Right now I’m struggling to stay awake. My laptop says it’s 4pm in Melbourne but it’s 10pm here and I’m so jet-lagged it’s not funny. So this will be quick. Feels like it’s been an eternity since I had a decent night’s sleep.
I knew the A380s were big, I just didn’t realise how big. They’re ginormous! To illustrate the point…
I didn’t even manage to get the whole tail in the photo. What you can see sticking up behind the A380 is the tail of a A320. Obviously there’s a bit of distance between the two planes and the 380 was much closer to me but it still significantly dwarfed the 320.
The flight itself was a little delayed and once we got going, it was rather bumpy. My belly has been grumbling away since the second bout of turbulence even though it didn’t seem to be that bad. It wasn’t anything worse than the bumps I used to experience every day on the train (except when it dipped – that wasn’t so much fun). I actually broke out in a sweat because I felt so nauseous which is really unusual for me. I think I might’ve overdone it on the sugar though and that does funny things to me now. In an effort to avoid the nausea I decided it’d be a good idea to try to get some sleep. I kinda did. I never really managed to get fully asleep but it was better than nothing.
Anyhoo… I arrived in one piece.
I found my way to a cab and made my way to Tim’s house. Tim was out on his front lawn when I finally arrived which made it easy to find the right house. There are so many wonderful pieces of art hanging on his walls. I have to admit that at first all I cared about was the fact I could lie down. Once I was in a safe place I became so tired it was difficult to think straight.
After an hour and a half kip, Tim woke me in time to go to lunch with Quinton, Lisa, Jackie and the adorable Daniel. The company was brilliant and I had a fabulous time. But I couldn’t eat anything. My belly was churning and I ate just two mouthfuls of my fantastic looking tuna melt before I had to stop. One of the wait staff came over to see what was wrong and I felt so bad saying I couldn’t eat it. Any other day I would’ve been shoveling it down with enthusiasm. I should’ve used my brain and asked if they had peppermint tea when we first arrived. But jetlag = brain not working properly.
Lunch with (L-R), Tim, Quinton, Daniel, Jackie, Lisa and me.
After lunch, Tim and I zoomed back to his place (he has a MX5 and he put the top down so I ended up with interesting hair) where he took me on a tour of his house and explained all the art he has. I am so jealous of his Bruce Timm collection – five pieces!
Then came the big moment of seeing his studio. It was crammed full of stuff. I would’ve loved to have poked around but that would’ve been rude. He has so many books it was brilliant. I think I could’ve easily spent a day in there just flicking through the various books.
Proof I was really there…
Tim’s coffee table/workspace in his front room.
Dinner was at the lovely Christina’s place with her two children. That was highly entertaining and the roast chicken she prepared was delicious. I managed to eat much more than I thought I would and it’s helped my stomach settle down. I’m feeling guilty right now because I’m tucked up in her daughter’s bed! How mean am I, kicking a 13 year old out of her room? But it was lovely of Christina to offer to put me up. It’s great to be in places I feel safe in.
That’s enough for today. I’m exhausted and I really need some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day with Lisa. She’s driving me from L.A to Oakland where I’ll be staying with Steve for a few days. I’m super excited about this part of the trip. Road trips are something I should do more of but I never seem to find the time when I’m at home. Well, I’m doing one tomorrow and I think it’s going to be brilliant. I’m sure we’re going to take much longer than it should because I’m going to be constantly asking her to pull over so I can take photos.
