Off to Australia

It's been 4 years (almost to the day) since my last real vacation. Sorry but family outings and business trips don't count. So today I'm off to Australia. It's hard to believe because it's just so far and so big I didn't quite think I'd make it there any time soon. Luckily a friend of mine is heading home to get Married and that invitation proved a perfect excuse. If I'd ever have a better reason to go somewhere than celebrating the union of a good friend I certainly can't think of what it could be.

Oddly, I think the biggest change since Costa Rica is that I'm not bringing any film cameras this time. For Costa Rica the cameras and the 30+ rolls of film just took up so much space, and the cost of all that processing when I got back. I can't say I'll miss it. Still, it was a hard decision not to bring film. Another big change camera related is that since this time I'm planning on Scuba Diving (not just spontaneously picking it up) I went out and got the marine case for one of my Point&Shoots. I'm really looking forward to the Reef.

The other change would be the amount of planning gone into this trip. Costa Rica was a very go-where-I-will type of vacation, which you can do when you're travelling alone and have no set events. Australia is just so far and my sister coming along it seemed prudent (and much much cheaper) to do a bit more advanced planning. My compromise is that only the flights and hotels are booked, everything else is up-in-the-air. I think less planning leaves more room for interesting experiences and adventures.

Other than that. I already know it won't be 4 years before the next vacation. With photography and scuba and skiing all occupying some portion of my "need to do" thoughts, I have to find a way to keep those active. But for now I'm just looking forward to seeing some friends in far off places.

Some statistics to tide you over until my first post on-vacation:

Flight Time LA to SYD: 14.5hrs
Movies to watch in-flight: Superman, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Monster House
Consoles: 2
Video Games: 8
Cameras: 2
Books: 2
Bags: 3
Power Adapters: 6
Vials of Gypsy Tears: 1
Number of Flights Taken: 6

For a real flashback, I recovered my entries from the last big vacation I took: Costa Rica 2002 The only changes I've made are to spellcheck all the entries.

Posted at 11:14 AM to Vacation By: John Fairley