This is being written (but not posted) in San Francisco Airport where waiting for my flight back to Australia. That’s where I want to be right now. I’ve had my adventure, now it’s time to get back to something resembling normal life.
Of course, at the moment I have nothing to do but have some dinner and a local beer and wait, with occasional periods of feeling really alone. I’ve been in this same airport on three occasions, in 2005 when I was moving to Australia and had a lot to look forward to, in 2008 when I had 12 hours to explore San Francisco on a stopover, and right now. To be honest I’m in a pretty good mood, but parts of this trip have been so good that coming down feels like a crash. Getting on the airport monorail has been a relaxing experience and has allowed me to get away from the crowds of other travellers. Behold my aspie fascination with trains!
On the upside, I will be arriving in Canberra on Sunday morning with someone to pick me up and welcome me home. I have less cause to be lonely now than I have for a long time, and I have a lot to look forward to.
Looking back, I am surprised that it took me until the age of 33 to properly visit America. It was right next door when I was growing up, and while I kited off to Europe and India and Korea in my early 20s I scarcely gave the US of A any thought. I have really enjoyed my time here to the point that I have thought about the prospect of working and living here. I now have a few contacts which might at some point lead to that (though apparently because I have been on this tour supported by the US taxpayer, I have to wait for two years before I can get a visa entitling me to live or work in America, even if I married an American girl.)
I will be back. I have met a lot of people whom I would like to see again, I have contacts that could at some point become professionally useful, and I have a standing invite from a girl in Florida who has “a major crush” on me. After snubbing America for years, I think I still have a lot to make up for.
UPDATE: From the other side of the world after 14 hours of floating in a tin can.
Qantas does seem to have a policy of seating me in middle seats and denying me hot chocolate. Never mind. When their backs were turned I found in the unattended galley four half full jugs of hot chocolate and more marshmallow than I could possibly consume. Hooray!
I'm now back home. I could live in plenty of places in the world but this is my home, and it is good to be back to it. I felt the same way whenn I returned to London after a journey and I felt distraught upon leaving it. Now I scarcely ever think about moving back. There really is something to be said for having your networks of friends around. Wherever I have lived and wherever I end up living, local factors like that end up making a lot of difference.