May 8, Reflections on the Journey
- randolf50
- May 9, 2023
- 6 min read
Today, May 8, about 7am or so, we are arriving home. As I write this, we are not there yet; we are somewhere over mid-America. Hard to tell which state looking at the Flight Tracker. Still, I thought I would begin this final entry for the trip – a blog post reflecting on various aspects of the trip. Better to do this in the moment, rather than relying on memory two or three days hence, let alone two or three weeks. I will not capture everything I want to express in this setting. Hopefully though, as fragments of memory return over the ensuing days, weeks and months, I will be able to add to this.
For now, I am writing this without the benefit of Patrise’s input, her memories, as she is trying to sleep before we arrive in Atlanta. I will encourage her later today, once we’ve gotten through the mail, the unpacking, the catching up on which bills, emails, phone calls we may have missed while traveling – all of that “normal” household stuff: once much of that has passed, I will encourage her to sit with me, read this, and help me add to it and perfect it. In general, this will be a stream of conscious approach, rather than some orderly outlining of lists and notes. Just writing memories, thoughts, and impressions as they come to my mind.
Returning home: am I glad to be coming home? Yes and no. Yes, because I miss seeing and talking to family and friends. I miss seeing my back yard and all of the birds and occasional other animals that visit us. I miss some of the rhythms of life at 3120 Key Court. No, because I have had a glimpse of the freedom our retirement resources have made possible. To be able to wander the world, to see other people and places, to experience other cultures, to try new experiences or to redo past, but infrequent ones: to travel with the freedom we have been able to travel with over these past 42 days has been a gift without price. We planned for it, saved for it, then we did it. However, I will be acutely aware of missing it, because I just can’t up and do it again on a whim. I/we will have to plan again, save our money again, and pray that our health will permit us to do the next wandering when the time arrives.
However, there are people in the world who can and/or who do. Those who have financial means that afford them the luxury to do so whenever and wherever they wish; those who don’t have the means, but have the confidence and the passion for a lifestyle of wandering without regard to how they might earn their next dollar or where they will sleep tomorrow or how they will eat dinner tonight. I think now, I have a bit of understanding of both of those mindsets to a degree. And so, returning to a routine back home in Atlanta is both a blessing and a burden, but I guess the same can be said for most things in one’s life. I will choose to focus on the blessing.
Health: This series of travels have been the most challenging from a health perspective, that I have ever experienced before. When I participated on the METS (Middle East Travel Seminar) trip in 1990, traveling to Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Greece, I knew that I had to be much more aware of sanitation conditions, to avoid nasty consequences. And for the most part it worked. I had two days, out of 22, that a stomach virus hobbled me. The virus went through the whole traveling party, so the illness was not unique to me. I have traveled for long periods of time to the Mediterranean, South Africa, South Korea, China, Antarctica, but in all of those trips, I have never been as sick as often – even taken collectively – as I was over this set of journeys. Was it that I am older? I’m certain that is a part of it. Was it that I was not in as good a shape as in earlier years? I am certain that this was also a contributing factor. Was it just a matter of happenstance or the inevitable sharing of germs that comes from being around many people from many different places – germs shared through food, through beverage, through air? Likely more contributing factors. Still, Patrise was forced to be my caretaker more than I would have wanted. And even though none of my times of illness were life threatening, still I thought more about death and dying during these past 40+ days, than I have done at any other point in life. Maybe that too is just simply a matter of growing older; the trip just provided circumstances to encourage such reflection more frequently.
Best Hotels/Lodging Experience:
Most Expected, but Pleasing Nevertheless: #1, The Savoy Hotel in Sydney,AU; #2 The George Hotel in Christchurch, NZ
Most Surprising: The Fyffe Country Lodge in Kaikoura, NZ. Would loved to have stayed there at least two more days.
Honorable Mention: The Lanikai Unit 122 in Kaua’i, Hawai’i. Three drawbacks to this location. First, no elevator; having to haul heavy luggage up and down two flights of stairs is not for the faint of heart, especially older folks. Second, television set-up in the master bedroom was a total enigma and there were no instructions about how to handle. Probably some Millennial or younger person would have intuitively known what to do; we did not and there was no one to call upon to help us. Third, and most importantly, no central air conditioning. The only rooms with AC were the two bedrooms with window units. Despite these three drawbacks, however, the view is breathtaking and was worth putting up the other aggravating factors. Furthermore, Kaua’i itself is such a wonderful place to visit, no matter what part of the island you’re on.
Honorable mention: The Sky Suite 10642 on the Ovation of the Seas. For a ship, the suite was very comfortable and our room attendant, Faisal from Indonesia, was a gem of a human being. The suite had a king-sized bed, a separate seating room, with a nice curtain to separate the two. Television in each room. A complete bathroom with two face bowls. And it had a wonderful balcony with lounge chairs, a separate table and two regular chairs. The balcony provided all of those wonderful ocean views I displayed in the blog throughout the 18-day cruise.
Worst Hotels/Lodging Experience:
Most Unexpected: The Picton Yacht Club, Picton, NZ.I would not recommend it to anyone, but I don’t know that there is a better option.
Favorite Experiences/Excursions (no significance to the order):
Ø Travel to Mt. Cook National Park, south of Christchurch
Ø Whale watching in Kaikoura
Ø Visiting the Taronga Zoo in Sydney
Ø Snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef
Ø Travels to Spouting Horn and Koke’e State Parks in Kaua’i
Ø The North Star Experience aboard the cruise ship – a unique view of the world
Ø Visit to the WETA Works Shop (going behind the scenes of Lord of the Rings film making)
Ø Touring the Sydney Opera House, a facility like no other in the world
Ø Having a first night’s meal on the Sydney waterfront at the 6Head Restaurant
Ø The Immigration Museum in Melbourne, the City Museum in Sydney, and the Maori Culture tour in Auckland – the opportunity to learn about the histories of the indigenous people in Australia and New Zealand, how they were treated throughout time, and learning more about their cultures.
Favorite Dining/Meal Experiences (no significance to the order)
Ø 6Head, Campbell’s Cove area of the Sydney Waterfront. An unparalleled steak. (Thanks, Doug Ward for the suggestion and the dinner company)
Ø Mr. Wong’s, Sydney. It was obvious why it is rated as one of the top ten restaurants in Australia.
Ø The __________& ________, Port Douglas, AU
Ø The Grand Palace Indian Cuisine, Sydney
Ø The Pier Restaurant, Kaikoura, NZ
Ø Chez Hanamaulu, Mo’orea, FP
Ø Hukilau Lanai, Kaua’i, HA
Most Anxiety-Filled Experiences:
Ø Doug losing his passport in Wellington, NZ. The fear of missing the remainder of the trip to having to forego a large chunk of it, if a remedy could not be identified soon.
Ø When Doug passed out in the ship’s gym and had to be taken to the medical center for examination.
Most Elation-Filled Experiences:
Ø Doug being able to get an emergency passport in Wellington, so that we could continue on the trip without delay.
Interesting People We Met (some of them)
Ø Douglas “Doug” Ward – a natural gas engineer, who travels frequently to Australia on behalf of his company, our seat mate on the flight from Los Angeles to Sydney on March 26-28, and our host and dinner companion for our first night of the trip.
Ø Chris and Colin – our hosts at the Fyffe Country Lodge, Kaikoura
Ø Bill – our tour guide in Wellington, who is an actor and served as an extra in the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King movie
Ø Danilo from Brazil, the Concierge on the ship
Ø Nomsa from South Africa, the head of dining for the Coastal Kitchen restaurant on the ship
Ø Andrew from Jamaica, our primary waiter in the Coastal Kitchen
Ø Liane and Tony Gill, cruise travel companions, with whom we had several great conversations
Watching the approaching dawn from our plane window, over Arkansas (l), Mississippi (c), and Alabama (r).

(Being greeted at home in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport)
Comments