Sydney to Portland via Hong Kong and Los Angeles
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Well, time for the final leg. The 147 hour flight or whatever it is from Sydney to Portland. Neither of us is looking forward to the flights but we are both looking forward to seeing our families again. It’s been awhile.
It’s kind of hard to comprehend all that we’ve done. I’m glad I have a few more weeks of sabbatical left before I have to go back to work to try to digest it all. We covered so much ground so quickly that I expect I’ll be going back through this log multiple times just to remember and reflect on what we did. I feel like we saw everything and nothing at the same time.
So my overriding memories of Australia are these: 1) The incredible and empty beaches, 2) the afternoon/evening light, 3) the people, and 4) the small towns and small town feel of the place, how rural it is. I’m not sure I’ve had enough time to think about my overriding New Zealand memories yet but there are at least three: 1) The spectacular scenery of the South Island, 2) the Maori influence and 3) the mattresses. They had the afternoon light too so I guess that counts for both.
We are somewhere over the Pacific, having successfully made it through Hong Kong and the kilometer or more walk from gate 64 to gate 2. It’s been Wednesday for some time now and for some time to come. But the good news is they have laptop plugs in the seats so I can work on this, and watch my own movies on this leg. We got an exit row and an empty seat between us so we’ve got the luxury of a fair amount of room.
We could tell we were back in the states when we went through LA. The customs people were surly. It was crowded. And the general weirdness that is LA was shining through. We got our bags x-rayed for the 7 or 8th (and last finally) time. Hopefully all the x-rays haven’t grayed out my film.
Marion and Daniel and Sharon were waiting for us at the airport. We arrived sleepy but triumphant. It was a great trip. All in all we drove 14,238 kilometers (8,847 miles)! We’re already trying to figure out how to go back again. Another sabbatical in 7 years…
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