Date: 8/6/04
Location: Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and Sydney, Australia
Today was our last day with the Tomlinsons for Discovery... This morning, I went with Jim and Ginny to stand in line at the bank, and we went to some stores so Jim could buy a hat and some cordless phones. Then we went down to market for a little while. I had almost just gone with Tyson and Kristen to stores this morning, but Ginny asked me to come with her and Jim and I was really glad to do that. When we were leaving the guest house this morning, I put my arm around Ginny's shoulder and reminded her this was the last day I'd see them, and we caught Jim on my other side, too 
. It made me feel really special being between them... I felt like I had a second set of parents who were also my good friends . Ginny's been really nice about telling me to sit next to her at meals, too . She told me to come sit down next to her today at lunch again. I think Ginny is going to miss me, too. She stayed with me at the airport all through the lines and everything, and we shared some laughs and looks that reminded us we wouldn't see each other again for a long time at least. And she said if I didn't get my Australian visa for some reason and had to stay then they'd just have to keep me . So... we took some pictures and then gave hugs and I told Ginny I loved her and she returned it and I told Jim "Thank you" and I know he understood. And we walked tothe next checkpoint and I gave Ginny another hug because they couldn't come any further and gave Jim another one too... I'm going to miss the Tomlinsons! I mean, I already miss the Tomlinsons.
So, off we went to Australia, and customs wasn't as much trouble as I thought it might be (our insect spray worked well on our baskets, so that helped!). And we found Mark and Heather Hobson and our hotel and then we went for a walk down to McDonald's for some food. Sydney is really loud, and there are lots of cars and traffic and big buses. And we're right near Chinatown, so there were a lot of Asians around, too. Some of them have really funky clothes and hairstyles, and the Australians do, too. Some of the styles are rather immodest, perhaps even more so than the U.S.
I wish Jim and Ginny were here!
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