Saturday, September 24, 2016

Australian Sojourn – May 2016

Part 10: Townsville


Continuing with my series documenting my May visit to Australia, I share this evening a few images of my visit to the Queensland city of Townsville (above) to see my good friends Jeremiah and Kristy (pictured with me at right) and their two beautiful children. (To start at the beginning of this series, click here.)

Kristy once described me to someone as Jeremiah's "childhood, boyhood, manhood friend." I think that sums it up pretty well!

I've known Jeremiah since my teaching days in Goulburn, New South Wales, where his dad was the principal of Sts. Peter and Paul Primary School. I taught at Sts. Peter and Paul's for six years before moving to the U.S. in 1994. I was Jeremiah's 4th grade teacher in 1989, and his sister Tess's 5th grade teacher in 1992. In was in Tess's memory that another of her brothers, Raphael, cycled over 1900 kilometers in 2014 to raise awareness and funds for melanoma research and prevention. (For more about Raph's inspiring achievement, click here, here, and here.)

I've stayed good friends with all the members of the family ever since our time together in Goulburn, and I always try to catch up with as many of them as possible whenever I visit Australia from the U.S. I last saw Jeremiah and Kristy in 2012, when they were living for a time in Sydney. I last saw them in Townsville in 2006 (see here, here and here), not that long after they first moved there.

I flew to Townsville from Port Macquarie via Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland.

At left is a view of the central business district (CBD) of Brisbane that I snapped as we were coming in to land. This was the morning of Thursday, May 26, 2016.




Above: With Magnetic Island behind me.











Above: Jeremiah, showing us all how it's done!



Above: A view from the plane window as I flew back south. It was somewhat of a pain returning to Port Macquarie as I had to fly to Brisbane than overshoot Port to Sydney, where I then caught a third flight back up north to Port. Yes, it was a long day. But thankfully there were beautiful views like the one above to enjoy!




See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Leichhardt (2012)
Photo of the Day – May 13, 2012
A Bushland Wedding (2011)
Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast (2010)
Newtown (2008)
Return to Ellenborough Falls (2008)
North Brother Mountain (2008)
Travelin' North (2006)
Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 1 – Maroubra
Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 2 – Morpeth
Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 3 – Melbourne
Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 4 – Hanging Rock
Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 5 – Albury
Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 6 – Goulburn
Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 7 – Exeter
Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 8 – Port Macquarie
Australian Sojourn, May 2016: Part 9 – Gunnedah

Images: Michael J. Bayly.


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