02-25- 2023: Final Day with Alex and Gloria

Margaret and Clare picked us up at Lou’s for the drive to Richmond. We’re doing the reverse of our arrival where Alex and Gloria picked us up at the airport and drove us to Richmond to meet Lou, Margaret and Clare. It was six weeks ago that we actually arrived in Australia.

It is about 2-1/2 hours from Rylstone to Richmond along the same route to Lithgow and then on to Richmond. It’s a pretty drive over the Blue Mountains and today the scenery was spectacular as the escarpments were shining golden in the clear morning sun. It was much less humid today (and very cool) so the visibility was really good. I wish we had had time to stop and take photos, but we were on the fast track because Margaret had an appointment to get to.

We met up with Alex and Gloria at McDonald’s and said a quick goodbye to Margaret and Clare, who were a bit late for the appointment. I don’t like goodbyes and I get all teary. But with a big hug and a kiss we said goodbye to Margaret and Clare.

We had a coffee with Lou, Alex and Gloria, catching up on the goings on. I think I didn’t mention in any of my posts that Michael, the Caruana sibling we visited in the nursing home on January 28th, died last Tuesday. He had progressive supranuclear palsy, a very rare organic brain disorder. It’s a difficult thing to say, but it’s a blessing that he has passed now because he had been in such pain. He can rest easily now. So Lou and Gloria are grieving the loss of yet another sibling. There were 10 and now there are 6 remaining. It’s a sad time for them, but we are blessed to have visited Michael and seen him on one of his last good days. Rest in peace, Michael.

It was finally time to say goodbye to Louis. We all had tears. Lou has been so wonderful and we have treasured our time with him. Although we come and kind of take over his home, being with him is a joy and a delight. We will miss being with him terribly. Thanks for everything, dear Louis.

Then it was on to Gloria and Alex’s. Alex treated us to lunch at the club in Ettalong. Then, as we were almost at home he got a call from his youngest son Bradley, who had been out in his boat with his two girls and the boat broke down. After some discussion, Alex and Bradley had a plan. Alex would go retrieve his Zodiac inflatable boat that was in his garage at the Daley’s Point house and Bradley would meet us there and they would go and retrieve Brad’s boat. I asked if he needed any help and Alex invited me to come along.

It all worked out as planned, with one one little hiccup. Alex couldn’t find the drain plug for his Zodiac so we had to go to Brad’s to get one from another of his boats. That worked, and we were on our way to a boat ramp for launching. Alex and Brad made quick work of launching the Zodiac. Brad’s daughter Layla and step-daughter Jemma were with Brad and we all hopped into the Zodiac and off we went.

I think Alex enjoyed driving the boat kind of fast and the spray got us all wet. We arrived to retrieve Brad’s boat, tied it up and headed back to trailer the boats. It was a very fun little side trip out on Brisbane Waters that I thoroughly enjoyed.

While we were out doing boat rescue,, Christine and Gloria stayed home. The giggle girls had a great couple of hours together.

We got cleaned up for dinner and went back to the club in Ettalong for dinner. Marianne, Gloria’s sister, was joining us, as well as Bradley, his wife Fiona, and the two girls, Layla and Jemma. We had a lovely evening and enjoyed everyone’s company. It was nice to get to talk with Marianne. We saw her at the family gathering the end of January, but had really been unable to talk with her. She’s doing well, but her husband is in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s, which is always very difficult. Bradley and Fiona are lovely people. I’ve never seen Brad without a smile on his face. So it was a nice evening. Thanks, Alex, for another great evening.

We were all tired after a long day and we each went to bed pretty quickly. We’ll be off to the airport in the morning at 8:00am. And just like that, a little over six weeks has flown by, and it’s time for the loooong flight back to the States.

Thank you to all the cousins and their families for making this a wonderful and memorable trip. I’ll write a short post when we get home, just in case I need to report on something that happens while we’re traveling. We’re ready to be home, but we don’t want to leave Australia!

One thought on “02-25- 2023: Final Day with Alex and Gloria”

  1. It was great to meet up again and although our time together was short, we feel as though we have been with you daily after reading of your adventures. Hopefully we will meet up once more.
    Trust your trip back has not been tiresome. It’s always nice to get back to familiar surroundings so you will soon settle down to your usual routines.
    Take care, good health and happiness.
    Love to you both.
    Alex

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