We landed safely in Cairns, and I was shuttled through customs without much trouble. They are big on quarantine here in Australia, and they were very concerned about whether I was carrying any food. As you walk down the customs walkway, they show videos explaining how bad it is to bring food into the country.
I had a bit of trouble with my passport – they were worried about some bubbles that have formed on the page with my picture. They seemed to think that it was OK, but that I should look into getting it repaired. Apparently somebody could do a bad lamination job and falsify the passport. The bubbling came from the month in Japan where I had to carry my passport with me – usually in my sweaty back pocket. Oops.
Once I got past customs, I went outside the mostly empty airport, and was amazed at the difference from when I left Japan. I had left a cold winter day in Osaka, with temperatures in the 40’s, and here I was in a tropical rainforest climate in Australia with temperatures in the 80’s. The sun was out, and I was wearing way too many clothes. I took off two layers of clothing and repacked them, took out my sunglasses, and I was ready to go.
I checked in at the domestic terminal, and then went inside to wait about an hour for my next flight to Sydney. I ate a hamburger (bacon double cheeseburger) at “Hungry Jack’s”, which is just Burger King with a different name. The logo is almost the same, just with Hungry Jack’s inside the bun instead of Burger King. I hadn’t had a nice big burger in a long time – this one hit the spot.
Once aboard the plane to Sydney the trip went quickly and easily. It was a three hour flight, but it went by so quickly, especially after just finishing an eight hour flight from Japan.
The approach to the Sydney airport was such that I wasn’t able to see downtown and the harbor, so I’ll have to catch up with the view later.
I walked down the runway into the terminal, and was met at the end by my cousin Steve and his daughter Julia. It was my first time meeting Julia, and it had been years since I had seen Steve. They were both very kind and it was great talking to them. We walked across the airport to pick up my luggage, and then we wandered out to the car and headed south along the coast to Wollongong, where they live.
Julia told me all about her dance troupe. She is apparently quite an active dancer, and really enjoys it. The amazing thing about her is that she is so well spoken, and the topics of her conversations were well thought out and well communicated. She seemed to be a much better speaker than most 13-year olds that I’ve met.
The drive back was about forty minutes, and then we got to Steve’s house. There I met Brenda, his wife, and Alyssa, his other daughter. It was a pleasure to meet them and talk a little bit. We caught up just a little, and then they were off to attend a Christmas get-together.
The Coursey household sits at the end of a cul-de-sac in a beautiful country neighborhood. One side sits on the border of a natural preserve, and the forest there has a distinctive rainforest feel – it feels like walking through parts of the San Diego zoo. The have beautiful trees and flowers everywhere, and the sounds of birds and parrots flying around in the trees gives the whole place kind of a jungle soundtrack that is quite tropical.
That night I stayed home with the girls and cooked up some chicken and steaks on the BBQ, and even got to enjoy some excellent Australian Shiraz with dinner. The girls were great, showing me where everything was, helping with making salads and potatoes, and even doing the dishes afterwards.
After dinner we sat around and talked, and watched a movie on TV. It was nice just to relax. After an hour or so, I was just exhausted, so we all decided to hit the hay. I have a nice private room to myself, and I feel spoiled with how nice their home and family is. As I lay down to sleep the tropical sounds of parrots and birds floats in the window from outside, and the wind blows softly through the room, drifting in and out.
