March 29-Home & final thoughts

March 29, 2016 – Trying to leave Sydney
At 5pm, I noticed “Go to Gate” on the departure board. I headed down to the gate. There were two long lines where you needed to show both your ticket and passport. I got into the pre-boarding lounge and got a seat up front. They announced that the plane was still being cleaned and stocked and boarding would start at 5:30pm. It started at 5:45 and we pulled out of the gate at 6:15. They are estimating that we’ll get to SFO around 1:30pm today again (Tuesday) because we cross the International Date Line.
The first half hour was very bumpy because of storms on the east side of Australia. They served dinner and at 9:30pm Sydney time I went to sleep. I slept about 5 hours and then watched 2 movies – Brooklyn and The Danish Girl. I started watching The Bid Short but fell asleep for another hour.
We landed at 1:35m and I was able to get through immigration quickly using Global Entry. I got to baggage claim at 2pm and finally my bag came out at 2:45pm. I was home by 4pm. My cat was very happy to see me.
My ankle:
So it turns out that my sprained ankle is actually a fracture of the fibula and I’ll be in a cast for 4 to 6 weeks. I’m told that my threshold for pain must be very high if I continued to walk 3 to 6 miles a day for 2+ weeks.
Final thoughts:
This trip was very long and, by the end, I was very tired. That said, I can’t think what I would have left out to shorten the trip. The pre-trip to Tasmania was not to be missed.
We had a very compatible group and I feel that I have made some new friends for life. Our two group leaders, Troy and Alan, we’re great. OAT does a good job at getting knowledgeable and caring group leaders. With any group, it is sometimes like herding cats. They both did an excellent job of keeping us on schedule.
I really like OAT trips because they combine seeing the sights with learning about the history and culture of the places you visit. This tour was designed to allow us time to fully understand the issues with indigenous peoples in both countries.
What’s next-
I’ll be doing a National Parks tour with Grand Circle (OAT’s sister company) starting June 24. I will be blogging for this trip so stay tuned.