A Week Without Tuesday

Several have requested an account of my trip to Australia. Truly, this is the most momentous travel adventure I have undertaken, and I'm excited to share my adventures in this and the next several posts.

I’ve combined the first three days into one, as it’s hard to explain exactly where one day ends and the next starts, due to the time change. With a total travel time of 24 hours (not including transport to and from the airport) and surging forward 14 hours with regard to time zone, it’s hard to say whether or not I experienced Tuesday at all, but I will regain the time lost on the return journey. Having more of Friday and less of Tuesday is a pretty good trade anyway. 😊

My first flight left at 5 p.m. EST from Cincinnati to Houston, Texas. Next, I took a flight from Houston to San Franciso. We spent a long time, once landed, sitting in line for our gate, and it seems about three-quarters of the passengers had tight connections, so they let those passengers off first, some with only ten minutes before boarding for their next flight closed. I was still blessed with enough time to get to the next flight, but not much to spare.

The last flight of the journey, from San Francisco to Brisbane left at nearly midnight, so when the lights were dimmed, I tried to catch as much sleep as possible. I set a new personal record of 3-4 hours of sleep on a plane (in 30 min to 1-hour naps). The 14-hour flight was the longest I’ve ever taken, so I also had time to watch multiple movies.

When we landed, at about 6:30 a.m. Brisbane, Australia time, somehow having lost Tuesday along the way, I went through customs, then immediately to the nearest coffee shop in the airport. I hadn’t been able to charge my phone on the airplane, because I’d brought nearly every type of charging equipment except the needed type-C to USB adapter. After charging the phone enough to cover needed GPS function, I picked up my rental car.

Out of all the aspects of the trip, driving a car on the left side of the road has been my greatest fear, but somehow, on four hours of sleep, lots of coffee and frequent prayers, I made it. Driving on the left, it turns out, is only part of the equation, and by itself isn’t that bad. It’s the fact that everything is reversed, with the driver’s seat on the right, the turn signal on the other side, right turns being the more difficult ones at an intersection and the direction change in roundabouts, which took me long enough to figure out in America. Plus, being in an unfamiliar city and not knowing where everything is. But if I did fine yesterday, I’m sure it will get better with practice.

When I reached my AirBnb, it took me a while to find, because it’s behind the main row of buildings visible from the road, and does not itself have an address. It’s a cute little tiny home about the size of a hotel room, and being off the main road actually affords it a more rural feel, even though it’s still an easy walk from the stores in downtown Hamilton (about 20 minutes from the Brisbane airport).

I moved my suitcases inside, but unfortunately something had either leaked into or had leaked from the inside of my suitcase. Thankfully, the only things that had gotten damp were a couple articles of clothing and the papers in the top layer of the suitcase. Thankfully, I had packed my raincoat in the layer of the suitcase, protecting everything beneath, but all my sheet music had gotten soaked. It’s still legible, just wrinkly, so it’s just cosmetic damage, thankfully.

It was nice outside, so after I moved my suitcases inside, I took a walk around the local area. There are several restaurants and a small grocery store nearby, so after walking as far as the nearby college and back, I bought a few basic groceries, then got takeout from a local restaurant.

While outside, I took a few pictures of the area. It’s springtime here in the southern hemisphere, and many of the trees still wear brightly-colored blossoms. The lilac blossoms are my favorite. The black and white birds are also beautiful and sing very beautiful and unique songs.

After catching up with messages, and pushing myself to stay up as late as I possibly could to help adjust to the time zone, I finally went to sleep at about 6:00 p.m. local time (it would have been 4 a.m. back home), as it rained torrentially outside.