Australia Day Twenty Two. A Farewell To Melbourne And Australia, And A Long Journey Home.

I was up before the sun on my last morning in Melbourne, and Australia. I wished I had more time to explore this vast and beautiful country but I began my long journey home on a mid morning flight and I only had time for one more walk.  I left the hotel in darkness and walked the commercial area along the highway. I was  looking  for a residential  neighborhood since I really didn’t get to walk much out here in the suburbs.  

I walked about a quarter mile when I found a road leading from the highway and followed it into a residential development. It appeared from the service trucks and modest cars parked along the townhouses that it was a middle class development. A few of the residents were up and looked like they were to  going to their jobs.  It was like so many residential developments I had seen across  United States. 

I walked through the development  until I  reached a fence and dead end. The development abutted a shopping center along the highway. I headed the other way and found a walkway to a park. As I entered the park the full moon broke through the clouds and I found  a small pond where I  listened to the exotic birds chattering in the early dawn. 

I walked along the homes of the development and noticed that graffiti was just as popular in suburban Melbourne as it is in cities in the United States. 

I continued my walk through the park and crossed a dried up creek to the other side of the pond. I enjoyed watching the birds flying above the water in the full moon light. 

The sun was rising behind the clouds in the east and I knew I had to get to my room and finish packing.  I reflected on the lives of the folks living in this development, so different, yet so alike my life in the United States, knowing we share that same moon and sun even though we are on opposite sides of our planet. I realized that we do live in a very small world after all.  Here is a link to some more photographs from my last walk in Australia. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-twenty-two-melbourne-morning-walk-february-25-2016

I walked back to the hotel, showered, packed and rode a shuttle to the airport driven by one of my new friends from the hotel staff. We had a nice chat about living in  the suburbs of Australia. I was dropped off at the international terminal and quickly checked my luggage and made it to my gate, stopping to pick up some last minute souvenirs including these  famous Australian treats tim tams, chocolate covered biscuits.  

I had breakfast before I  boarded my plane and settled into my window seat for the fourteen hour flight to Los Angeles. I was a little apprehensive about the long flight on my journey to Australia because of some back and hip problems.Having had,no problems,  I was actually looking forward to the flight so I could reflect on  my adventures and the many beautiful place I saw on my trip.

I spent the first few hours watching, one last time, the landscapes of Australia pass far below our plane. Soon we were over the Pacific Ocean, and clouds appeared below us  so I did some reading,  watched a few movies and dozed off a few times  on my flight to Los Angeles.  We flew into yesterday as we crossed the international date line near the equator. 

We were served a nice breakfast as e flew into the rising sun as we neared the United States. Soon , I saw  a few islands off the California coast and then the sprawling city of Los Angeles  spread out below us.   I loved Australia but it was good to be back on the ground in the United States. Unfortunately, another delay.

The American Airlines plane from Philadelphia was again delayed an hour and I knew I would not make my connecting flight to the the Scranton Wilkes Barre flight. Well , I wasn’t happy but traveling means expecting the unexpected. Our plane finally arrived and I was off on another five hour flight to the east coast.  I had a window seat again and enjoyed the barren, desert  landscapes of the American southwest .

We passed the sun again and  flew into darkness as we approached my favorite city, the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. I did miss my flight to Scranton Wilkes Barre so I had a few hours wait until the next flight.  I found a place to eat and read the local Philadelphia papers, catching up on my favorite sports teams. I finally boarded my last flight on my journey home, a short twenty five minute flight to Avoca. As we flew north I noticed that there was snow on the mountains reminding me it was still Winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

I arrived in Avoca around 10 p.m. and met my nephew Charlie  who drove me the last  thirty five mile  leg of my  long journey home, that started almost a full day earlier 11,000 miles away on the other side of the planet.  I was exhausted when I got home, and it was good to sleep in my own bed again, but I was already planning my next trip, the jungles of Africa in October. I  enjoyed sharing my trip and, was glad to have you along, and I hope you enjoyed it too. I can’t wait until we leave for Africa. Here is a link to some more photographs taken on my long journey home. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-twenty-two-flight-home-february-25-2016

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” — Jawaharal Nehru