A long and mostly uneventful trip home, during which I slept maybe half an hour (I napped a smidge before takeoff from LA). From the time we woke up in Sydney to when we arrived at the apartment in Bothell, was 28 hours.
Most everyone knows our grey Honda was stolen while we were away, but here are the details.
We pulled in to the apartment complex, and I was so happy: only ONE MORE set of stairs... then a shower, big sleep, rest, quiet, the whole schmere! As I started walking to the apartment, I looked up the drive to make sure the cars were there. I saw my red Honda immediately, but couldn't see the grey one; it's smaller, and could easily be blocked from view.
I took a few more steps, and in a very exhausted state of disbelief, realized the car wasn't there.
We hauled our stuff up to the apartment, and I checked the phone messages. The cops said they'd impounded the car, which was found abandoned in Kirkland (about two miles away). The car was impounded by the police on March 3... three weeks' impound charges!
The big news was someone had the car, it wasn't just gone. The apartment was fine, my car was fine, and we'd arrived home safely. I slept about twelve hours that first night.
Monique's insurance company was outstanding, paying for the impound charges, getting her a rental car, and (eventually) paying us a very fair price for the car (it was too much money to fix).
The car wasn't stripped for parts, we found a good mechanic close by, I got more money from the insurance company than I would've selling the car privately, and Monique has had nothing but good experiences with the car rental company.
Quick tip for Honda owners: keep a few scorpions, skunks, or needy dobies in your car... Hondas are way easy to steal.
©2006 FreeTime Productions
So. The web diary is done, more than a month after returning home.
My overall impression of Australia: superb. My overall impression of Australians: outstanding, as long as they don't work in the service industry.
For me, the trip was a screaming success. Seven weeks flew by, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I want to see the north, and the Gold Coast, and more of Tasmania, and all of Kangaroo Island.
theater simple kicked butt in the festival, working and teaching with Urban Myth, and their Out of the Square performances. I really enjoyed watching them, seeing more behind-the-scenes stuff, and helping where and when I could.
Australian hospitality is amazing, and a huge special THANK YOU goes to Graham and Bernadette. Listing out what they did for us would take a while, and describing the generous manner in which they hosted, housed, and helped us would take a writer better than I.
Australia is a great place, as most places are. Their politics are messed up, their sports are kinda hard to understand, and their kids are wonderful, as kids everywhere are.
Thanks for reading, and I hope your travels are safe.
P.S. Have a nice day.
©2006 FreeTime Productions