In 38 sleeps

As a kid growing up (and what kid doesn’t do this now), I used to count down the days to something really exciting by the number of sleeps I had to go. Of course, as I have gotten older, I have discovered the joy of the occasional mid-afternoon nap, which I have decided don’t count for the sleep countdown.

So in thirty-eight (38) sleeps we leave for Australia! I’m excited (hence the sleep countdown)!

The trip will be my first visit back home since 2000, so I am expecting a lot to have changed when I get there, but I’m also anticipating a lot of “some things never change” in my travels. I’ve not traveled back sinch I wanted to finish my studies, and then with the phenomenal job opportunity I got with BBBS, it was not the right time for me to return home … until this year.

What makes this trip even more special is that Chris and my best friends, Bobby and Ian, will be doing the trip with us, so I get to play tour guide, and in some cases get to experience some new places because of the “tourists” that will be with us.

The highlight of the trip (for me) will be seeing my mother and sister again, and the bonus – due to my mother visiting my brother at the time we will be in Australia – I get to see my eldest brother, Peter, as well. I’m really excited about that, and just can’t wait. This is one of the new places that we will get to experience, as my brother lives in Queensland in an exotic-sounding city called Bribie Island.

So in 38 sleeps we leave DFW, and then due to the strange happenings surrounding the International Date Line, we arrive in Melbourne, Australia on May 1. After a week in Melbourne, doing some major recovery from travel, and business related to my visa, not to mention catching up with friends that I’ve not seen in a long time (will they remember me?), we will head up to Queensland via Canberra and Sydney. It will be a quick visit, as both Chris and I have some work commitments which we both need to be here for, but it will be a full visit.

The irony of this is that in 38 sleeps, I will not be sleeping for a long time, as (1) I’ll be way too excited, and (2) I don’t sleep on planes.