traveling home through the vortex

home home home home home home

Only 15 and a half hours late, but who's counting?

Those of you who are acquainted with my weird travel karma (like Kim J) will not find the following account of my homeward sojourn at all surprising:

Right. Not only do we have the execution of a dictator which prompted raising the national security level to orange (and they repeatedly announced the security level at all the airports I was in), but we also have Mother Nature freaking out all over the place. Neither bodes well for the weary traveler.

Sydney to LA was fine - an additional security check of carry-on bags and a pat down right in front of the gate and a 14-hour flight - but otherwise, fine. I was seated facing the wall that holds two pull-down cribs, and that meant more leg room, which is always a plus. There was a couple seated next to me who had a baby son, and I must say, they were great with him. He didn't cry much at all, he smiled and giggled a lot, both parents took turns looking after him so each could eat or use the restroom or sleep or just have a break, and both sang to him when necessary to distract him.

I also watched An Inconvenient Truth, which was really good. In fact, it was so good, I watched it twice. Go here for more info, and for the love of heaven (not to mention Earth) go rent the film or get it from Netflix. It's well worth it. I missed it in the theaters due, ironically, to business travel.

We arrived in LA half an hour early, and were then stuck on the plane for an hour and 15 minutes because there was a plane in the gate that we were supposed to be pulling into, and that plane was having baggage problems, and apparently, there was no other gate for us to go to. So we finally get into the terminal, and I had to get my luggage because if you're coming into the US from out of the country, you have to get your bags and go through customs, and then re-check them for further domestic flights, so that took time. I check in for my flight to Baltimore, and find that my itinerary has changed, and I suddenly had another layover in Chicago, which is not good news when you've already been traveling for 14 hours.

So on to Chicago. Once at O'Hare, which I now suspect is some sort of vortex from which few emerge, my flight to BWI was on time for a few brief minutes, and then it was delayed, and then it was cancelled, due to the storm in Denver. Since it was weather-related and not the airline's fault, they would only offer a discount on an overnight hotel stay rather than paying for it entirely.

Why, you might ask, did I not try and get a flight on another airline? Have you BEEN to O'Hare lately? Do you KNOW how many people that place can hold? Do you REALIZE how silly and bloody stupid it would be to try and do that, when EVERYONE ELSE is trying to do the same thing? Besides, United refused to give me my luggage, and said it would be sent to BWI on their next available flight and would be waiting for me if I went on a different airline. Previous experience has shown me that it is unwise to get too far away from one's luggage, and honestly, sleeping horizontal in an actual bed instead of upright in a chair with a lot of noise, not to mention a shower, not to mention sustenance other than airport food, was really sounding appealing, even if I had to pay a discounted rate for those privileges. Mercifully, there were free shuttles to the hotels and back to the airport. Once I got into my room, I dropped everything on the floor, had a good cry and a shower and a pot of tea and went to bed.

This morning, I called the airline twice to make sure the flight was still scheduled, and it was, and was even going to be on time. I had a decent breakfast and another pot of tea, and I went to the airport again. I got through security (the lines for which looked eerily like what they were like when the new security procedures were first instituted) and got to my gate without rushing, and the first-class passengers were even starting to board, and it was all going sooooo well, and then they suddenly stopped boarding because the pilot had found some sort of mechanical problem that had to be fixed. Most of the people on this flight were the same ones who would have been on last night's flight, and groans were collectively let out. We were beginning to worry that this flight would be cancelled as well and the vortex would have us once and for all. So I sat on the floor and meditated with a crochet hook and some yarn (my mom taught me how to crochet left-handed while I was in Australia), and they managed to find us another plane, and so we escaped the vortex, and I only had the minor irritation of a guy sitting next to me who wouldn't shut up about the bloody obvious, but I managed to nip that in the bud by putting in earphones, firing up the i-pod, and letting Neil Gaiman read to me, bless him.

I finally got to BWI, got my luggage, got a cab, and got home. I was greeted by a pile of mail on my doorstep, and no cat, so I had another good cry, and started calling people to tell them I was really and truly home.

flora and fauna

This one is for Jane - some local nature. I don't know the name of any of these things, but they're colorful to look at.

a boxing day at the races

I haven't been to the races in awhile, so it was fun to go again. Lots of people were dressed up, or overdressed in some cases, and there were several hats that looked like they could have come out of the racing scene in My Fair Lady.

It was quite windy and a bit chilly, so Mom, Steve, and I sat in one of the indoor viewing lounge areas. We were able to get a table next to a window, and we had a good view of the track.

They actually interrupted the races to show Shane Warne score his 700th wicket in the Ashes tournament. Australia has won the ashes, but decided to go ahead and play the last games anyway, and Shane Warne is retiring from test cricket after this year, so it was a big deal for him to get 700 wickets and set a new record.

For most of the day, we placed trifecta bets - Mom, Steve, and I each picked a horse in each race to place. For almost every race, we got two out of three, which doesn't result in money (we'd usually only bet about $10 per race; Steve graciously was our intermediary with the bookies), but we were at least picking some good horses. Steve tried his hand with a few bets on single horses, and actually won money twice. In the racing newspaper, we came across a horse named Corporate Kate, but she wasn't racing that day, unfortunately.

I managed a couple of pictures. A special shoutout to my college photo teacher, Carol Dickie - I remembered the action shot lesson.

home life

Here are a few pics of the neighborhood and the locals.

The house is Mom and Steve's. Note the roof tiles - these are popular and come in pretty much any color you want, the most popular being orange.

Also a pic of Bailey, Mom and Steve's Beagle. She's very friendly and loveable and protective.

Another of a house further down the road, decorated Santa style. And still another, very brightly painted.

I'm off to roast a turkey for tomorrow's Christmas lunch.

cate, craftily

Upon our return from Cairns, Mom and I set about with some serious Christmas decorating. These pictures are the wreath I made for Mom and Steve (I've no idea how it ended up as a square) and some of the decorations I made for their tree (of course, I forgot to take a picture of the tree). Also included is a painting I worked on - the image came from a book Mom bought on the boat ride back from the reef visit. Mom also taught me to crochet left-handed, which is great because I never could get the hang of it right-handed. Once I work up something halfway respectable, I'll post another photo.

Great Barrier Reef

This day had its ups and downs - literally. It takes about 90 minutes by boat to get out to the reef. Mom and I were fine for the first 30 minutes, and then we both got sea sick, along with about half of the passengers with us. It was incredibly windy, which made for really choppy water, and we were sailing against the current and the wind. But after vomiting four times, I felt better. This is the first time I've ever gotten sea sick. I took some ginger tablets, and felt close to human by the end of the day. The ride back was much calmer, and no vomiting resulted.

There is a pontoon moored near the reef, and it's much more stable, so Mom and I stayed on that for most of the day. I had signed up for a helicopter ride over the reef, which required another five-minute boat trip from the pontoon out to the helicopter pad, which induced one more round of vomiting. However, the helicopter ride was awesome - the reef is as long as the Great Wall of China and can easily be seen by air. We also went into the glass-bottom boat and the semi-sub and got some good underwater snaps - forgive the murkiness of the pictures.

The final down of the day was the vet calling at 12:30 am Australia time to tell me that my cat had stopped eating, and he asked permission to do some blood work. Then he called an hour later to tell me that her blood work was horrible and the cancer tumor was huge, and that they had tried to give her an IV catheter, and she had gone into cardiac arrest, and they couldn't revive her. I had had a feeling that she might pass while I was away, but I had wanted to be there with her, so I am feeling very guilty about that. I'll write a longer tribute post about her later, when I can do it without running for tissues.

butterfly sanctuary

There are a couple of stops along the skyrail where you can see some exhibits, so I ventured into the butterfly sanctuary. I've never seen anything like it. Butterflies flitting everywhere, in all colors and sizes, and they're very friendly and curious and think nothing of landing on people. One landed on my shoe, and another landed on my arm.

rainforest

Visiting the rainforest was the highlight of my trip, especially because I got to see it from above, not just in. I kept coming back to the idea that being in the suburbs, you feel so oversized and clumsy, and you can't look anywhere without seeing a building or a parking lot or a road. Out here, you can see and see and see as far as forever - sky and forest and water, and you feel like just a speck that could be squashed at any second, which is a good check for the ego.

We took the skyrail above the rainforest, which gives you a 360 view of everything - valleys and gorges and waterfalls, and the air conditioning in each car comes from the breeze of the water and the movement of the trees, and your radio is birds and cicadas. Building the skyrail meant disturbing the trees very little (ie, they had to take down few if any). However, the whole city of Cairns is built on what used to be rainforest, not so good. There is a tree planting program, though - lots of schools contribute to it, and the kids even come out to actually plant the trees.

I can't really say anything about the rainforest that hasn't already been said, so I'll leave it at this quote by zoologist Carl Lumholtz in 1883: "...all was dark and damp, but on gazing upward, I saw the tree tops flooded with the most brilliant sunlight, which occasionally penetrated through the branches. As we ascend, the landscape gradually grows wilder and more picturesque. The palms are replaced by gigantic tree ferns, which here in in the damp rocky clefts, spread their mighty leaves in all their splendour over trickling brooks, which frequently disappear in little waterfalls down steep precipices. The effects of light and shade are magnificent here, the scenery is simply overwhelming in its splendour."

room with a view

I think I've found my retirement spot. Florida is great and all, but Cairns has the Great Barrier Reef and the rainforest, not to mention some great restaurants, galleries, and botanical gardens.

I'm dividing these next blogs up by location visited because I took so many damn pictures that they probably wouldn't fit into one blog.

This first set are all views from my hotel room. Those who know my travel karma are well aware that I usually get views of the sides of buildings or the air conditioner and whatnot, but this view more than made up for it. It was never static, save for the distant mountains of the rainforest. I think you should be able to click on each picture to see it in its full glory. Enjoy!

breakfast on the continent

Yesterday, I was able to have my usual yogurt and granola, but European style - Greek yogurt, muesli (which so far as I can tell is granola with dried fruit in it), and honey. And I've probably had a decent gallon of tea in the few days I've been here.

Today, Mom made an Irish breakfast for me (her side of the family is mainly Irish) - so that was eggs with potatoes and peppers and onions, and more tea.

There are neat theaters here called Gold Class Theaters. Each viewing room has about 30 seats, and the seats are recliner chairs with a little table between every two chairs. The food is more like restaurant food, and you order that ahead of time and indicate when you want it brought in to you (ie, you can have nibbles every half hour, if you so desire), and you can have wine or beer or even champagne if you like. We saw Eragon, which wasn't a half-bad flick - the blue dragon was the best part.

I spent this morning on the beach, and I have a nice little burn on my upper back to show for it (there's always that one spot that's hard to get to). See requisite beach photo on the right. There were only a handful of people on the beach, so I walked down a bit toward the lighthouse and had a good long stretch of sand and surf and rocks all to myself. And can I just say how horrible the smell of beached seaweed is?

We're leaving for Cairns tomorrow morning, blearingly early, to see the Great Barrier Reef and to take the tram up over the rainforest. (Yes, I'm getting on another plane, but this is only a two-hour plane ride.) I'll be back on Friday afternoon, so no blogs until then.

By the way, the Australians won the cricket match today. These games can go on for days. This one I think went on for nearly five days. This particular match was playing for the ashes, and Wikipedia explains the history of this match far better than I could.

here at last...

Let's get the highlights of my famous travel karma out of the way. First, the shuttle driver played his CD of the greatest hits of 1964 while driving me to the airport, and he sang along with every song (he seemed surprised that I knew who Tony Bennett was). Then I somehow managed to forget about the visa needed to get into Australia, so I had to purchase that at the airport (though they're not all that expensive), and finally, there were two incredibly bumpy rides over 19 hours. If you want to see Cate unnerved, put her on a turbulent flight and see how she white-knuckles the armrests. Thankfully, I had loaded my i-pod with Neil Gaiman reading his books (a nice British accent reading to you is surprisingly soothing), and I also got to catch up on some movie watching (The Da Vinci Code, the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Love Actually, and a documentary about Vincent Van Gogh - though the British narrator kept pronouncing it "van Gof").

Qantas food is always interesting, and I've figured out a little secret - if you ask for a special meal type when you order your tickets, you get your meals served first, and since I don't generally trust airline food, I always ask for the vegetarian meal. Dinner was mixed vegetables and rice, and breakfast was steamed vegetables, and it was all yummy.

I helped Mom start tree-decorating procedures this evening. She has a particular order that she likes to follow for which ornaments go up when. We spent the rest of the evening alternately watching the Australia vs England cricket match, and the birds out in Mom and Steve's backyard (I'll take pictures, Jane, I promise). The Australians refer to the British as "pommies," for the hats the British Navy wear. The British fans are known as the "barmy army," because they'll sing "God Save the Queen" when the Brits are up at bat. I pestered Steve with a ton of questions about cricket, all of which he cheerfully answered, so I think I understand how this game is played, sort of. We may have a family cricket match on Christmas Day out in the park behind Mom and Steve's house, weather permitting.

And speaking of weather, it was about 20 degrees Celsius today (to convert to Fahrenheit, multiply by 2 and add 30) and a bit cloudy.

I'm going to pour myself into bed now. My body thinks it's 4:30 in the morning.