U S A '9 3

(A journal by D. Maxwell)

 

Part 1

29/8/93 (Sunday) AUSTRALIAN TIME
10:45 Waiting in the departure lounge. So far I feel fine, the nerves haven't really sunk in yet. Shane is working out his camera. Justin and Darren are talking about taking off procedures. It has been pretty amazing so far. All through the check point I'm thinking, have I forgotten something, is everything in order? However, everything is and here we now wait in Gate 4. People around us appear so calm, I don't know how they manage it. I think the nerves are slowly creeping up on me. Anyway I shall stop now and wait patiently like the others, bye for now.
11:05 The nerves are getting worse, the plane is boarding, a queue has formed. Shane and Justin have lined up, Darren and I are about to.
11:20 Finally seated on the plane. We are in the middle row, Shane is on my right, Justin and Darren are in front of us. 2 US girls, Kirsten and Coral are on my left. Seats fell like Village Cinema seats, not much room in front. All we can do is wait now.
11:35 We're moving backwards!
11:46 We have taken off and are now FLYING!
12:15 The flight has settled down. I'm listening to 'The Damned' on my walkman, The onboard flight music is looped, so it won't be long before they start to repeat themselves. Coral is having a snooze and Kirsten is reading still and Shane's watching the video, something about golf I think.I feel pretty good. The nerves have subsided and everything is cool. This writing helps pass time. We have to fly to New Zealand which is about 3 hours away. Stopover for an hour then shoot off again. I'll listen to the tape for a while which will take 90 minutes, then maybe turn to my book 'Red Mars'. I'm not to sure what the film will be yet, hopefully it'll be something good. This plane has a telephone onboard! Maybe I should call Kath's or Geoffro and say hi dudes. Because I can't see out a window, I don't know where we are. Lunch is being served, gotta go.
13:10 Lunch was excellent. The chokky cake was great. We had blade steak and salad, very nice, the cake was a large portion of and Justin didn't want his, so I had it, CHUNKY! Things are going very well, they're showing Marx Bros stuff on the screen, a documentary of some sort.
13:55 Damn plane is so smooth, you forget you're on it until it moves a little.
14:25 Starting to descend into New Zealand and it's raining.
14:50 We have landed in New Zealand.
15:15 New Zealand airport is a lovely place, the toilets are immaculate. They have bobbies (police) here with blue bobbie hats.
15:35 Something worth noting. At Tullamarine we played the Star Wars pinball machine. In New Zealand at the airport, a video playing US sporting highlights had Star Wars background music, freaky huh!
16:05 Have boarded plane again - it's about 18:00 (6pm) here so it is looking rather dark outside. Since we are due to leave New Zealand soon, I will say that it looks good (also Australian money is worth more. I bought a Cadbury Pinky marked $1.10NZ for $1.00A, I paid with a $5.00A note and received New Zealand change (P.S., the $5.00 was Kaths', sorry Bub, I needed a chokky). I hope to bring some of the change back with me. Anyway, all around me people are getting settled, time to stope writing and wait, bye.
16:25 We're back on the plane and moving backwards, it is also dark outside.
16:33 We're now going forwards, taxiing.
16:45 We're off, USA here we come.
18:50 Just had dinner, roast lamb which was very nice. Darren and I have been talking to Coral about the differences between Australian and American sport as well as other things. Shane is next to Justin and has been there since we took off. I feel pretty good at the moment. the flight has been very good, a lot of fun.
19:00 The first inhouse movie has started, The Sandbox or something. Darren and I can't be bothered watching it.
22:40 Have just finished watching Born Yesterday, the plane seems asleep except those waiting to use the toilets. It is still dark outside, Shane is asleep, Darren and I are stretching our legs and Justin is quiet. I don't feel tired although the place seems to be full of corpses. Maybe the thrill of it is keeping me awake. I think we're supposed to sleep now, although I won't yet. Maybe I will read for a while. I still haven't started the book yet. The 2 girls are also awake. Anyway back to the flight.
23:35 I'm back in my seat, Shane and I had a look out of the window at the back of the plane. Sh** we are so high up. The clouds seem so far below, for a moment it did put me on edge as realisation hit me, IT'S A LONG WAY DOWN! On the left side we saw the moon almost full, a pretty impressive sight. We went to the Business class and chatted there for a while with a Melbourne dude. Also we talked with a the drinks guy. Upstairs was a phone, using Shane's card, we were going to call Justin's dad and Kaths, but were too far out of satellite range. A call is about $10.00 a minute, wow. Naturally it's credit card only. The whole plane is asleep except for one or two. I am not very tired at all. Darren and the girls are asleep. Justin is also asleep and Shane is trying to. We are feeling a little turbulence but that's about it. Anyway I am finally going to try a bit of reading, if anything is going to put me out, reading will. Ciao.
 

30/8/93 (Day unknown)
00:45 Sunrise. the sun has risen to our right Shane and I had a look out the rear window. Amazing sight, the clouds look like ice on the water. It's hard to believe that the water is so far below, it is very colourful and the clouds are so high, like towers you can even see the different layers. I would like to take a photo, but I don't think it would turn out. Pity.
01:20 Everyone is starting to wake up, It is broad daylight outside.
01:40 Looked out the window again, it is very bright, but all the clouds have formed a layer like a blanket, they stretch as far as the eye can see, pure white right to the horizon all around. Only below us is there a patch of blue, freaky sh**.
02:05 They're serving brekkie. Yay!
02:45 Finished brekkie, an omelette with mushrooms and 2 small franks. Guess what. For lunch yesterday, I had Justin's chokky cake, for dinner I had Shane's apple pie and now at breakfast I had Coral's omelette and stuff. I'm being fed by other people, amazing. It's about 09:00 US time and about 1 and half hours left in flight before we reach Los Angeles.
03:20 Filled out US entry documents. Time now to pack up and wait to land, will write when I can.
04:00 We are in the United States of America. Yay!
05:20 Madness, we’ve been through customs and all that and are sort of preparing to fly to San Francisco. Madness!
   

Date and day unknown AMERICAN TIME
17:00 Sorry for the delay in writing but it has all been a bit hectic. We finally boarded for San Francisco and flew here. We picked all our gear and caught a taxi station wagon to the hotel. Everything is Irish, but the cars are not as bad as I expected, although the hills are, they are huge I don't know how people can walk up them! The hotel room is very nice and we have all showered and settled in. We're resting a bit before going out for dinner.
23:00 I'm in bed now, We went to see Jurassic Park, very impressive. The cinema was OK, but the sound was exxo in THX. Wow, I even scored a THX badge from one of the usher's, great. We had dinner in Burger King which was OK. So far, I have not slept since I woke up Sunday morning to leave Australia, not even a catnap, aside from feeling woozy at the cinema, I am OK. I feel as if the ground is moving slightly, weird. but the time has come to get a good night sleep in a bed. San Francisco, the hills are crazy, they are so steep and the city is so f***ing big! There are a lot of down and outs in the streets begging for money. There is no end to them and the city has a seedy feeling to it at night. So far it has been interesting, but I haven't fallen in love with the place. It is OK. The cars are so different. Especially the US built ones, I would like to call Kaths, but it's 15:00 at home and I don't know if she'll be there. I might try in the morning, maybe at a phone box, it's cheaper. Oh I had a genuine US chokky sundae and it was pretty good. My first bought thing. So far I own three 25 cent coins, Yay. and a few one dollar bills. My budget, an allowance of $50 per day US, I spent $26 leaving me with a profit of $24 which is good. Tomorrow we hope to do some shopping since our flat has a kitchen so we can cook thing which well make it even cheaper still. I am good, feeling better than I expected, Justin is calling home and Darren is next, I am ready for beddy and big brekkie in the morn. Bye.
   

30/8/93 (Monday)
22:15 What a day! It's been a good one. We all had a good sleep and got up at 07:30 ish, we went down and had breakfast. they don't have any cereals, but lots of pastries and cake things. I had a heated croissant, 2 slices of toast, 2 cups of coffee and a jam sandwich (trying to eat up big, you see). Since its free, I thought, why not. The brekkie room was small, but we were the first there and all in all it was not bad. We bought cereal for ourselves later. Once we returned to the room, I showered and got properly dressed. We went up the road to a grocery store and stocked up, we discovered later that another store in the area was bigger and better. Otherwise, we did well. $30 of stuff which hopefully will suit us for a few days at least. The longer the better. We came back, unloaded and went shopping down Powell st. I bought some T-shirts for Kaths, Janet and Father. Things are so cheap (even in Australian dollars). Everyone is selling cameras (even in Pal), sunglasses and watches. Camera stores are everywhere! Leather jackets are really cheap (starting at $100) I might buy one if I have the dosh. A lot of shops are run by orientals, making it feel like the Victoria Market. I think that getting cheap T-shirts will be easy. Postcards are 10 for $1.00 and one place had 15 for a $1.00. We went down to where the cable cars do their batmobile U-turn (Powell and Eddy Sts), we bought a ticket for a car/tram and went back up Powell St toward Pier 39. I took a couple of happy snaps along the way, we did the hang off the side thing which is allowed, The hills are too steep for them to stop properly, so they stop in the middle of an intersection to let people on/off. Weird. The tram drivers have to ring their dingers when entering intersections then all the traffic stops and waits for it to move on, amazing. It zips around the streets and in one area the two lines are right next to each other, meaning two trams going either direction cannot travel on this street at the same time because they can't pass. We went passed Lombard St, where the road is so steep, people have to drive zig-zag to get down. Half this city is one way streets, We got off and sussed out various shops in pier 39. I bought some shorts for Geoffro and a magnet for Janet. One shop had some exxo Star Trek communicators for $21, Darren and I were tempted to buy, but we shall wait for the WorldCon. We found a pewter Darth Vader TIE fighter, X-Wing and Millennium Falcon which were also exxo quality. We took some photos of the Golden Gate Bridge and the seals that live at the pier. Tourists are everywhere, and we ran into one Aussie as well. Anyway we were feeling a little stuffed, so we started heading back, with plans to take the bay cruise tomorrow. We stopped for a drink, I had a Cherry Cola which was no big deal. The tram queue is one and a half hours long so we took a taxi instead. Darren and I decided to find a military store way down on Market St. We got there only to find it doesn't open on Mondays, so we walked back (god I hate the hills). they have a Quik (Big M) drink here exxo stuff, really nice. We returned to the hotel. We discovered that we can go onto the roof of the hotel to see the view. Buildings everywhere, we took some photos, I went back to the room to have a snooze, we all returned to the roof later that evening for more pics, great stuff, anyway, I've finished dinner (2 minute noodles) and the TV is on (A Grand Canyon special) It is 23:05 at the moment. I feel better after the sleep and am not ready for bed, but I will soon. Time to sign off, bye. P.S. I called Kaths this morning, she is well which I am glad, it was 01:00 over there.
   
   

31/8/93 (Tuesday)
00:45 Still up, good stuff.
01:20 Bed time, finally!
01:25 There has been another delay, yet another joke at Darren's expense has been cracked, and it's The Head's laughing that's keeping us up. OK time to go.
01:40 More f***ing jokes, the topic was fish, now its stalactites and Darren's amazing abilities.
01:50 And still they come.
02:00 Will this never end.
02:01 Shane spilt his lemonade, will we ever sleep? Do we want to?
02:05 Try again!
02:10 Reid let one fly and it was a ripper.
02:25 This should be it, hopefully.
08:20 We're awake, yawn.
09:35 Returned from brekkie, this time 2 croissants, 1 toast and 1 cup of coffee and an orange juice, plus my cereal I had in the room.
18:35 Time to write. OK in the morning, I cracked a nanna, the letter I wrote for Kaths and my only "proper" postcard to Lyn Toms are missing. I looked everywhere but couldn't find them, never mind, I'd look again later in the evening. We went to the bank and I cashed $150 then bought 3 camera films for $14, the others were now looking for a post office to send their postcards. We wandered down to the tram U-turn and decided to go to the military store Darren and I visited the day before. It was pretty impressive, although it hardly any customers, we all bought something. I got an urban camo shirt for $10, Justin got a Lady E hat as did Darren (he also got a naval officers cap) and Shane got a belt buckle and a San Francisco police patch. Since City Hall was in the area, we went there for a look, took some happys and went inside. Nice interior decoration although it was cracking in some points. We then went to the San Francisco library and had a sticky beak. We were heading toward Market St, when we found 2 cop cars parked there. We took more happys and headed back to the tram. We kept stopping at shops on the way. One place said they knew where the Star Wars radio plays on Compact Disk were, but after a long search, we found nothing. But in that search we found the Warner Bros shop. I spent $20 on Batman stuff, leaving a poster and a large tin behind due to space restrictions. There was 2 floors of cartoon stuff, amazing. They even sold anime Batman cells for $400, incredible, a great shop. Anyway, we finally got a tram for pier 39 at around 14:00 (we had left the hotel at 10:00 ish). We arrived at the pier and went straight to the bay cruise. It was pretty good. I took lots of pikkies of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city. I got sunburnt on my neck and face but I'm still here. After the cruise we went on a tour of the submarine Pampanito, which was just up the way a bit. I took photos of its interior and it was very interesting. They gave you a hand held speaker which plays a recorded spiel in each of the 5-6 areas you visited. Great Stuff, it's amazing how cramped these things are. After that we caught a taxi back, which was only $5. My letter and postcard have reappeared, the funny thing is, in our travels we never passed one post office, so I would've been carrying them with me everywhere today. So after all that, I spent just under$100 which means I overspent by $50 but since I made a profit on day one, and a marginal loss on day 2 my total is a loss is $37 for now. Which I think is pretty OK. However tomorrow we go to Skywalker Ranch. I have $100 cash on me and I've used 4 Traveller Cheques a well. We've discovered on a map that the nearest post office is 4-5 blocks away, hopefully we will be able to send our stuff tomorrow, anyway time to stop writing and have a sandwich.
20:50 Shane had a snooze and wants to go for a wander. I had a lay down on the couch and will go with him as will Darren.
22:50 Well we've returned, we wandered around the area, we went to the Fairmont Hotel where they filmed "Hotel" we took the glass elevator (which is on the building's outside) al the way to the top. Wow, what a view, about 25 floors up, we went to the lounge bar and had a drink. I had a coke, I finished it, Shane mentioned about the view (which was all around), I turn around to look, say yeah it's Chunky, turn back and my glass is full again! Freaky sh**. We passed two people talking to themselves Shane says they're in the land of the pixies and then he starts yelling at a tree wondering why it won't answer him, funny stuff anyway. We're back now, and starting to feel bashed tomorrow is all arranged, We meet Don at 10.30 on Lucas Valley Drive, Shane will drive us there.
23:45 I'm in bed, Justin is in the shower, Darren is writing postcards and Shane has gone out somewhere and has been away for a while (probably rootin' someone), I will sign off now, unless something happens.
 

1/9/93 (Wednesday)
00:30 The Head is back after a long walk. We're all hitting the sack, although the excitement is pretty evident anyway.
23:25 OK, the day has ended and the time to write has begun. We had brekkie in the morning, I had cereal and 1 croissant. We got ourselves sorted out and were picked up by the car hire place and taken to their depot down the road. We filled in all the necessary documents and were given the keys to a red convertible, a Chevy Cavalier. We took the roof off and headed out, Shane drove a couple of blocks away, we stopped and attached our Aussie flag to the car aerial, then it was time to go. I navigated, it was a good trip and driving over the Golden Gate was a real treat and was very enjoyable. We passed San Rafael and found Don's meeting place and took some happys. He showed up 10-15 minutes later. I rode in his MX5 as we went to the Ranch. We entered through the security gatehouse and drove up a wonderful road to his archive building - The Barn. We parked the cars and went up to his office. We went apesh**. His office connects to a large room containing all the props, cozzies etc. Madness took over and although the best stuff was in Tokyo for the exhibition, there was still plenty to check out. The problem was we couldn't we see it quick enough. Don told us to have a wet dream and went into his office, we looked at everything, the photos will tell all in detail, Shane and I did a video documentary of everything which hopefully will be good. I took a lot of photos, some of which I was in. We were introduced to a Florida couple going to the WorldCon, they were with us on the tour. We walked to the canteen which housed the official Ranch shop. I bought a few shirts and patches, blowing the budget in a big way, but it was great, some excellent Lucasfilm and Skywalker Ranch stuff. We all spent up big. After that we walked to another canteen inside the main house and George Lucas himself was there having lunch, Wow, God himself. After that we went to the THX building where we saw a 7 minute promo of THX sound on a THX home system, it was called WOW and wow it was, it was great. With the main house, we went into a few rooms including one where the TV controls are in the coffee table itself,. the place is mainly wooden and is immaculate in style and design. No Star Wars stuff anywhere. After the THX building we went to the library. Amazing, all wood with big chairs and stained glass roof, it is on two levels with a spiral staircase. Lots of books and a magnificent atmosphere. In top condition with open fireplace and Persian pussycat. A wonderful place, the kind where you could find a good book, find a chair and die. We can't take photos damn. We went past the Licensee building and went into Skywalker Sound department. We went into their main viewing cinema very nice. After that we returned back to the archives. A quick trip back to the shop to pick up our gear and to buy stuff for Geoff and Kaths. Back tho the archives for one last bash and more photos. We left the Ranch (I was in Don's car) to an American pub thing for dinner, on the way driving around ILM, it was very bland but interesting. Took more photos then off to dinner with a couple of Lucasfilm people. It was good fun teaching them about the Aussie way. After that we drove back here.
   

2/8/93 (Thursday)
01:50 Off to bed
07:50 I'm awake barely.
23:55 It's been a long day. We went to the bank in the morning and got some dosh, then I drove to the Ranch. What a funny experience, I thought I did well, but it was hard not to drift into the lane on your right, and the position of the rear view mirror was hard to get used to, as well as turning. We went down Lombard St and took some happys, then we headed off to the Ranch. We drove in and met Don at about 11:10, We took more photos and I tried on a stormtrooper costume, great stuff, we then went for lunch and bought some more stuff from the Skywalker Ranch shop. We then went back to the Archives, Shane and I decided to help Brenda from THX to collate some forms, a whole lot of forms in fact. However we went there and collated for about 2 hours, chatting with her as we went. As a gift, she gave us 2 shirts and a cap each plus 2 shirts for Darren and Justin. With a promise to send some posters to us. Excellent. We went back to the Archives where Don was preparing to head off to his softball match. Skywalker Ranch v's ILM. The weather turned cold quickly but it was good fun to watch. Don's team won 8-7. After that we returned to Archives one last time, we said goodbye to Skywalker Ranch and headed off for dinner at a pizza place with members of the Ranch team. Our Hawaiian pizza was orange, strange. It tasted fine but wasn't worth $20. After that we came home and sorted everything out about 22:30. Skywalker Ranch is a wonderful place, it is very spacious and very new. I t is also secluded, hills surround the whole valley and it has been great to be able to experience it. We are possibly the first Aussie Star Wars fans to come here, what an achievement. I has been a dream fulfilled, the WorldCon tomorrow doesn't seem as important now, yet we shall be going for at least 2 days. My Star Wars feelings are on a high, unless it changes, my Batman side may lose out at this con in terms of merchandise. The stuff we got at the Ranch is priceless to us, The WorldCon will be good but our be all and all was in the past 2 days. I have used over 2 and a half films here, hopefully they will all turn out and reflect my visit here, between us all we have 14 rolls of camera film and shall no doubt swap many to complete the memories. A lot of things we could not photograph, like the Skywalker Ranch fire engine and the insides of buildings, but that shall live on in the memories. We have virtually hit highest peak the Star Wars fan could achieve. Now being a Star Wars fan makes me feel more complete. I feel like an elite, to have gone where no fan has gone before. Dennis, Wossa, George and all the other friends of Star Wars I a have known, if they could only see me now. I will instil a special pride when I tell people "I've been to this, and this..." As I said to Don yesterday, in his car going to dinner. Fazes may come and go but I will always be a Star Wars fan, in fact the line "A Star Wars fan for life" can be chiselled onto my tombstone now. Anyway it is now 00:30 on 3/9/93, time for me to go to bed. It's the WorldCon tomorrow and I have to return the car, Don is turning up at 09:30 what a great guy, I'm surprised he isn't sick of us yet. Goodnight.
   

3/9/93 (Friday)
08:10 I'm awake, yay.
   

4/9/93 (Saturday)
10:30 I didn't write yesterday because I was too tired to. Anyway, basically Don came to the hotel, we returned the car and took a taxi to the Moscone Centre and joined the con. Gees it was big, I couldn't get my stuff into an auction, too much red tape involved. Bought stuff in the dealers room which was heavily fantasy orientated. Saw artshow, and things, went to Emporium and finally posted my letter. Returned to the con and had a decent time. In the afternoon I decided not to attend Saturday and thus spent Saturday's money on Star Wars posters. Justin and I did not want to attend Saturday due to cost being $50US per day. Don said he could take us to a local baseball game instead, we said yes. Justin and I walked back to the hotel and unloaded. Then went back and ran into the guys coming out. We went to a hotel to see Maureen Garret who I remember from AussieCon II, after that we went back to the hotel, saw a little bit of the Emperors banquet,. We all went to dinner, very nice but expensive. Then we went to a Japanese Sci-Fi groups room party. Great fun, Darren had 3 bowls of sake and got smashed. Funny stuff. We left at midnight and returned to the hotel, Darren slept on the couch.
   

5/9/93 (Sunday)
15:30 This is a late entry, why? because I've just woken up. Ok yesterday, Justin and I were in the foyer of our hotel at 11:20 ready to be picked up, no sign of anyone. By 12:00 we went back to the room, I had a snooze on the couch. 12:30 we get a phone call, our ride (Brenda from THX) is here. We jumped into her car with her boyfriend driving. We went to the baseball ground only to find the game had finished. Skywalker Ranch lost. We all went for lunch, I had Mexican burritos which were very nice. Then we went back to the grounds where a golf club was, we all played a game of mini-golf except me, not wishing to spend $4.50, so I scored instead. It was good fun Justin, myself, Don and the other Lucasfilm guys, 8 of us in all, the game went for a couple of hours then we drove into San Anselemo, I was with Don and he pointed out George Lucas's house from the road, I didn't have my camera with me, we could've been on the other side of Willow Rd, but I didn't want to ask. We had dinner at a pizza place which was quite nice and a lot cheaper than yesterday's place considering I had the same meal in both places. After dinner we went to a park to watch a film. They set up a projector and screen in a park, for $2 you sit on the grass and watch the movie. We saw 'Rear Window' by Alfred Hitchcock. A very pleasurable night. After that we ran into a snag. Brenda's other half had taken the car earlier on, so Justin and I could not get a lift back into town and no one else was heading that way. Eventually we went in Don's car, I sat on Justin's lap, we took the roof off. I put on my cools cause my head was higher than the windscreen and away we went. It was actually a great trip back, very enjoyable. We arrived at the hotel by 23:30, said bye to Don and went to the room. Justin stayed there while I went to the WorldCon room parties. They had booked whole floors for these events and they were very interesting. I settled into the Australia in '99 party where I ran into Darren. Shane had gone back to the hotel. Darren and I hung out there till 04:15, we came back here and we hit the sack at 04:30. Darren and Shane left the hotel for the con at 09:30, Justin is here watching TV and I slept in until 15:15. (6/9/93).
18:50 Justin and I went for a wander around the city, we went to Macy's and had a look at a toy shop, it was interesting. I have just gotten off the phone to Kaths. Earlier I remembered to take out my collection photos for Justin and in the packet were pikkies of her, I had an immediate wuus attack and so I called her. DS9 is on TV so I must sign off now.
   

7/9/93 (Tuesday)
02:30 I'm in bed. It's been a long but prosperous day. I am too stuffed to write it all in detail, but through Don I was able to get another Revenge of the Jedi 1 sheet, a rare Star Wars 1st birthday 1 sheet and the Empire Strikes Back advance teaser 1 sheet, the one that has eluded me all these years.
12:40 I've just returned from brekkie on the 17th floor with the Perth fans. Anyway, starting with yesterday. We picked up our car which had bizarre seatbelts which attach by themselves, very strange. We arrived at our designated meeting point where we waited for Don, He arrived on time and we drove to his place. A nice villa/condo unit. There we watched some John Williams stuff and had a sniff around some Star Wars books. We all went for a cruise in the car. Don drove around his town, we stopped for lunch, which was very nice, but too filling. I couldn't finish my excellent chokky shake. Up the road was a Sci-Fi book shop where we did some collectable buying. We then jumped back into the car and did a cruise by the coast line and the neighbouring towns, including the church used in 'The Birds'. We eventually had dinner (a light one) at an English style pub which wasn't, but it was nice anyway. After that we went back to Don's place and chatted for a few hours. We watched a French documentary on the making of Empire, great stuff, with no narration at all, Then we saw the original Star Wars auditions from 1975. The sound was bad but it was very interesting to see everyone so young. We then sifted through script notes, conversation speeches and various other Star Wars inside stuff. Later on, Don went to his garage and brought in a portfolio thing. He had said at the con that he would give us each a Revenge 1 sheet, and without any prompting, he gave us some, we looked through his collection and he gave us 1 Revenge and 1 Star Wars 1st birthday 1 sheet (so rare, that none of us had ever seen it before) and I was given an Empire advance which I have been seeking for years. It was very hard to express the right attitude for such gifts, suffice to say it was very kind of him. We chatted until 00:30 where we said our farewells and lefts. He is indeed a good friend. Anyway we drove back and arrived at 02:00 today. We found a message in the door of our room, inviting us up to the 17th floor to the room of the Perth fans for brekkie, It was very pleasant and I hope to see them again soon.
17:55 Darren and I took a tram to pier 39, to pick up a communicator for Janet, our tram broke down after 2 blocks and the trips up and back were not very exciting. We had a look at the maritime museum and headed off to the shops. I bought the communicator, $6 more than at the con, plus a couple of Batman things. We are back.
22:30 I have finished writing a letter to my baby and stamped it. I shall send it tomorrow morning. I have packed all my purchased things into the suitcase and all of my clothes will go into my channel 7 bag. I can now be packed and ready to leave in less than 10 minutes. Shane is going out with some Canadians soon. I cooked dinner using all the spaghetti and sauce we had for Justin, Darren and myself. It was pretty good too. Justin and Darren did the dishes and Darren and I are currently doing our washing on the lower ground floor. Anyway, gotta go, time to check it.
   

 

 

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