life in the old lane

In the LA airport. 2 hours to kill in the very boring United Terminal. Got coffee. Now I have to find a cosy corner to hang in until 11ish. Then on to Chicago and finally to DCA.

You understand that your cell provider knows EVERYTHING about you. Even when there is no signal, there is still GPS. This is where Google says I was in Feb 2018. Now Google may not always be able to complete a phone call here in Kona, but by golly it knows that I was in the Nullarbor on Feb 12 and spent 90 minutes in Cook, South Australia. Google is my cell service provider.

It must be pretty hard to be less than honest about one’s whereabouts! There was I time when that would have mattered to me. (No Carlton that was before your time.)

Speaking of Carlton – I went to check out his spot in the bay. I would have swam over – but I am enjoying poor health – so, the landside view.

I am more or less all packed up. My luggage is “carryon-sized” but I am too old and feeble to hoist the case into the overhead. I would have to rely on the kindness of 6 strangers to get it up and down. Not a problem with checking it – except the connection in Chicago is 32 minutes. And, the weather in Chicago isn’t going to be stellar.

Being on the plane with a cold and not being able to wrangle my own suitcase might find me seated on the wing.

Every Australian city that I visited was replete with wall art and/or graffiti. And, I really don’t feel that bad. But, I still have a cold. I went to the drug store and got Sudafed. Figure that will help with congestion and flying. 

Today I went for a little walk, did breakfast with Billy, walked to the drug store, got something for dinner, napped, finished my first and maybe only pass of the Melbourne images while listening to Lord of the Rings, napped, once again had cheese cake and coffee before dinner. 

So, how about some of my favorite Melbourne images? 

Folks wander around the alleys and look at the wall art much like one would go to a gallery.

On Feb 7, one goes to the Parliament Building and watches the sunset.

Oh, turn around Peg – 

And why? You might ask. To see the sun reflect on the trolley tracks. It wasn’t all that great this year. Too many clouds. Clouds happen. But, you get the idea from the color version.

And my favorite Melbourne shot is the one that is the header today. The people lined up waiting for the light to change.

OK, the bad news. I have been caught by a cold. Why we say: I caught a cold is beyond me. I certainly wasn’t chasing a cold. If I knew one was after me I would have been running away from it.

But, after all those plane rides… why am I surprised? And, it just seems to be a garden variety cold. I have 2 entire days for it to get better – before I start out on another huge plane journey. 

Unfortunately, I sent all my ibuprofen, sudafed, etc back to the asylum in the flat rate box yesterday. But none of those are going to hurry up the recovery. So, I’ll just rest. Which was my plan all along. 

And, I can not be TOO sick – because – in honor of Carlton I just polished off  dessert – cheese cake and coffee – before dinner. Being grateful that I stayed 100% well during the Australian Adventure Before Alzheimer’s.

Started on the image cataloging and culling process today. Doing Melbourne.

Took rather many pictures at the Zoo.

For no apparent reason, the Melbourne Zoo lets people wander around in the lemur cage with the lemurs. Indeed, Australian zoo’s allow lots more of that sort of activity than US zoos. I am not sure how the lemurs feel about having people walking around in their house – but – since I only took my cheap-ass plastic wide angle lens and the 35mm prime that I used all summer on the Last Great Photo Shoot – I was happy.

Today’s activities:

1. Got up
2. Went for walk
3. Ate breakfast with Billy
4. Walked to post office for flat rate box
5. Napped
6. Filled up flat rate box
7. Walked to post office to mail flat rate box
8. Stopped at grocery for dinner
9. Napped
10. Moved almost 3,000 images off my cameras SD memory cards – didn’t do anything with the phone images yet. There are 600-700 of them as well. 
11. Nuked dinner
12. Ate dinner

Since the east coast is being crushed by a major winter weather event, I am super glad that I put this seemingly unnecessary break in my return to The Asylum. 

As always, after I big trip when I return I ask myself – why do I have all this STUFF? I got along fine for 4 weeks without this stuff. Why do I have it? So, when I get back to The Asylum it will be time for some serious deacquisitioning.

This rather strange looking milk cow is an unlikely ad for a burger place.

I am safely tucked into the Brisbane airport waiting for boarding, some 40 minutes away.

My bag is full of wet clothes. A sealed in ziplock bags. Why? You might ask. Because, I don’t learn from past mistakes.

50 odd years ago, I put everything stitch of clothing I had into a strange washing machine. I was clad in a bikini and a raincoat. In good time the wash finished and I transferred everything to the dryer. I retired to a nearby saloon. When I returned, my clothes were dry and Barbie doll sized. This was in the polyester days. Some of the clothes were actually melted. Most were just hopelessly shrunken. To Barbie doll size. I had to go and buy all new clothes from panties out. I was 20 something.

Well. This afternoon, a couple of hours before it’s time to leave for the airport, I decided to wash ALL of my clothes. Except for my wool hoody and stripped wool socks. The wash cycle ends. And nothing happened. No drying started. The f-ing door would not open. And I am clad in a bath towel. Got the door open. Got the wet clothes out. Dried undies, a shirt and a skirt good enough using the microwave and a hair dryer. Rolled the rest of the clothes into ziplock bags. And I am now 70 something. And I seem to have learned nothing about using strange washing machines when far from home.

Next stop Honolulu and on to Kona. Hopefully before the clothes mold and a week from today back to the Asylum.

Today, I rode around on the CityCat Ferry. That took about 4 hours and cost$3.50. Australian cities have good public transit. And they have lots more bridges. Including some for pedestrians and bikers only.

Tomorrow I plan on going to another garden, spend up my Aussie dollars, pack, clean up my rooms, get to the airport and arrive back in Kona before I left.

The ferris wheel wasn’t open when I walked by this morning. But it still makes a fine image.

And this bus is just too cute.

Yves St Laurent year of the dog window display. After resting yesterday, I was back in the travel game.

Main objective of the day was finding a koala. Mission accomplished.

After the koala quest, I went window shopping. Found a shop that Sam, my granddaughter would love. A Japanese dollar store. Well, actually, a $2.80 store. I went crazy in the origami paper section. I did not buy one of everything, but close.

And this is home for the next 2 days. I have two of the arched windows on the 1st floor really the 2nd floor.

Went for a stroll this morning. Wondered why everyone one was ignoring this big ass lizard. Turns out the area was lousy with big ass lizards.

My trip to the Great Barrier Reef was plagued with rain and wind. Fortunately I was very well fed and I got 3 snorkels in. If I were younger I would give it another trip. Who knows, even I might have another go. The fish and coral are out of this world.

Feeling a little frayed around the edges. So, I am just going to do a little sightseeing and a lot of lounging around. Late on my Thursday I head back to Kona. Then on March 6 it’s back to the Asylum.

Aussie weirdness – you turn the electrical outlets on and off. So, plug phone in to recharge, fail to turn outlet on, come back in a couple of hours, and nothing has happened!

Australia really isn’t much different from the US or Canada. The coffee is better. Starbucks would not be a good idea. Aussies are crazier about sports. Public transport is better. Their political leaders are as crazy as US political leaders.

Left to right. The view from my balcony. Plus giant bats.

I just booked in here because they had guest laundry and were supposed to be on the water. I think this is the best place I have ever been. And I have been to lots of places.

Well, it is time to start charging up my devices and myself in prep for tomorrow’s flight to lizard island. There’s no WiFi and no cellular. Nonexistent. None.

I am staying until Sunday. So you will not hear from me untill my Sunday or Monday.

Sunset Darwin Harbor

Made it to my hotel at 6:40pm. I knew sunset was scheduled to happen at 7:10. So I just dumped my stuff and went looking for sunset. Sunset not so special. But, I found bats. I am batty over bats. These were huge black flying foxes. They weigh over 1.5 pounds and have a 3, foot wingspan. I could hear their huge wings making leathery flapping sounds. No pics of bats. Wrong gear.

Came back to the hotel and weighed my stuff. Got an email today from tomorrow morning’s airline saying we are surely going to measure and weigh your stuff.

Fortunately, they’re not going to weigh and measure me!