A Day Spent Traveling

When visiting a country that is the size of a continent, some days are spent in transit.  I said good by to my friends at our apartment in Port Douglas.  They wouldn't have to leave for another six hours.  By myself I took a shuttle to Cairns and boarded a plane for Brisbane.  After several hours in the airport I boarded another plane for Adelaide.  I sat next to a man who lived in Brisbane but worked in a copper mine outside of Adelaide.  Because he was trying to pay off his mortgage early he had chosen a more strenuous work schedule than usual. Usual for him was working for two months and not working for two months.  Right now he was working for two months and not working for one month.  He seemed happy though.  Eventually I found my transport to my hotel in Adelaide.  Turns out my driver was waiting for me outside of the airport, down one block, turn left, and walk two blocks more.  I'm lucky to find him at all.  At times like this, wandering around pulling a suitcase and looking for a ride, I missed by companions.  The houses in Adelaide are much different than the ones I saw in Port Douglas.  None of these houses were on stilts.  The homes in Adelaide looked like they were built right on the ground and without basements. Most of the roofs were red tile and each tiny yard was fenced in with stone, brick or metal.  The city was on a hill and divided by a river.  The layout of the town looked to be systematic with major roads at even intervals.  I checked into the Breakfree where I had an entire apartment to myself with a deck, kitchenette, and a washer and dryer.  Tomorrow was my opportunity to "Swim With The Dolphins" and the Breakfree staff helped me arrange a taxi ride for tomorrow morning.  Since it was already dark and I was unfamiliar with the city, I decided not to go out to eat.  By now I was out of power bars but I did have some Muesli bars left so I ate one of those and went to bed.  Although I didn't really do anything all day long, I was tired.