Saturday, 16th October .....

At last we’re back on the road. It’s a bit of an interlude between the Philippines trip and the tour of Nepal but we’re looking forward to seeing the family again. Our flight to Nepal doesn't leave until the 26th but we felt we were just marking time in Deloraine and were determined to cut our ties there completely before we fell into the trap of going along with the status quo because we didn't have the energy to break free.

Setting ourselves the target of having to catch a plane on the 26th forced us to work hard at moving the last of our stuff into storage and closing the door on Tower Hill St for the last time. Our flight did not leave until 3.40pm but I had made the mistake once before of assuming we could get rid of last-minute items on the last morning. This time, we got rid of everything on Thursday, spent the night at The Old Bakery Inn in Launceston, and woke up on Friday morning ready to go.

What went wrong? We had a few tasks to complete: have breakfast, check the mailbox,post a letter, buy some plastic bags, drop the car off at Jamie's work, ...... Because it was raining, we thought it a good idea to drop Marilyn and the luggage off at the airport so that I could complete the last tasks and get a taxi back to meet her, without the hassle of luggage.

All of a sudden, it was 3 o'clock and I was still in Launceston! The taxi driver was helpful and took as many shortcuts as he knew, while entertaining me with his plans to visit Laos and Cambodia later this year. I arrived at the airport to hear,"This is the final call for John and Marilyn Christie. Your plane is fully boarded and is waiting for you." How embarrassing! Marilyn, of course, had checked in the baggage earlier so it just meant a quick sprint across the tarmac and running the gauntlet of the accusing eyes of the other passengers, falling into our seats and drawing breath.

I don't really know what all the fuss was about because the plane left five minutes early anyway.

So, we arrived in Sydney last night and traveled down to Wollongong to stay with my brother and his wife. We’ll spend the weekend here and travel to Mudgee on Monday to see Marilyn’s sister and brother-in-law and her father.

Today we visited the nursing home where my mother and Uncle Archie live. My brother and I took them out for morning tea, then Sandy took Mum back to the home and Uncle Archie and I waited for Marilyn to meet us for lunch.

It was a beautiful day, with bright sunshine and clear skies, even though the wind was cold. Marilyn decided we should drive down to Kiama and have fish and chips on the beach. A great idea, but when we arrived, the wind was too cold so we went to a nice restaurant on the wharf. Instead of a $20 shared packet of fish and chips, it was a posh lunch for considerably more. Ever vigilant, I noticed I had been charged $228 for my tempura snapper and chips, which caused considerable embarrassment to the waitress.

Uncle Archie wasn’t able to finish his prawns so they were packed up with leftover breadrolls so that he could have a midnight snack if he so desired.

It’s been a busy day. Tomorrow we’ll try to see the oldies again and also Marilyn’s great friend, Robyn. Sometimes, you need to have a weekend in catching up and touching base with friends and family, but I confess I can’t wait to get on the plane to Kathmandu. It’s been a lifelong dream and I hope it lives up to expectations.