Sunday 6th August
Another warm summers day ahead today, our last in San Diego. Last minute packing and domestics are our priorities. Our luggage hasn’t put on any more weight since Hawaii so that’s a bonus, wish we could say the same about us, but the home cooked meals by our gracious hosts proved irresistible. Not to mention Jim’s private stock of Californian wine that is now sadly depleted.
Apart from the packing the day is a relaxing one, I test drive the new camera on a group of hummingbirds that frequently swoop in to take advantage of the sweet nectar put out by Jim for their sustenance.
After lunch we set up to watch the Aussie football, this time a home showdown between The Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power. Jim is keen to learn about the game, while Susan naps on the couch with Toby the poodle cross, we enjoy the win by the Crows who just look unbeatable at present. Come dinner time we order Thai from a local restaurant, named Spices, they have a great selection with a spice range from 1-10 where even 5 is hot. We all go for mild dishes with me having the hottest at 4, on the well placed advise of the locals.
We set our alarm for 3.30am, our ride will be at the house by 5.00am tomorrow, say our goodnights to our hosts who insist on seeing us off in the morning and goodbyes to Gaby who will probably be just nodding off to sleep at 3.30am in typical teenager style then retire for an early night.
Monday 7th August
Early morning showers for us, a rude awakening, but outside the air is warm and balmy. Our ride arrives a little ahead of time, sleepy eyed Jim and Susan have woken to say their goodbyes, we thank them for all their wonderful hospitality, our stay an enjoyable one, great to see brother and sister together again and to be part of their daily lives for a short while. Meanwhile the black Chrysler 300c is loaded by our female driver, obviously new to the game she struggles to pack our suitcases into the boot/trunk we offer to help but she is insistent, one bag has to ride in the front with her. We are soon speeding our way through the dark San Diego morning towards the airport. Within 30 minutes we are there at kerbside checkin, a young attendant helps us with our bags, the printing of our luggage tags and boarding passes. Next through TSA pre-check security and within minutes we are seated at a coffee shop enjoying a morning coffee/tea. From there I witness a woman receiving a full body pat down by a very thorough security officer, embarrassing for her I’m sure, she must have set the scanner off big time.
Time to board the Boeing 737 to Philadelphia comes around quickly, we board and after a short delay caused by a malfunctioning entertainment system we are on our way, sadly the entertainment system refuses to boot up, a long flight ahead with no onboard entertainment or wifi, thankfully we have our iPads.
We arrive on time to grey skies thick with rain laden clouds that have recently dumped a significant amount of rain on the airport and surrounds. Our transport is there to greet us, no failures so far every event running smoothly. Once we have our bags we leave the airport and head northeast through the concrete and steel jungle that is Philadelphia. We drive around the city itself visible under a veil of grey mist to our left, eventually connecting with the interstate freeway I95, the rain pours down intermittently as we speed along. The I95 is seemingly under constant construction, looking no different now than it did two years ago when we here last. Now heading towards the suburb of Holland, where Troy & Heather have their home we turn off the I95 venturing into a lush green belt of suburbia and semi rural properties. Magnificent giant trees, like American sycamore and beech spread their limbs across manicured park like lawns around commercial centres and suburban areas alike, very pretty. The lush green a reminder of the rainfall that this area receives. The driver is a very talkative fellow with a rich New York accent, giving us essentially a snapshot of current political and social life in this region. It’s always interesting to compare our society with that of the American way of life, so many similar issues confront both our societies. Power, water, global warming, technological change, the list goes on and on, we are living in interesting times.
It takes about an hour to reach our destination the rain significantly slowing the pace of the traffic that is heavy in parts. On arrival Heather, Troy Calista, Aubrey and Justin are here to give us a warm welcome. Abbey and Cadence arrive shortly after and stay for a takeaway Chinese dinner before going off on a weeks holiday with their mother.
After dinner we settle in, talk into the night with Heather and Troy before heading to bed for our first night in Pennsylvania.