day 5 of 24 - run around

By 11am the boys are at my doorstep and ready to hit the town. It's a beautiful day and a hopeful start to the adventure ahead. After opening a couple of beers (yes, before pm) we jump in the car and take a couple for the road. (travellers, they are called.) We follow the yarra down to the botanical gardens (now called the 'tan' apparently). We joke around and describe to aaron the various landmarks and other notible points of interest. The town looks great today under ideal conditions. We arrive at the tan and look for a place to park. It's larger and more pretty than i remembered. We take park, and start heading into the cbd. There are people everywhere. There looks as though there's a festival at federation square, and so we go over to check it out. The melbourne wine and food festival is taking place and theirs an orgy of the mouthwatering aroma's wafting through the air.

We wander the whole city, before ending it on a circular tour in a tram. my dad has arranged for us to get on a small plane and have an aerial tour of melbourne. We get to the airport and before long we are strapped in and taking off. The conditions are perfect. he flies us along the city scape, up to the bay and along the beaches. The view is stunning. He then proceeds to take us towards the mountain ranges that outskirt the north east of melbourne. I have never seen them so pretty. My only lament being in a weak moment, realising the seat next to me was empty, wishing that she might have been there.

We head back to the airport, we fly over my house and my high school, and its a remarkeable way of seeing the area you grew up in. Everything feels so small in the scheme of things. As we land there's a bunch of seagulls on the tarmac, and our pilot freaks out for a moment in fear of hitting them. The rest of us are laughing as though it poses no real threat to our well being.

After we head to victoria street in richmond. A rich vietnamese precint and home of one of the cheapest, fastest and more importantly free BYO restaurants in town. We eat and drink like kings. Aaron and aj are feeling buzzed and want to head into a pub downtown. I'm feeling tired and somewhat introverted, eager to write and spend some time alone in myself. I send them off and take a tram home, feeling like i had just done that yesterday, even though it had been at least 5 years. Weird.

Tomorrow is Aj's birthday, and we will be going back to the tan for a barbie. We fly out that night for darwin, for 3 days, then to brisbane and taking a car south through surfers and onto sydney. Its going to be a wild and long 10 days, and honestly i look forward to getting completely outside of myself. It's likely i won't be writing very much in this journal. I will probably write on the road...or write to people, but i'm not so convinced that me divulging or spending time writing these entries is such a good idea. Ha. we shall see. The last few entries have been rushed and boring i think. The other stuff, almost too heavy.

I think about you waco people. I wish you could be here with me. Enjoying this. take care.

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