Our final leg in Australia was a long drive from Ballerat to Sydney. The large highways offer as boring a view as any highway in America. Australians however have signs warning motorists to take breaks to stay safe. In America we just stress “click it or ticket” for our safety. We decided to stay at a Sydney Airport hotel. The hotel was right next to a junk yard. I still wish I had sketched the rusty mountains of auto parts as my final view from down under.
Sydney has a very modern airport and Terry decided to go shopping before we boarded. That of course gave me time for one final sketch. When I sketch I become invisible and she wasn’t able to locate me in the waiting area. We fired texts back and forth to find each other as the plane boarded. The woman seated right in front of me looked quite uncomfortable trying to take a nap. This is how I felt for the entire twenty hour flight back to Orlando. I just can’t sleep on planes, so I watched movies non-stop.
In Australia they drive on the wrong side of the road, water swirls down a drain backwards and the sun moves backwards across the sky. They have gun control, offer a free higher education and have an amazing health care system. Melbourne is infectiously welcoming to artists. I consider it my home away from home.