Home and back to reality

Trail near Kiluaea volcano, Big Island Hawaii

We’ve been home about four days, and have dug out from under the mail and caught up with shopping and the errands to get back to normal life.

Am I glad to be home? Less so than after any trip that I can remember. I usually have a day about 1/2 way through a trip when I think I would give anything to be able to go home tomorrow. This time, no … the trip was so great, and so interesting that I wanted to keep going.

Best times (some of, too numerous to name them all):

• No news of the Presidential election except when we chose to look it up!!
• Family visit in London, seeing the grand kids experience London, especially public transport that works; just being together with everyone.
• The day in the Daintree Rain Forest- which I expected to hate!
• Hiking along the caldera on the Big Island
• Lord of the Rings tour in New Zealand

Worst times:

• being stuck in Melbourne’s traffic when I needed to be at an event
• stupidly trying to hike near Uluru without bug net or water
• getting pounded by the shore break on Maui

Lessons learned:

• travel midday – no 4 am wake up call makes life a lot pleasanter
• sightseeing is fun, as long as we are walking; standing around no matter how erudite the guide is torture
• less is more – I have been guilty of planning too much to do in a day; the more relaxed pace was much better
• try to do more day hikes now that we are home

Now it is back to the book project, refreshed and renewed.