And They're Off...Leaving for Australia

 

We've been here for months and we've always known we were heading back. We've had our airline reservations made for a couple weeks. Why then, do you suppose, we're in such a dither when it's actually time to get ourselves and our belongings together and take off?

It's the packing. We've accumulated so much stuff over the past couple of months, just a little at a time. The boat parts came in and then we ordered a few more. Then I did a little thrift shopping and David got a few tools and some supplies. I wanted to pick up a few food items we can't buy in Australia like green chiles, for instance. Little odds and ends that seem to have taken on a life of their own. We're each allowed two 50 lb (23kg) bags plus our carry-on luggage. That's 200 lbs (96kg) of stuff we can check on the airline and now we're scurrying around trying to cram it all in.

We dragged everything out onto Mary's living room floor. David's a good packer although once the security folks at the airport go through everything, it's a toss-up as to whether any breakables will make it to Australia … three flights of loading and unloading and rough handling. He carefully packed the duffels, using my thrift shop purchases for padding and wrapping. We hauled out the bathroom scale and when each duffel started feeling heavy, he'd weigh it. We did this for all four, shuffling things from here to there to even out the load and identifying any nook or cranny that could ostensibly hold just one tiny item without breaking the weight restriction.

Our flight wasn't until mid-afternoon which allowed us some time in the morning to finish up last minute things at Mary's house … laundry, moving some furniture, a final goodbye to my old computer, and most importantly, loading all those duffels and luggage into Mary's car. We stopped to hug Becky goodbye … always an emotional time for our family and for us.

And then we were unloading all those bags and checking into the Delta/Virgin desk to begin our long flight back to Cups. Three flights actually … Las Vegas-Los Angeles-Melbourne-Perth. We'll be down under in around 34 hours. See you on the other side.