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Sandy Point, Australia
Jan. 12th - Beach
 The weather changed overnight. Winds have
died down which should allow the sun to heat up the day. The
waves will be better for surfing without the onshore wind.
David went surfing as soon as he was up. I took a long beach
walk with Marie and the dog. Marie and David are two of the
fastest walkers I‘ve ever met. I could hardly keep up with
her. It’s fun to watch the surfers work the waves.
Michael & Andrew C were awake when we returned and were headed
off on their own beach walk. I settled down to try and finish
Robert Ludlum’s “Tristan Betrayal”. It’s no use to us to bring
along big or half read books when we leave Australia. It’s
sure nice to be able to sit outside. The wind yesterday made
it almost impossible. Around 1 almost everyone went down to
the beach for a swim. DW and AKC stayed behind to read and sun
bathe on the lounge chairs. AD was invited to play with some
kids who were throwing a vortex. The water was chilly but
certainly not too cold to swim in. Another wonderful lunch was
prepared for us when we returned from the beach.
After a lunch, we cleaned up the rooms, packed the car and
said our goodbyes. Marie and David have a wonderful getaway.
Marie grew up in this section of Australia. This is home to
her. The over 2 hour drive went quietly. AD slept for most of
it. We watched the landscape change from rolling hills and
cattle land to cultivated land. The suburbs of Melbourne
stretch out surprisingly far. Just like most large cities,
young families want some space for their children to grow up
in.
DW and Andrew C went to supermarket while we prepared dinner
and worked on laundry. Tonight is the “big pack” for us. We
need everything clean before we leave the comfort of a washer
and dryer to use at will. Our intent is to pack everything in
the three bags again. We’d gotten sloppy over the last two
months of home stays and car traveling. We got AD to bed early
and sat out on the rear deck saying our “goodbyes” to Michael
& Andrew C.
Jan. 13th - Seats on the flight cancelled.
The word for the day is “reconfirm”!! We
packed up early and got to the airport at 9 am. When we
finally took our turn at the ticket counter the agent couldn’t
find our reservation. She left the counter and came back with
a gentleman who explained that our seats had been given away
because we had failed to call and reconfirm that we still
wanted the tickets we had paid for last July!!!!!!!!!!! We
were aghast to say the least.
After waiting for 30 minutes to ensure that those who had also
purchased our tickets actually showed up, we were told that
the next flight was on Friday, three days from now, unless we
wanted to get ourselves to Sydney and fly out on Thursday.
Remaining very calm TD told the guy that he thought this was
terrible and that ticket holders with paid for tickets
shouldn’t need to confirm that they are still good. The agent
replied that with an insurance contract you would read the
fine print wouldn’t you. Well read the fine print where it
says to call to reconfirm and besides that our travel agent
should have told us to reconfirm. This is their policy and
there is nothing to be done including no refund so we could
fly with someone else.
So-o-o-o we rented a car and left for MI’s place of business
where the first thing he said was “I told you about Air Garuda”.
He had told us that they were not respected in the industry
and were known for poor service. Live and learn I guess. We
received a very informative tour of APG display (Michael’s
business) where they produce posters and point of purchase
advertising by silk screen type of processes. It was amazing.
TD wrote to our travel agent and found out that the air line
had contacted him about our reconfirmation and he had told
them that we were traveling and out of touch so we couldn’t
reconfirm and that he also was amazed that they had cancelled
us anyway. However on the bright side we get to spent more
time with our friends and ended up with another lovely
evening.
Last day
(again)...»
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The weather changed overnight. Winds have
died down which should allow the sun to heat up the day. The
waves will be better for surfing without the onshore wind.
David went surfing as soon as he was up. I took a long beach
walk with Marie and the dog. Marie and David are two of the
fastest walkers I‘ve ever met. I could hardly keep up with
her. It’s fun to watch the surfers work the waves.
