If My Cell Phone Told the Story: Traveling to Perth

This trip to Perth was a little different.

It was the first time I had a smart phone (like the rest of the world seemed to have on my past trips), and in a way it helped me feel more connected with my family for as long as I could. Also, I felt like since it was easy and convenient I could snap more photos than I usually do. No, really.

So I started out in my usual travel attire, my vest that holds everything and my tee shirt that says, “Australia, it’s a bloody long way.”

So I left from BWI. I took American Airlines to Dallas. This has been the most sane flight path I’ve taken since I started traveling to Perth.

As happy as I was to have my new phone with me, I saw the drawbacks that it can have. It didn’t happen to me as I like to keep my radar strong when traveling alone, but I noticed while waiting for my flight, one person and a family of 4 miss their flight – I mean they were THERE, they were just so busy with their devices they didn’t hear the announcement to board the plane. I saw some interesting drama there on my wait. I watched and learned, if they close the door, even if you have bought your ticket, they do not let you board.

Landed in Dallas, and riding the SkyLink (best invention on a big airport ever), I arrived to my gate where I saw my 747 getting ready to take us across the Pacific. I even had time for an Auntie Annie’s soft pretzel.

I was so blessed to be able to sleep a good portion of this trip over. I even got to enjoy a few movies. Watching movies isn’t something I normally do.

So I arrive in Brisbane, and this is the first thing I see on my way to pick up my luggage to clear customs.

So a funny thing happened on my way to clear customs…

Immigration happened.

I could see as I showed the first person my passport, that he tried to push a button and I not see it, but I did. So I was surprised as I passed person number one to be confronted with person number 2. I deduced that me coming and going to Australia so much is a red flag to immigration and he asked me to step aside.

What followed was 100 questions about my husband, my reasons for coming, and then I was politely asked to go over to another place where he could interrogate me more. Of course, I could answer each and every question with authority, but I was becoming stressed to miss my flight to Perth. So, I suppose I was becoming a tad irritated.

I felt in this new place to ask me questions I was put in earshot of ladies behind computers who seemed to be looking up facts about me and corroborating my story with whatever they could find. He shifted his questions from my husband and our unusual marriage to that of my work. I guess at this point I might have sounded a bit flip…”I don’t work in Australia, however I often DO work here for my AMERICAN clients who pay me in AMERICAN dollars and my daughter takes the check to my AMERICAN bank.” I swear, I saw one of the ladies suppress a giggle at this point. I didn’t stop there, “BUT if you check my facebook status it will say different, it will tell you I work at spending my husbands money.” Well, that did it, the ladies all laughed out loud and nodded as I guess just that fast they saw my facebook and the declaration.

His tone seemed to change to that of awe. Like I was some kind of superhuman to do this exhausting travel in the name of love for my family on one side of the world and my husband on the other. I was finally released to see my bright orange suitcase going around the carousel and I made a run for it before it disappeared.

Having that cleared, I put it on the next flight to Perth and made a mad dash to catch the bus in the cold and wind of 5 am Brisbane. I didn’t need to rush, it was late…very late…in fact one fellow showed me his boarding pass and it was clear he had missed his flight.

Once on the domestic terminal, I could relax, buy a coffee, and update John and my family.

Gate 24, waiting for the Airbus to take me and 299 others to Perth.

Time enough to chat with John on Skype and drink some very strong coffee.

It always happens, the last 6 hours of flying seemed the longest.

But soon I was home to lots of surprises.

My very own welcome home sign!

Flowers and we opened a bottle of bubbly, nothing too crazy, some pink grapefruit fizzy drink.

And I noticed as soon as I walked into the door, the house was spic and span clean. There were pistachios in the fridge! There were thoughtful touches in our room, and even though I was already spinning from travel, he completely made me swoon.

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I don’t know why, but when you’re so tired, rest and sleep are hard to come by…So I did sleep but not long. Good thing John didn’t have to go to work the next day.

We started with trying to get my phone to work in Australia. It became a bit of an ordeal. Every phone place in the shopping center was extremely busy, some weren’t very helpful. So  after all that, we deserved a walk in the bush, and…a quick trip to the beach to see our first sunset. It didn’t matter that a  big cloud was taking over the sky, the little we got to see was lovely…

My phone does panoramas This looked like a good place for one.

And here we are, together again.

John and Barb, so happy to be together.