The flight went rather smooth to be honest. I had a whole row to myself and slept for most of the flight. Thirteen hours in the air and before I knew it I was landing in Los Angeles.
I felt good about being back. And honestly I was surprised that the customs process went so simply. I figured they were going to question me in depth about my plans to self-quarantine for two weeks. But they just checked my passport and I was on my way.
Good news because I had quite the journey ahead of me. My plan was to fly to San Diego, pick up a rental car, and head to Dan’s house to pick up my cat, Einstein. From there I would have two days to drive from San Diego to Denver.
But I realized that renting the car in LA would be considerably cheaper. So I decided to forgo my flight to San Diego and rent the car in LA instead. I paid for my flight with credit card points so I wasn’t really concerned.
I ended up getting there earlier than had I taken the flight. So I was pretty pleased about that. I got to Dan’s and I was ready to make moves towards Phoenix. I was going to spend the night with Luke’s brother, Matt.
But Einstein had other ideas. He was very friendly when I first came in. He let me pet him and I was playing with him for a little bit. My plan was to lure him close to the carrier while playing with him. Then I would grab him when he got close and put him in there and then jet off.
That didn’t work out too well, to be honest. When I grabbed him he started screaming bloody murder like I’ve never heard before. I almost got him into the carrier but he escaped. My hands were scratched up pretty bad. And at this point he was pretty freaked out and wouldn’t come out from under the bed.
So then we played the waiting game. I gave him some treats and just chilled in the room. But every time I made an approach he would growl or hiss. It’s been a tough year for him, being moved several times already. So I understood why he was freaking out.
By 4 o’clock I had no choice but to try to make another attempt at getting him in the carrier. I had to make the drive to Phoenix and I couldn’t wait too much longer.
We got him in there. He wasn’t very happy about it. I got him in the car and away we went. The drive went smoothly and I got to Matt’s place at around 11 o’clock.
It was nice to reconnect with Matt. He and I went on a few week trip to Thailand and Vietnam before I started off for New Zealand last year. He’s somebody I really get along with. We spoke for about an hour before hitting the sack. About what things have been like in the US since I was away. About his travel plans for the future.
The next day I was on the road pretty early. No problems getting Einstein in the carrier, which was a relief. I had a 13 hour drive from Phoenix to Denver on my hands. So I wanted to start the day in as easy a way as possible.
I’ll tell you what, the Arizona and New Mexico landscape is absolutely beautiful. I will definitely be doing a road trip around here at some point. It really reminded me of my trip in South Australia. There was a desert landscape but there were a lot of mountains as well. Flagstaff was a nice little surprise. A ski town in Arizona!
I took some naps along the way when I needed them. It’s the most I’ve driven in one day, no doubt. But it wasn’t so bad. I was happy that Einstein didn’t have too much of an issue. Some meows here and there but for the most part he was just chilling.
I got to my sister’s place at 9 o’clock and I was just so happy to see her and Luke. They are some of the most important people in my life. So there you have it, I’ve come full circle. To the other side of the world and back. What an experience!
The last few days I’ve just been getting myself together before I start working on Monday. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation to be honest. The house is amazing. I think I’m most excited about having a kitchen to myself. I really did’t enjoy fighting for stove space with other backpackers.
Everyone has been asking me how I am adjusting. Of course, Denver and the state of Colorado are on lockdown for the most part but it really doesn’t feel oppressing. I mean, when I was in Sydney masks were still required in a lot of places. So seeing people with masks on here is not really a huge surprise to be fair. We will see how we go.