyfriends came out on stage (one at a time), they
found their girlfriend in a wedding dress.
She then proposed to him. Then they told the guys to go backstage without responding, and think it over.
I found out the finale was going to be on the next evening, so
naturally I planned to watch it. After that show, I watched Survivor -
the current one.
Well, it was current, then. It's over now.
Thursday, May 1
For some reason I thought it was Wednesday. I went down to the lobby to
ask for some information, and the clerk was busy.
I sat down and picked
up a newspaper while I was waiting. That's when I found out it was
Thursday - my last full day in Brisbane!
I wanted to visit the Australian Woolshed, so after asking directions I
walked down those sane 95 stairs and went another block to the train
station.
There were lots of stairs up and down in the station. I tookd
the train to Ferny Grove, as instructed Then I walked about half a mile
to the Australian Woolshed. After being shown and told about eight
different kinds of sheep - and a sheep-shearing demonstration, we went
out back and watched a demonstration of sheep dogs working. It's
fascinating - if they have to turn the sheep in another direction, they
run across the backs of the sheep to get to the other side of the flock.
Then I (and a few other people who were there) walked over to an
enclosure where there was a koala, and a man told us about koalas.
There
was a sulfur-crested cockatoo named Silky strutting around the railing
of the enclosure. The man and the other people went out where there were
kangaroos you could feed (the food was free here), and I waited a minute
or two to talk to the cockatoo. He came over by me and lifted up a foot.
I put my hand down beside him, and he climbed on. I walked around for a
bit holding him, and the man who worked there came back.
I told him the bird had just climbed on, and he said that was fine. "When you want to
put him down, just put your hand on the rail, and he'll hop off."
Then the man went away again. I stood there with the bird for a while longer,
but his claws were sharp, and my hand was hurting, so I decided to put
him down.
Big mistake!
When I put my hand on the railing, he didn't jump
down - he climbed up my arm, digging in his claws really hard. I
actually bled a little.
I couldn't really do anything about it, so I just waited, and pretty soon the man came back. I told him the problem, and he pried the bird off.
Then I went and fed some small kangaroos. I had a group of five
jockeying around to get at my hand, and there were times when two or
three would be eating out of my hand at the same time. I really enjoyed
that.
I walked back to the train station, took the train back, and again took
a taxi so I wouldn't have to climb the stairs. I went back to the Tower
Restaurant for dinner. The prawns had been delicious, and I decided to
have more, but I was hungrier than last time, so I ordered a potato
salad too. I think it could have fed a basketball team, it was so big.
It was good, though. I ate all the prawns and as much of the salad as I
could.
Back in my room I watched the finale of Surprise Wedding. They gave all
the guys the opportunity to make one phone call for advice. Each of them
called a friend or relative, and none of them sounded really
enthusiastic. Then they brought them out one more time and the girls
made more elaborate proposals.
This time the men had to respond. Four
said yes. One said, "I'm sorry I can't say yes," and you could see the
poor girl's face fall.
Then he went on to say that he wanted to do the
asking, which he proceeded to do, down on one knee.
After each proposal
and acceptance, they had a wedding.
Packed and organized to be ready to leave in the morning.
Friday, May 2 - Brisbane to Darwin
I woke up at 6:00, and did as much as I could before going up to
breakfast at 6:30. Then I went back and finished packing and wend
downstairs to check out.
I left my bags and walked across the street for
a closer look at the mill, which was built by convicts in 1982, and was
used to grind grain and wheat for flour.
I was picked up and taken to the airport. I had a few anxious moments,
because we didn't get there until 8:45, and my printout said my flight
was at 9:10.
I had read something that said I should be there 90 minutes
early. The line was long, so I panicked, especially when I couldn't find
my flight on the monitor.
I got in line and fretted until I had a chance
to speak to an airport employee, who said I had plenty of time. She was
right, especially since the line moved really fast - and the departure
time was 9:40.
We landed in Darwin about 1:45, and it was really hot and humid. The
hotel, which looks more like a motel to me, is okay. I was on the ground
floor,
which was good, since there didn't seem to be a lift.
After asking directions, I walked a few blocks to get Internet access
and look for a convenience store. I didn't find the store, but did send
some e-mail at a backpacker's place. I didn't send as much as I wanted,
because I suddenly got a message saying the site I'd been working at
wasn't available.
I finally realized it was about the same time of day
when the same thing had happened while I was using Hilda's computer.
Apparently the temporarily close it for maintenance late at night, which
is late afternoon in Australia.
I went back to my room to rest and cool off, took advantage of the guest
laundry to do some washing. I rested and cooled off some more,
then
walked across the parking lot to the hotel's restaurant to get dinner.
There was no inside heating, and it was still quite hot, even though it
was dark.
You have to stand in line - a long time - to order, then stand
and wait even longer to get your food. A band was playing.
They weren't
bad, but they were a little loud, and lots of people were talking. There
weren't any empty tables when I finally got my plate, so I took it to my
room, where I had a table and chairs - and a coke in the fridge.
The
food wasn't bad, but there was too much of it.
Watched a little TV, including some news, then turned it off. Got ready
for an early start in the morning.
Saturday, May 3
Got up before 6:00. Dressed, gathered what I wanted to take, then took
my plate back to the restaurant.
I was picked up promptly at 6:30 for my
trip to Kakadu National Park. We picked up 10 or 11 more people, then
started on a long drive.
We passed lots of termite hills. We stopped at the Bark Hut - a
combination restaurant/souvenir shop. I picked up a coke, a bottle of
water, and a bun that wasn't as good as it looked. I needed a hat, since
I hadn't brought one, and Darwin was soooo hot I figured I'd better have
one.
I found a cloth one that could be squished into a suitcase and
bought it. It was already hot when we left the motel, but it was a
little cooler where we were.
We stopped at a place called Ubirr, where we took a 1 km walk to see
Aboriginal rock art. The others climbed up to a lookout, but I only went
partway.
It was very hot. It felt good to get back on the
air-conditioned bus.
We had a picnic lunch at Jabiru, a mining town (uranium). We ate at a
park overlooking a very pretty man-made lake.
Later we had a boat trip that went on a billabong, the Yellow Water
River, and a flood plane. We saw lots of plant life, including water
lilies, buffalo grass, and mangroves.
We saw a large assortment of
birds, including egrets, jabiru (storks), snake-nosed herons, a pair of
Bulgar (Our guide was impressed; apparently they are somewhat rare), and
a rainbow bee-catcher. We also saw half a dozen crocodiles, all sunning
themselves lazily.
My camera batteries went dead, and the spare set I had with me turned
out to be dead too. Katherine, our guide, got me some when she went for
gas.
I'm really glad my camera takes AA batteries, so I can use
non-rechargeable ones. Katherine had cake for us when we got back on the
bus after the boat trip.
We stopped at the Bark Hut on the way out for dinner. I had kangaroo
fillet with plum sauce. It was delicious!
Sunday, May 4
I woke up about 7:30. Walked across to the Anka Bar (near the other
restaurant) and had breakfast.
I tried to make reservations for a
flightseeing tour, but didn't have any luck. I made a tentative
reservation for a dinner cruise tomorrow evening.
It was tentative
because they needed a certain number to go, and they were still short a
couple of people.
I took the Tour Tub, a bus that takes you around to various places of
interest and you can get on and off as you like. The driver was charming
and knowledgeable. I visited the Indo Pacific Marine & Pearling
Exhibition. Actually, these were two separate things. The marine
exhibition was extremely interesting.
They had a section of living coral
reef, complete with various water critters, where you could see it. They
also had a number of tanks with various small critters in them. The man
who told us about the exhibits was very passionate about it, which made
it much more interesting.
Another stop was the museum and art gallery. I had lunch in their coffee
shop. It was the best steak sandwich I have ever had!
It was very large
and came with fries. I ate half of it and some fries, and saved the rest
for dinner. It was just as good cold.
I watched TV and read.
Monday, May 5
I got up early enough to gave breakfast and then walk to Aquascene,
where they put out baskets of bread once a day.
You feed pieces of the
bread to fish who come from the harbor and eat right out of your hand.
If the bread is gone, they nibble your hand. These were fish without
teeth, obviously. The woman running the show also fed some of the more
dangerous fish, throwing meat in the water for them. There were several
kinds of rays, including one that looked like a shark with a
weird-shaped head.
It looked like something prehistoric. It turned out
to be a diamond-headed ray. The head was diamond-shaped and flat, and it
had two shark-like fins hear its tail. The woman said the only thing
that kept it from being classed as a shark was that it didn't have
enough cartilage.
Later I arranged to be picked up and taken to Crocodylus Park, where
they have lots of crocodiles and other critters too - even a couple of
American alligators for comparison. We saw a demonstration of feeding
the crocs - very much the way what's his name does it - the smarmy guy
on TV.
I got my picture taken holding a young crocodile. I was wearing
my hat, so I'll send that photo for the hat gallery when I get a chance.
In the evening I did get to go on the sunset cruise. It was lovely and
cool on the water. I was the only person who wasn't with someone, and
after a while two couples called me over to talk to them. We talked on
and off. We were served a nice dinner - barbecued barramundi, beef, and
chicken; salad and vegetables. Before that we had prawns and oysters,
and before that they brought out a big platter of cheese, crackers,
guacamole, olives, & sun-dried tomatoes.
We saw the sunset on the water, and it was absolutely lovely. When we
were nearly back in, the woman running the tour asked if anybody needed
to have a shuttle called. I said I did. I had told the driver who
brought me to the dock that I'd need a ride back, but I didn't trust him
to be there (and I was right).
I based that lack of trust on the fact
that he went to the wrong hotel first, then couldn't find the right
dock. One of the couples I'd been talking to heard me, and offered to
take me back to my hotel, since they had a car.
Here's the next chapter in my saga - the Toddy chapter. [G]
Tuesday, May 6 - Darwin to Alice Springs
I got up about 8:00, dressed, had breakfast, and packed. My flight
wasn't until afternoon, so after I checked out I left my luggage in the
office and took a mini-bus to the mall. Bought a couple of T-shirts and
some earrings
Went back to the hotel and waited for my shuttle to the airport. The
check-in line was short and moved fast, but going through security took
quite a while. I still had time to have a coke before time to board.
I had a great seat - a window seat with the other two seats empty. It
was right behind first class, so I had extra leg room.
Arrived in Alice Springs around 5:00 in the evening, and it was so nice
compared to Darwin!
Didn't see Toddy when I got off the plane, but she
found me while I was waiting for my bags. We had talked previously about
renting a car, but she decided not to, and it turned out to be a good
decision. We took the Aurora shuttle to the hotel.
Our room had a queen-sized bed and a twin. I volunteered to take the
twin. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant. I wasn't very hungry, so I
just had a prawn and avocado cocktail, which was delicious.
Wednesday, May 7
I slept well off and on, although my neck bothered me. I did hear Toddy
say my name once during the night. Since we both snore, we had agreed to
wake the other up if necessary. She said she had to do it a lot more
than once, but I only woke up enough to hear her once. I was up first
and got a shower.
Toddy was up when I got out. She just wanted coffee,
so she made it in the room and had her shower while I went down for
breakfast.
We took the Alice Wanderer, which goes to various points of interest,
and you can get on and off as you wish. One ticket is good for two days,
which is a good thing, because it only runs every hour and 10 minutes,
so you could never visit everything in one day. We visited the Old
Telegraph Station, the School of the Air, Anzac Hill, the Flying Doctor
Base and the Reptile Center.
The telegraph station was extremely important, as it speeded up
communication with the rest of the country - and the rest of the world -
considerably.
The School of the Air is important for children in
outlying villages and on cattle or sheep stations, where they may be
hundreds of miles from the nearest school.
It is a multi-media setup,
combining written work, radio, computer, and videotape. They have
get-togethers a few times a year, so the children can meet each other
and spend time with other children.
Anzac Hill is a hill which has a
memorial to the servicemen who served in World War I. It is not only
impressive, there is a nice view of the town from the hill. Toddy, who
does not like reptiles, was kind enough to indulge my desire to go to
the Reptile Center. After a demonstration of various reptiles, I had the
chance to hold an olive python and a skink (a lizard).
After we got off the bus for the day, we did a little shopping, then
booked a dinner show called Red Centre Dreaming for the evening.
We
rested and napped a little.
I had attended Red Centre Dreaming on my previous trip, which was why I
talked Toddy into it. The program was different, but just as good as
last year.
It began with an Aboriginal man showing and telling us about
some of the tools the Aboriginal people use.
They are all made of wood,
using only fire and stones to shape them.
Then we had dinner, which
included tiny lamb chops, kangaroo kebabs, and barramundi (a delicious
fish).
Then we moved our chairs out from under the shelter and sat in
the open near a large campfire. Our host introduced other Aboriginal
men, and they did several dances for us, explaining the meaning of each
one.
After that, we had our picture taken with the dancers.
Thursday, May 8
We both woke up about 8:00, and just laid in bed and talked for about an
hour. The we got up and got going.
We found a nice place to have breakfast, and then we separated. Toddy
went shopping, and I went to send some e-mail. Then we met again and did
some more shopping.
We put our purchases in our room, and went to catch the Wanderer again.
We visited an art gallery called Panorama Guth. It is named after the
Dutch artist, Henk Guth, who did many paintings of Red Centre scenery.
His masterpiece is found at the top of a spiral staircase - a 360 degree
panorama, which looks extremely real. It is as though you were standing
on top of a tall mountain, looking in all directions. The realism is
enhanced by 20 feet of landscaping between the viewer and the painting.
We walked around it at least three times, seeing new things each time.
It was absolutely breathtaking!
Next we went to the Alice Springs Cultural Precinct, where we wandered
through the old cemetery and saw the graves of some famous people whose
names I don't remember (Well, Toddy said they were famous!
Next we went to the Date Garden, where we had good sandwiches and
delicious date ice cream. After that we went back to our room to rest.
We'd had a late lunch and weren't very hungry, so we didn't go out to
dinner. I ate a fruit bar. Toddy had a sore throat, and I don't think
she ate anything.
Friday, May 9
I woke up about 7:30 or 8:00. Toddy finally woke up. It was cold in our
room, so we stayed in bed where it was warm.
Finally I got dressed and
went down for breakfast. We separated again. Toddy was meeting a
friend - or the daughter of a friend, and I did some laundry.
Before I left home, I had been in e-mail contact with a Toastmaster in
Alice Springs. She had called the day before, and was to pick us up at
2:00 this afternoon, to show us around the area. Toddy wasn't feeling
well, so she decided to stay in the room and rest.
The Toastmaster, Jose (pronounced "Josie"), gave me a two-hour walking
tour of the town. She showed me three churches, taking me inside and
explaining significant details about them. We also visited the small
building that was the first hospital in Alice Springs .Jose had worked
there in the past.
It is a museum now. We saw many other sights too.
Her energy was amazing, particularly considering the fact that she must
be in her 80's, at least.
We kept meeting people who knew her - one from
her walking group, another from her water aerobics class, and others
from other organizations she belongs to.
I found out she gives these
tours regularly. After that, I went back to the room to rest.
Jose had also invited us to her house for "tea" that evening, which
turned out to be dinner. She had invited two other Toastmasters, one of
whom picked us up.
I'm sure Toddy thought we'd be talking Toastmasters
all evening, but instead, she and the others mostly talked about medical
things, since it turned out they had all been nurses or in some way
worked in the medical field. They also had an interesting discussion of
Australian politics, some of which I actually understood. [G]
I guess
politics and politicians are the same everywhere.
Jose served us cottage
pie, salad, and garlic bread, with a yummy Sarah Lee concoction for
dessert. We talked for a while, then Helen, the Toastmaster who had
picked us up, took us back to our hotel.
We did as much packing as we could, then went downstairs and paid our
bills. I left my large suitcase in the luggage room, since I would be
coming back.
We had the lights off by 10:00, because we had an early
start the next morning for our trip to Uluru (Ayres Rock).
Saturday, May 10
We had set our alarm for 5:30, but we woke up before that. We were ready
to go by about 6:10, so we kicked back for about 10 minutes, then went
downstairs.
The bus came in a few minutes, and we were the first ones on, so we sat
across the aisle from each other, so we could each have a window seat.
We picked up several other people, then started on our way. Our bus
driver/tour guide introduced herself. She's Annie Woodhouse.
She said,
"My friends call me Timbershack, and I invite you to do the same.
" She
was a great guide - cute, knowledgeable, and humorous. From time to time
she would play appropriate music.
The first stop was at a camel farm, where I petted a dingo puppy and
rode a camel. The camel was fine when it was walking, but when it
trotted, I bounced, and my back hurt. Fortunately, it didn't trot very
far. Riding camels was old hat to Toddy, so she just watched and took
pictures.
Our next stop was at the Mt. Ebenezer Roadhouse, where I picked up a
sandwich to eat for lunch at the hotel.
We stopped on the way so we could take photos of Mt. Connor, which looks
a lot like Uluru, but is made of sandstone and therefore is
uninteresting, according to Timbershack.
We arrived at Ayres Rock Resort around noon, and were assigned to our
room in Emu Walk Apartments. I was expecting a fairly rustic setup with
bunks. Instead, we had a lovely suite - a bedroom with a double bed, a
living room with a sofa that makes into a bed, a dining area with table
and chairs, and a kitchen with a stovetop, a microwave, and a full-sized
refrigerator.
The other rooms I had on the trip had small refrigerators,
but no microwave or other cooking facilities.
Since I had taken the twin
bed in the Alice, Toddy took the sofa here.
We were able to shut the
door between us at night, so Toddy didn't keep waking me up to tell me I
was snoring. [G]
We were picked up at 2:15 for our sunset trip to the Rock. We stopped at
other hotels (the Lost Camel and Sails in the Desert) to pick up others
of our group. On the way, it was so cloudy it looked as it if might
rain, so Timbershack played a beautiful song called "Raining on the
Rock", then one called "A Rainbow on the Rock", and finally, "Raindrops
Keep Falling on my Head".
We drove to where you could walk up to a lookout for a good view of the
Olgas, an amazing series of rock domes. Later we went to where you could
walk up among the domes. It was uphill and rocky. I went partway up, and
Toddy went farther.
Then we went to where we had a good view of the Rock. Timbershack had
wine orange juice, and chips for us to enjoy while we waited for the
sunset.
It was so cloudy, we didn't hope for much, but the change of
light on the rock as the sun went down was nice. We had several
interesting conversations with various people from our group.
At one
point, I was talking to a man when I glanced toward the Rock and gasped.
The clouds had parted, and it glowed bright red, as though it was lit
from within.
It was incredible, and people who have been there for seven
years say they never saw it like that.
When we finally left the Rock, we had a choice of being dropped at our
hotel or at the shops.
We went to the shops to pick up something to eat.
We got some things for tomorrow, and a frozen pizza for this evening.
When we got back to the hotel, we realized we didn't have an oven, but
the microwave worked fine. The dough was a little softer than usual, but
it tasted good.
We ate the pizza, packed and had showers, and went to bed about 11:00.
Sunday, May 11
We both woke up at 2:00 a.m. Toddy went back to sleep, but I was wide
awake. I was just thinking about turning on the light and reading for a
while, when I was hit by an esophageal spasm. It lasted a long time, and
when it finally quit, I had a hot flash. I turned on the light and read
until 3:40. It took a while for me to get back to sleep after that.
Toddy woke me at 5:10. I had set my alarm for 5:00, but forgot to turn
it on. I was able to be ready and eat in time for our 5:50 pickup.
We
had three choices. We could climb the rock, walk around it (9
kilometers), or we could stay with the bus and drive around it, stopping
at various points where we could walk up to it. We both took option 3,
along with several other people. We dropped off the climbers and those
who wanted to walk around it, then we went to a spit to watch the
sunrise and its effect on Uluru.
It was lovely, but couldn't match last
night's sunset.
After the sun was fully up, we drove to a spot where we could walk up
close to the rock. We saw some cave paintings, and a semi-permanent
water hole.
Then we drove to another spot where we could go up close.
After that, we went to the Cultural Centre, where we picked up food for
lunch.
We were dropped off at about 11:00.
We looked through the Visitor's
Center, and I bought a couple of CD's, including one that had "It's
Raining on the Rock" on it.
Then we sat in the hotel lobby and waited
for the bus. This is where we had to say goodbye, as Toddy was flying
home from there, and I was taking the bus back to Alice Springs.
Toddy is a delightful and considerate roommate - even if she does snore,
accuse me of snoring, and switch the loo paper so it hangs OVER. [G]
I
was sorry to say goodbye to her.
I was the only one who got on the bus at our hotel, but we picked up
others along the way. We saw a wedge-tailed eagle circling above the
road.
We stopped for photos of a different view of Mt. Connor.
I changed buses, along with a few other people, at the "International
Bus Terminal", a wide spot in the road, as Timbershack was taking people
to Kings Canyon, while the rest of us were going to Alice Springs.
We stopped for tea at a roadhouse. I got an ice cream bar, a "Cherry
Guevara". The label says, "The uprising of the cherries ended when they
were crushed between two layers of chocolate. May their memory live on
in your mouth." Needless to say, it was delicious.
We crossed three rivers - the Palmer, the Finke, and the Hugh. There's
water in the Finke, and has been for 40 years, which is "unheerd of",
according to our driver/guide, who is a Scotsman.
I got to my hotel about 6:00. I checked in, picked up my large bag, and
did a little organizing, then went looking for dinner.
It was Sunday
evening, most places were closed, and it was dark, so I ended up eating
at the Red Ochre, our hotel's restaurant.
I had camel steak with nutmeg
and ginger scented pumpkin, fresh muntries and rocket. I guess the
muntries were the little things that looked like apples about a
half-inch in diameter. The tasted a little bit like apples, too. I have
no idea what rocket is.
I also had damper, which is basically a camp
bread that is fried or made over a fire. We have something similar
called bannock.
The dinner was good, though not as good as the kangaroo
fillet I had in Kakadu.
I watched a little TV while I did some more organizing, but there was
nothing good on, so I turned it off. Turned the light off about 10:15.
Here's the rest of my trip diary.
You can probably tell I was getting
tired by the end of the trip. ;-)
Monday, May 12 - Alice Springs/Ghan
Woke up about 6:00, but stayed in bed until about 6:45. Puttered around
and did some organizing.
Went out about 7:50, thinking the post office
would be open at 8:00, but it doesn't open until 8:15. Went back and
finished packing.
Checked out and wandered around town. I mailed Toddy a book she had lent
me (a very good book, BTW) and a couple of evaluation forms.
Went to a
chemist (drug store) and got some foot powder for my smelly feet and
shoes.
Sent some e-mail. I suddenly realized that it was still Mother's
Day at home, so I went back to the hotel lobby and tried to call my
mother.
I got a busy signal.
I had a ham, cheese, and pickle sandwich for lunch, and then an ice
cream cone - Honeycomb Buzz. Both were delicious.
I found a used book
store and picked up a couple of paperbacks so I wouldn't run out on the
way home. Tried to call my mother again and got "all circuits busy". Sat
in the lobby for half an hour, then tried again and got through. She was
very surprised and delighted to hear from me. She liked the card I had
sent.
I knew Mother's Day was the same in Australia as in the U.S., so I had
decided to get an Aussie Mother's Day card to send her.
It said "Happy
Mother's Day to Mum". I think I sent it from Brisbane so it would get
there in time.
I got my luggage and waited for my pickup.
I was a little antsy, because
my ticket said the train would depart at 1:00, and the pickup was
supposed to be at 12:50. I knew the station was close,
but that still
seemed to be cutting it a bit close. I didn't need to worry. My ride
came at 12:45, and I had my suitcase checked and my berth assigned by
1:00.
I also found out that boarding wouldn't start until 1:30, and
departure was 2:00. I was in Car N, berth 1.
I had booked a Red Kangaroo
compartment, which meant a two-person compartment. If the train had been
full, I could have had a roommate.
Fortunately it wasn't full. The
compartment was big enough for one - barely. It would have been
extremely cozy for two people who knew each other really well, and much
too crowded for two strangers.
Before boarding started, the station manager (or somebody official)
lined up the staff and made a public announcement about the Ghan, and
introduced the staff by name. I think there were eight of them,
including a conductor, women to work in the "dining car", and people who
turned down beds.
There were two seats facing each other, with a fold-out table in the
middle. There were two tiny closets and a fold-out sink.
My car was next
to the dining car, and I was near that end of the car. The only things
between me and the next car were the showers and the conductor's
compartment. The "usual facilities" were at the other end of my car. The
hallway, or whatever it is called in a train, undulated, so you didn't
walk a straight line, but moved left and right as you walked through the
car. It was pretty narrow. I imagine a large person would have trouble
negotiating it.
When the train started, I was excited. It was even more exciting when I
saw people at every intersection and other points along the way,
watching the train. Then as I realized we were actually leaving Alice
Springs, I cried. Unlike Tony Bennett, I left my heart in Alice Springs.
It feels as though it is my real home, and I'll probably never see it
again.
I walked through the dining car to the lounge, and found a bunch of
people playing cards, so I went back to my compartment.
The dining car had a window to go to and order food at one end, and
tables in the rest of the car. I picked up a meat pasty for dinner.
It
was a little dry, but they gave me a cup of "tomato sauce" (catsup), and
that made it pretty good.
Everybody in the dining car was with somebody,
so I went back to my compartment, where I could put my feet up on the
opposite seat to eat.
About 9:00, a woman knocked on my door and asked if she could make up my
bed. She did it very quickly, and also lowered and closed blinds I
didn't know I had. I had been a little surprised there weren't any
curtains, because the windows were quite large, but I didn't see any.
The bed was very narrow, but comfortable, and the pillow was wonderful!
I read on top of the bed for a while, then went to bed.
I had decided to
sleep in my clothes, since I'd probably have to get up in the night.
Also, with the bed made up, there wasn't room to change. I turned off my
light before 10:30, and slept really well for about two hours.
After
getting up, I managed to get back to sleep for another two or three
hours. After that I was awake a lot.
My back was hurting, as it had been
on and off for the entire trip.
Tuesday, May 13 - Ghan to Adelaide to Melbourne
The speaker in my compartment came on at about 6:30, with a song about
the Ghan and then some commentary about it.
I figured out how to open
the blinds and saw that it was getting light. I laid there for a while,
then got up to go down the curving hallway.
The employee (attendant?)
came to make up my bed, so I took a walk while she did it. When I got
back, I could easily see how the blinds worked.
The windows are double,
and the Venetian blinds are between the two layers of glass. A handle
raises and lowers them, and turns the slats.
I had asked the attendant
to leave the pillow out, and that made the seat more comfortable.
We arrived in Adelaide about 8:45, 15 minutes ahead of schedule, but
that was the time I had give Di, because that was what was on my ticket.
I didn't see her at first, but she found me while I was waiting for my
bag at the pickup point. Rhondda wasn't there, so we waited a while.
She and Alan arrived just as we were about to leave. Rhondda rode with us.
We made one stop, and then went to Di's house. Alan joined us there.
We
had refreshments and talked, then Di turned me loose on her computer,
where I posted the message that has just reappeared on AFPF.
Before
that, she presented me with a chocolate bilby, and we took pictures with
it.
We had lunch - fat-burning soup, for which Di was going to send me the
recipe, but I haven't received it yet.
Dessert was lime jelly (Jell-O)
with a sort of yogurt, which Di introduced as "an Australian dessert
you'll love".
When it was time for me to go, Di dropped me off at the terminal and
parked the car. I was just finishing the check-in process when she found
me.
She was going to go in with me to wait, but was stopped at Security,
because she had a small pair of scissors in her purse. The security man
was going to confiscate the scissors, and told her the only way she
could get them back was if she left right then, so she did.
I had a middle seat on the plane again, but the flight was only one
hour, so it wasn't too bad. I was to be met by "Flippy", a woman from
rec.pets.cats.anecdotes. I didn't see anybody who could be Flippy when I
got off the plane, so I headed for the baggage carousel. She and I saw
each other at the same time, partly because we were both wearing the
official newsgroup T-shirt.
It has a photo of a rather
belligerent-looking cat, and the caption "Cattitude", along with the
name of the newsgroup on it.
Flippy and her partner Mia took me to their house for dinner. They're
both very nice, and complement each other well. Mia is rather quiet and
shy, and Flippy is talkative. First I was introduced to their cats,
Romeo, Juliet, and Chloe. Romeo and Juliet are very friendly. Chloe
allowed me to pet her, but I had been warned that she bites
unexpectedly, so I didn't pet her for long. Then Flippy showed me two
albums of photos of the cats I had just met.
We had a good dinner - lasagna, which they had made together from
scratch. It was probably the best lasagna I've ever tasted. We also had
garlic bread and green salad. For dessert, they had tiny custard tarts
and Tim-Tams. If Tim-Tams ever come to the U.S., Oreos won't stand a
chance. Tim-Tams (to which I'd been introduced by another cat person on
my last trip) are chocolate cookies that are so good they'd rival Oreos
if they were plain. Instead, they're covered with chocolate - real
chocolate, not that waxy stuff we have here.
They knew I was tired - it
had been a long day - so a little while after dinner, we got ready to
leave. Flippy packed up the rest of the tarts and some Tim-Tams for me
to take along. She also gave me a book called "Cosset Your Cat". Then
they took me to my hotel, waited until I checked in, and helped me
upstairs with my luggage. I really appreciated that.
Mia works at the museum, and gave me a free pass. She also said that if
I brought anybody with me, to ask for her and she'd get them in free
too.
I actually had a suite - a living room with a couch, coffee table, TV,
and a desk, a kitchen area with a small table and two chairs, a small
refrigerator, a sink and a microwave. There was a small TV in the
bedroom too, and a bathtub (the first one I'd had since I left home) in
the bathroom.
I was really tired, so I went to bed early and had the lights off by
10:00.
Wednesday, May 14
I woke up about 6:00, after a great night's sleep. I had slept straight
through, which I seldom do these days.
I laid in bed for a while, then
turned on the light and read. I had bought some fruit bars when I was
shopping with Toddy, so I had one of those for breakfast, along with a
custard tart.
Later I went downstairs and located us on the map. I also booked a tour
to Philip Island for tomorrow afternoon and evening. I'll be picked up
at the hotel at 12:30.
I was feeling lazy, and knew that Jingles (June) and her husband Derrick
were meeting me for lunch, so I decided to wait in my room.
The cleaning
lady came while I was there, and she just told me to sit in the living
room while she cleaned, so I did. Derrick rang up about 11:45 to say
they were here, so I went downstairs.
We talked for a few minutes, and then went looking for lunch. We walked
down the street a little way and found a cafe. I had a steak sandwich,
which was good, though not as good as the one I had in Darwin.
After discussing the possibility of driving around sightseeing, they
asked if I'd like to go to the museum. I decided that would be a good
time to use the free pass. We found it after a bit. There was a lot of
walking to get to the entrance, so Jingles decided to sit and wait,
while Derrick and I went inside.
I asked for Mia, but she was out sick. She had thought she was coming
down with something the night before. I told the young man what she had
said, so he got us in free anyway. It was a nice, modern building, with
lots of open space, and lots of walking, but not much interesting to
see.
I got tired and my back was bothering me. I was also concerned
about leaving Jingles sitting alone for so long, so we went back,
collected her, and went to the cafe for a cuppa. (I had Pepsi)
They asked if I wanted to go back to my hotel or to stay longer and get
a taxi home. I'd had enough of the museum, so I said I wanted to go to
my hotel.
I was sorry I had, because we had quite a time finding our way
back. I could have just let them leave and found my own way home.
Eventually we did find the hotel, after seeing some really old row
houses with metal filigree, similar to ones Barry had showed me in the
older section of Sydney.
I rested until about 6:30, then went down to the hotel restaurant for
dinner. I had roast lamb with vegetables and mushroom sauce. The lamb
was rather fatty, but the dinner wasn't bad, although it was rather
pricey.
I watched TV, including the final episode of Survivor, and turned off
the lights about 12:30.
Thursday, May 15
The alarm woke me up at 8:30, and I went back to sleep. I got up at
9:00. Had my breakfast and went downstairs.
I went to a chemist and got
some black currant Strepsil, since my throat was feeling scratchy, and I
remembered that from my last trip to Australia.
Then I went to a
convenience store & got some water and something for tomorrow's
breakfast. Went back to my room to put away my purchases and just take
it easy.
I went down the street to McDonald's (sorry, Paul!
In case
you hadn't figured it out, I was running out of steam.
When I went downstairs, there were two buses there, and I didn't know
which was the right one. There were a couple of women who were also
waiting for the same tour, so I talked to them while we waited. They
turned out to be from Sacramento. It was a two-decker bus, and once the
driver let us in, after assuring us it was the right bus, we went to the
upper deck and sat in front, where we had a great view.
After picking up other people at various places, we drove past the
cricket arena and other sports venues which were used in the 1956
Olympics. We also saw the Dandenong Mountains.
We stopped at Warook Cattle Farm, where we saw cattle, ducks, a lamb,
and a wombat. Well, at least we saw the hollow log the wombat was hiding
in. We got to feed kangaroos and goats. I had a Cadbury Meltaway - a
vanilla ice cream bar with caramel and Cadbury chocolate.
The next stop was the Koala Conservation Centre. We saw several koalas
in trees, including one that was less than 10 feet away. She completely
ignored us, and busily stuffed herself with eucalyptus leaves. The guide
said she had been there for years, and was probably about 14 years old,
which makes her an old lady, since koalas usually don't live much more
than 15 years. I asked if she was ignoring us because she'd been there
so long, and the guide said no. Koalas have virtually no natural
enemies, so they don't pay much attention to anything except food (and I
suppose, occasionally, to each other). ;-)
Our next stop was the Penguin Parade. There's a center there with a
shop, a restaurant, and I think a room where they show a room about the
Little Penguins.
The driver/guide told us they used to be called Fairy
Penguins, and then the word fairy became politically incorrect, so now
they're called the Little Penguins. They're the smallest penguins in the
world, and don't get more than about 14 inches tall. They spend their
days in the sea, and after sunset, they come out and go to their burrows
in the ground. The beach and the areas along the boardwalk are lighted
with simulated moonlight. No photos or videotaping are allowed.
Nobody
is allowed to interfere with the penguins in any way - if you don't
count the fact that many of their burrows are man- made, and there is a
huge grandstand where you sit to watch them walk across the beach, so
they have to go to one side or the other to get to their burrows.
They're very shy, and spook easily.
A few will come out of the water and
stand for quite a while. Sometimes one of them gets spooked and runs
back into the water.
After thinking it over, the others follow him.
Finally, sometimes after several false starts, a group will walk across
the beach. Then you can go to the boardwalks that have been built above
their pathways, and watch them. I saw four of them from maybe 10 feet
away. They're really cute. The walk a little way, then stand around and
talk things over for a while. They have quite a vocabulary of sounds -
one sounds almost like a duck quacking, others are sort of chittering or
chirping sounds.
We had dinner in Cowes, but I didn't know if we were actually going to
get any food. The bus driver was very nice. There were several
restaurants, but he happened to be in the one I went to. I had a table
hear his, so he came and said there was another woman from our tour who
was by herself.
He asked if I wanted him to ask her to sit with me, so I
said yes. We weren't able to talk much, because for one thing, it was
noisy and hard to hear.
For another, she was from Israel, and didn't
speak English (as I know it) very well. I had trouble understanding her.
She said, "Did you invite?"
I thought she meant did I invite her to sit
at my table. Eventually I realized she was asking if I'd ordered.
We had
a hard time getting a menu, then getting someone to take our order. Then
it took forever for our food to come. I had kangaroo again.
This time
instead of a steak, it was pieces of it with vegetables and sauce. Most
of the veggies were unfamiliar to me - I think there were a couple of
kinds of squash. The bus driver got up and left shortly after we were
served. He said, "Take your time. We have five minutes." (He had
originally told us we had an hour for the dinner stop, and that hour was
just about up.)
We finished eating and got to the bus, but I think we'd
both have enjoyed the meal more if we hadn't felt rushed. In my case,
being riled up because of the wait didn't help either.
By the time I got back to my room, it was late and I was really tired. I
turned off the lights about 12:30.
Friday, May 16
My last full day in one place. I got up about 8:40 and had breakfast.
I went downstairs and asked how to get the City Circle tram. I also
asked how to get to the Observation Deck, at the top of one of the
buildings.
It was a few blocks from one of the tram stops. There are a
lot of trams in Melbourne, but the City Circle is free. It circles the
city, and stops near various points of interest. I had to walk a few
blocks to catch the tram. On the way I passed an Internet place, so I
stopped and read my e-mail. I answered a couple, but didn't send any new
ones.
Then I went on to get the tram. Had to stand on the street for
quite a while before it came.
It was cold and foggy, and I was tired. I
realized that I had to walk a few blocks and go up to the Observation
Deck, and then I wouldn't get a good view because of the fog. I stayed
on the tram until I thought I was back where I'd started. I wasn't. I
was outside a lovely old building - I think it was a library, but I just
was out of energy. I started walking, but wasn't sure which way to go. I
had a map with me, it was lunchtime, and I saw a Subway, so I went in,
had lunch, and looked at the map. I figured out where I was (I'd been
going the wrong way), and found my way back to the hotel. I turned up
the heat in my room and finally got warm.
I decided I was too tired to do anything else, so just took it easy all
afternoon. I had dinner in the hotel. They didn't have a printed menu,
just a list of meals on a blackboard. You order and pay at the cash
register, then find a table and they bring your food.
They also had a
salad and soup bar. I decided to go for that. There were rolls you could
get with the salad and soup (It was pumpkin soup), and there was also a
dessert bar. I asked the woman working there if that was included in the
salad bar and she said it wasn't supposed to be, but to go ahead and
help myself.
I got some sinful chocolate cake.
I went back to my room, packed, and rested.
Saturday, May 17 - Melbourne to Sydney
Got up at 7:30, had breakfast, finished packing and went downstairs. I
sat in the lobby to wait for my 9:00 pickup.
At about 8:50, a man came
in and asked if I was in room 312. I said no, and he started out. Then I
realized he might be my ride, so I ran after him and told him I was in
812 and wanted to go to the airport.
Sure enough, he was my ride - but
not to the airport. He took me (and some other people) to where we could
get a bus to the airport. The first ride was free, but the second one
cost.
I checked in and went to my gate to wait. The flight was delayed about
15-20 minutes, but we finally took off.
I had to wait a long time at Sydney Airport for the bus to my hotel. It
was free, but I waited over half an hour for it.
When I got to the
hotel, they asked if I wanted somebody to bring my bags up. I said fine,
and went up to my room. I get settled, and waited for my bags.
And
waited. It was about 2:30 by then, and I hadn't had lunch, so I went
downstairs.
I had a steak sandwich, which had beetroot (pickled beet) in it.
Although I had learned on my last trip that Aussies put beetroot in a
lot of their sandwiches (including hamburgers), it was the first
sandwich I'd had that actually did have it. It tasted better than it
sounded to me.
I went up to my room and booked my ride to the airport. Barry had asked
me to call him before I left Oz, so I tried, but kept getting a busy
signal. Later he called me. He said he's been sick, which I was sorry to
hear.
I decided I didn't feel like going down for dinner. I had some Tim-Tams,
so I ate them and watched TV. I counted my money and found that I had
$13.45 Aussie left. I figured I could spend most of that at the airport.
Then I went to bed for the last time in Oz.
Sunday, May 18 - Sydney to Los Angeles
Ate a breakfast bar and stalled around until almost 11:00. That was
checkout time, and my pickup was due at 11:10. Went downstairs and
waited.
Eventually a man came in and asked if I was on an international
flight. They had separate buses for international and domestic flights.
He said he'd take care of my luggage, so I left it with him, walked out
the door, and got on the bus that was parked outside.
After a few
minutes another man stuck his head in the door and asked if anybody on
the bus was on an international flight. I said yes, and he said I was on
the wrong bus. He pointed to another one that had been hidden by the one
I was on. I got off and changed buses.
When I got to the airport, I found that they had specific check-in
windows for different flights.
There was a monitor to find out where to
check in. My flight was to check in at E-1 through 9. I found the E row
of windows, but didn't see any numbers.
I tried to go to check in and
was told I'd have to wait until 12:15. Finally a lot of people were
checking in, so I got in line.
When I got up to the counter, I found out
there were more E windows on the other side, and I was on the wrong
side.
The woman led me around to the other side, where my luggage was
opened and a metal detector run around the inside. Then I was able to
check in.
I went toward my gate, and finally found a place where I could
get some lunch. I knew we wouldn't get any on the plane, because takeoff
time was 2:00 p.m.
I looked at the menu in the restaurant and realized I didn't have much
money. I found a sandwich that was $10.50, and decided I probably had
enough to get a coke too, so I ordered both. The bill came to $13.45!
After I ate, I went to my gate to wait, and finally was allowed to
board.
I had an aisle seat reserved for me this time. When I went from Sydney
to Brisbane, I had a long time to wait at the airport, so after I
checked in, I went to an international desk and asked about making sure
I had an aisle seat on my home flight, since the middle seat on the way
was so miserable.
The woman at the desk spent a long time on the
computer and making phone calls, but managed to get me an aisle seat,
which I really appreciated.
The planes on both my international flights had small TV screens in the
back of the seats, so you could watch a movie or TV or play games.
The
man in front of me was rather large, and when he sat down, he threw
himself into his seat, so the back of it moved toward me. When he
reclined it, he didn't do it gently, but wham! It gave a whole new
meaning to the term "in your face" when my TV screen was suddenly shoved
to about 4 inches in front of my face.
It was still a lot better than
being stuck in the middle.
I didn't sleep at all on the flight home, and although I was very tired,
I didn't feel sleepy.
After the 13 ½ hour flight, we arrived in Los
Angeles at 10:30 Sunday morning. [G]
My daughter and son-in-law picked
me up at the airport and brought me home (Bless them!).
After they left,
I laid down on my bed to take a nap, since I still hadn't slept at all.
I didn't feel sleepy, but my mind was getting fuzzy.
I slept for about
10 minutes, then woke up. I laid there for a few more minutes, and then
my mother called. (I had called her to let her know I was home, but she
was at church, so was returning my call) After I got through talking to
her, I wasn't sleepy, so I got up. I didn't get sleepy all afternoon or
evening, and went to bed rather late, as I normally do. I couldn't get
to sleep until about 2:30 a.m.
According to my calculations, this means
I had been awake for about 34 hours straight, except for that 10-minute
nap.
