Australia day 23

July 19

Today we woke up in the caravan that has been our home since July 5 in Alice Springs. It has served us well, and along with its twin from Perth, has been our constant companion. Our entire Australian experience has been colored by the experience of living out of these vehicles. The day had arrived to part with the caravan and one more day remains before we part with Australia, also.

Our morning had no structure and no urgency so we took our time eating the last perishable items in our refrigerator. Breakfast was a strange combination of leftovers, but we had enough to eat and still had some things to throw out anyway, like the last of our margarine and salad dressings. We went through every storage space and gathered our paraphernalia and stowed them in a semi-organized way in our baggage. We returned the interior of the caravan to its original configuration of two benches and a table, after living in it with the configuration of one wide bed-for-two.

All this activity went on under the watchful gaze of the creepy guy across from us. We never spoke to him and he never spoke to us. He just sat in his foldable camp chair and chain smoked. We have no idea what his story is, so we invented different scenarios at our whim about what might have brought him to this situation.

Check-in time at our hotel next to the airport had finally arrived and we bid farewell to our caravan park in Sydney, in all its homeliness, and drove off. The hotel is near the domestic terminal, and the caravan rental place is two blocks from there; all very convenient. Getting everything out of the van and into the room took several trips and this was a bit disconcerting. We had been vagabonds until Australia, living out of our suitcases and keeping everything organized; but life in the caravan allowed us to spread our stuff around and bundling it all up for our flight was going to take a level of organization we hadn't exercised for the past two weeks.

Our hotel room was for three, so I expected we'd be able to conveniently spread our stuff out a bit and make these decisions easily. But the joke was on us; the third bed was a bunk bed. It was more of hindrance than a help.

I went over the caravan one last time and then drove it back to the agency, via a petrol station to top it up one last time. The agent there had a Scottish brogue. He went out to the lot with me and looked everything over, found everything in order and took me back into the office to finish the paperwork. As we entered the office I saw a newly arrived family getting all their baggage organized for their imminent trip in a huge motor home. Their suitcases were identical to the ones we have. My first thought was, "Oh, no. These are more common than I thought. That increases the chances of lost luggage as we go through airports." My second thought was, "Hey, I'll bet these were bought in Israel. This family must be Israeli; they would be the first Israelis I've met on this trip, and only on our last full day here in Australia." And they were. We chatted a bit, exchanged experiences (ours fulfilled, theirs anticipated) and said "Shalom."

Razelle donated her plastic footstool to the caravan company. She used it well throughout our journey from Alice Springs to Sydney. She recommended that they include this item along with the tables and chairs and kitchenware and sleeping bags that are already supplied. She asked me to explain to them that for women who don't have upper body strength and for older customers, climbing up into the cab above the front wheel is like mounting a horse. Razelle had tied a string to the stool so she could pull it up after her. This footstool prevented further strain on her right shoulder and knee. The staff was impressed with the idea and the inventiveness of the added string. They promised to pass Razelle's suggestion along to the marketing department. Wouldn't that be something if they adopt Razelle's idea? We hope so.

The sky looked threatening by now, as I walked back to our hotel. Razelle was hungry so we paid a visit to the fast food joints arrayed beside our hotel – Krispy Kreme, McDonald's and KFC. The fish at McDonald's was nostalgia for me, but Razelle didn't care for it. We had blueberry muffins with coffee.

We spent the next few hours sorting through our round-the-worldly possessions for repacking while watching Australian TV. The news was of the storm bearing down on Sydney. We parted the curtains to find that it was raining hard outside. We had a view of the runways and I could see planes were taking off, but I was still concerned.

Our night at the theater was wonderful. A taxi picked us up and someone else did the driving (in the downpour) through Sydney for a change. We arrived at the historic State Theatre, a registered World Heritage Site, and picked up our prepaid tickets. Because of Razelle's difficulty getting around they accommodated us with more accessible seats that were also better positioned for viewing the stage. The décor was art deco from the 1920s. In its day, this was THE place to go for cultural events. We were in awe of the ambiance, even though it was hard for Razelle to negotiate the staircases.

The performance was pure energy, embodied. The dancers were thrilling to watch, and the musical ensemble that accompanied them was equally impressive. I don't know how the dancers keep up that level of energy throughout an evening, or over a long run of performances, but their energy never flagged and we were uplifted by it. They combined ballet, hip-hop and street moves, all in the same dance number, very impressively. The stage was bare, so lighting effects set the mood. One woman in particular performed acrobatic moves along with the men; we found ourselves mesmerized by her stamina and agility. Between numbers another woman kept the pace going with dancing that reminded us of our daughter Maayan's moves. The men were muscular and limber and the women who comprised the majority of the audience applauded and cheered them toward the end of the evening. This performance and this landmark theatre completed our visit to Sydney in a way that left Razelle and me glowing.