Monday, May 23.
Tomorrow begins my trip to Australia to visit our daughter Emily who has been studying at University of Queensland in Brisbane since February. I have never been to Australia, and only last year did I go to Europe for the first time. I am really excited. Karen will not be with me on this trip, but I am looking forward to spending some nice time with Emily. We'll see how dad and daughter survive fourteen days on the road together!
I leave at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday the 24th and do not arrive in Brisbane until 6:00 a.m. Thursday the 26th. Not sure where the 25th will go. I know I cross the international date line, but how can you lose an entire day? (Yes, I will miss the AI finals. I am hoping I can catch the results on the 26th in Australia. )
Australia time is 14 hours ahead of us. So when it is 6 a.m. here, it is 8 p.m. there. Or when it is 8 p.m. here, it is 10 am the following day there. Also, it is going into winter there, so I will have to dress for fall, which shouldn't be too difficult.
The day before a trip begins there is always so much to do, and I always forget something, whether it is a pair of socks, or the tickets. Usually, Karen remembers everything I forget, but this time I am on my own. I did remember to buy some of those power converter plugs, and outlet converters. I have my passport. I remembered to fill in the electronic Visa application. I filled in the information required by the airline for foreign travel. All the hotel, rent-a-car, and in-country airline tickets are booked. .. I'll let you know when I get there if I missed anything!
Not only Down Under, but also left, right?
I am terrified over the prospect of driving on the left side of the road. What if I forget and go right around a rotary, or stay on the right side of the road when I take a right? But I am so looking forward to seeing Brisbane, Melbourne, Bryon Bay, the Gold Coast, Cairns and the great barrier reef. No we aren't going to the outback. Just not enough time.
Tuesday, May 24th
After waiting until the very last minute to pack, I got a ride down to the Fitchburg Train station with Megan. The trip began with a train ride starting at Fitchburg, MA at 1:05. And so... I begin again.
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I hope you can find time to visit a bit as we travel. I'll post as often as I can. It should be a fun journey.
--Mike
Nice Mike. Plus you won't have to worry about updating your anti-virus software. Remember to not wear a seal costume when you're swimming in the ocean.
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woohoo!! have a good trip!
ReplyDelete@Jason and @John. Thank you! We did actually end up wearing the seal costumes while snorkling! I wondered why that shark came so close! :)
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