So Long Hobart, It Has Been Great

Check out time is 10:00 am. This seems to be fairly standard practice here, but it seems way too early to me. We had everything ready, went for breakfast and checked out. The shuttle was arranged to take us to the airport at 2:40 for our 4:15 flight to Adelaide. We had time to kill. These were the best four nights sleep I have had in years. The coffee shop in Salamanca Square had free WiFi Internet with a purchase. This was the first time I had an opportunity to download mail so it took some time sorting through the spam and the good stuff. We were there for close to an hour, before Ron started getting antsy, so I knew I could not take the time to upload blog entries then. The day was gusty, really windy, making it feel colder than it was since the sun was trying to penetrate the clouds. We had not explored the wharf, so we did that, but the wind was blowing the water off of the bay making it feel like a cold rain. There is much history down at the docks if one is interested in Australian history, but we gave it a quick going over. We walked into the downtown area, where the wind was still whipping around. People walking around in shorts and short sleeve shirts were huddling themselves against the gusts of cold air, but looking accepting as this is a fact of life for them. It seemed like we were never going to get close to the time for the shuttle, so we headed back to the 24 Hour Salamanca Bakery to share a sandwich for lunch. Yet, we still had over an hour to kill. After picking up our things at the hotel, we went to the meeting point and waited. The shuttle was late, so Ron ventured back to the hotel to have them call again. As soon as he disappeared from sight, the shuttle showed and I had to run to get him. Hobart is by no means a large city, so the ride to the airport was not a long one. The whole of Tasmania has 500,000 inhabitants on the island. There was something healing about Hobart and Tasmania. I never used my sinus medication nor did I ever have to use a tissue. I felt better than I have in years, breathing like a teenager again. The dark circles under my eyes disappeared completely, and I am actually feeling good about the way I look facially, at least. With all of the eating out and the coffee stops, my body doesn't look as good as my face. At the moment, if I was floured down, I could be a fill-in for the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Much of it is water weight, since I am accustomed to drinking a couple of liters of water a day. It is impossible to do on a vacation when you wind up spending half of the day looking for a men's room. Tasmania is really a beautiful state and well worth the trip. Checking in to Virgin Blue, we found our plane was going to be fifteen minutes late. This after e-mailing me that our flight was moved up by five minutes. The plane was unusual as it only had a 2-2 configuration, but very long. The safety card showed it as being an E190. I had never flown on one before. The flight was less than two hours and Adelaide has a half hour time difference, so we gained one half hour. The shuttle was the best way of getting into the city; for $5.00 each it is a bargain. We were dropped off right around the corner from our hostel. This is the same hostel we stayed at when we first started the trip and we are just one room away from our previous room. The hostel room for both of us is $88.00 a night, a bit pricey for a hostel, but this one is worth it. After dumping our things, we went to find food. We bought some things at the Chinese supermarket since it was the only one open. We have breakfast covered anyway. Then we went to the Hog's Breathe Café for dinner. Funny, we did not do much today, but we are both worn out. There is something about the stressors of getting to and from the airport and the poor circulation of air on planes that knocks you out. Ron is already talking about what tour he wants to take while here.

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