Well today was a different sort of day, exciting, emotional and exhausting..... Maddie (no 2 daughter) flew out today for a year in Canada. I had planned that I would go home to spend a few days with her, but as our trip progressed it became clear that a flight to Adelaide was probably too far. Plan B was hatched although I had decided; I kept Mads guessing for a while. As she had a stop over in Sydney I organised a flight to Sydney to catch her at the airport for 2 hours. The three phones set for 4am worked this time and I was out the door by 4:15 to catch a flight at 5:20.
Sydney airport is not a place for the faint hearted, whilst I have been there a number of times, I did not have to contend with any navigation other than driving out of the place. Firstly there are 2 domestic terminals (might even be more) I arrived in one and Maddie the other, she was almost stepping through the transfer gate when I caught up with her, so we were able to share a taxi to the international airport some 7 minutes away. The cabbie was one crazy driver almost mounting the curb at 80kms an hour as he wove through the traffic, (thank goodness for the obliging nature of the other drivers) we hurried out of the cab and into the bustle of the international terminal. Mads luckily did not have to pay $100 for excess baggage although she exceeded the single case allowance by 8kgs.
The exit to customs and departures is restricted to passengers - no waving as the plane lifts off these days - so we had to say our tearful goodbyes in the main foyer :-(
The two hour reunion turned into a hurried 40 minute dash, I didnt get to see the gift Steph had organised and I didnt get a photo of the two of us, damn annoyed, but it was still worth it to give Mads a big hug and wish her well on her big adventure.
Another taxi ride back to the domestic terminal and 3 hours of aimless airport wandering, a cup of coffee and a snack for lunch, then it was time to catch my flight back to Cairns.
A round trip of 5020kms for 40 minutes - priceless.
Susan
Waiting for a taxi - Human cattle herding at Sydney International Airport
Mads and Steph
Hi Folks,
A 2 part blog today. My part will be quite short to match what I did today. After barely stirring to farewell Susan at 0430 i arose at 0630. After goofing off on the computer for a couple of hours I did a fault diagnosis on one of Seva's lounge room lights. Conclusion the dimmer circuit was stuffed. I removed the swag from the camper trailer and took it out of its bag. There was dampness and some grey spots of mould present. So it was out with a dilute bleach detergent solution and a scrubbing cloth. I also scrubbed the bag out and hung it on the line as well as airing the mattress. Next job was reassembling Seva's desktop compter. I went for a cycle around the town and down to the Mulgrave River crossing.
Cheers Simon
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