Travelling back …pt1

Tex was on my back , “ Let’s go dude , we’ll miss our flight, the airport will be crazy .” “ No dude , I’m not leaving until 730 , our flight isn’t until 1050 .” An hour later our Uber arrived . We slipped into the cold night , quietly nervous , maybe even a bit apprehensive . Travelling back to Australia on a mercy dash , before Christmas with another variant looming , let alone a raft of Covid requirements without the most thorough person I know ( my wife ) had me pent up . We cruised to the airport with little traffic , silent , staring into the LA night . Tom Bradley terminal doesn’t seem too bad , sparse in fact , until we round the corner and see a 100+ person line snaking into the international departure check in for Air Fiji . Fuck , how much time have we got ? Tex is giving me the death stare , shaking his head . I’m staying cool . “ It’s ok dude , everyone in this line is in the same boat , it’s just the extra Covid requirements that everyone needs to show .” It doesn’t ease his rancour . The line quickly grows behind me . Holy shit this is a mess . I send Tex up to investigate , it seems like there is one line to two different check inns . There is . Air Fiji and British Airways are along side each other . With no direction from airport staff , the line has become one . A lot of people are fidgeting, shuffling from side to side . It’s tense . The only thing that gives me respite is the Aussie voices and the growing line behind me . Tex is waving at me to come forward . I hate queue jumpers , I stay put . He eventually storms back to me and says there’s only a few people in the Fiji Airways line . We do it . We cut the line and enter the partitioned area . Within minutes there are others following , the area quickly fills up . We are next in line but there is drama at the counter . After waiting another 15 minutes a young woman is turned away . She looks shellshocked . I can only guess that either her vaccination or negative test wasn’t in order . I was a nervous wreck by the time I got to the counter . The dude processing me was a smart arse . I sensed he enjoyed the extra demands . After stumbling through passports , printed Covid tests and phone screens of vaccinations we are finally through the 1st hurdle . Wait till you hear our return flight details ! It’s fair to say that flying international is a privilege , but OMG it ain’t real easy at the moment . It would be 29 hours and 3 flights later before we walk out of Tullamarine airport and finally smell that old Melbourne air .

It’s now Wednesday afternoon . We travel over the Bolte bridge gazing at a city I spent a lot of my working life in . It had changed once more , with more glossy funky shaped buildings squeezed into its skyline . The drive back is odd , I can’t put my finger on it . Deep down in my stomach I feel it …. Is this my hometown still ? The feeling doesn’t alter throughout the 2 hour trip down to the end of the beautiful Mornington Peninsula .

We are extremely fortunate to loan a car from our friend Tim , and an Audi at that . To top this another friend Mark has lent us his holiday home down in Rye . If you were to add airfares to the actual cost of renting a car and place like this for 3 weeks in The Mornington Peninsula you are looking at 25 grand easy.

Anyone who’s been down to the Peninsula in Christmas knows it’s a mad house , but still it doesn’t bother me . I enjoy it , soak it in , in fact . I love the festive feel of people moving in on mass to enjoy their break from a long work year , especially the 2 years Melbournians have had to endure with the toughest restrictions in the world . The locals probably don’t see it the same way , although their businesses will enjoy it . The heat , the summer smell , ti tree , grass , it feels so different to anything you experience back in LA . It’s laid back , outdoor living that you miss . Within 48 hours you are sleeping better , the body drops into a lower cadence . It’s the pressure , the undeniable hi vibe life of LA that begins to drop away . It’s like a natural healing .

Tracking through beach tracks looking for waves was something I took for granted . I was desperate to show Tex all my old haunts . He’s a city boy , pretty much a Yank now , but I got him surfing and he’s become pretty accomplished . I talked a big game , often putting down the LA surf scene compared to the waves down here . It didn’t quite pan out the way I hoped but we still found a few waves and some seriously beautiful coast that you don’t appreciate until you’ve been gone awhile .

Walking the streets , purveying the local shops , drinking the great coffee and scoffing down the everyday fare that you miss so badly starts to bring the old emotions back . We played cricket in the driveway . I had both boys bowling properly , no mean feat considering Leroy could only throw with a bent arm . After 3 weeks I had him converted to cricket after 4 years of baseball . There’s still work to do but the little fella doesn’t take long when it comes to ball sports . I even had him watching test cricket with me much to Emma’s chagrin . At this stage it’s easy to be romantic about coming home , especially when you’re on holidays but I’m still unsure of what will come next in our lives .