The Castaway Hotel - 9 - 23. Chapter 23 - Down Under

I was busy making sure everyone had what he needed for our trip to Australia, as well as pairing the boys up on the luggage, in case of a mishap. I wanted each of them to put half of his clothes in two different suitcases, in case one of the suitcases came up missing. At least if one did go M.I.A., that person would have half of his clothes to wear until the missing item showed up again.

I also had to make certain everyone’s passport was in order and in my possession before we left to see Peter. Since we took our passports with us on the cruise, we should be fine, although some of the boys still had not given these items back. I had to have each of the slackers locate his passport and return it to me, so I could keep it safe and be sure we had them before we left for the airport. After that, I took time to go through everything they had packed, to see if they’d forgotten anything. By the time we were ready to leave and catch our flight, I was not only exhausted, but I’d had absolutely no time to think about my situation as a ‘golden oldie retiree.’

During this time, I had also been in touch with Peter’s parents, because they were trying to help me find a place for us to stay. It was no easy task to locate something that would be reasonably priced and yet able to accommodate so many, but they finally came up with a possibility. They then contacted me, to see what I thought of the idea.

“There’s a place not far from here that has a group of cabins, which the owners lease out during the summer,” Peter’s father began. “However, since it’s winter at the moment, they don’t have much business and the cabins are vacant. Each cabin has heat and my wife and I think we could make a bloody good deal for you to lease them, if you’re interested.”

Peter’s father and I then discussed what the cabins were like in more detail and he even forwarded me some pictures they took with a digital camera so I’d have a better idea when making my decision. Once I saw them, I decided how many cabins we’d require and Peter’s father and I discussed finances. He told me what the rate was during the summer and then we’d decided on what price we thought would be fair now, seeing they were vacant and we’d be requiring several of them. I also confirmed this would be a package deal for our two weeks there, but reminded him we’d only be using it as our base and spending only a small portion of our time actually using them. We’d be spending the majority of our time seeing as many of the local sites as we could, as well as making a few short trips. He said he understood and would contact me if he could make a deal.

When he called back, some time later, he had worked out an even better deal for us than I had told him I would agree to. It was an excellent price and the accommodations would be more than adequate. Each cabin had two bedrooms, with a large bed in each one, and each cabin also had a private toilet and shower, as well as a small kitchen and private deck. Putting four people to a cabin, we could get away with using five cabins in total, but I doubted we’d use any of the kitchen facilities very often.

Now that our main housing concerns had been taken care of, I double-checked our flight arrangements, to make certain everything was in order. I’d had a minor choice in which flight we took, since I wanted to limit the options to flights with only one additional stop. Many of the flights made two stops before they left the states, so my choices were narrowed down to flying from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles or Pittsburgh to San Francisco. We’d then catch our connecting flight at one of those locations, so I chose San Francisco, since I’d heard horror stories about LAX.

The flight would take approximately twenty-four hours, but with the time differences, it would appear as if it took thirty-eight hours to complete. This is due to the fact that Australia is fourteen hours ahead of our time zone, so when we arrive it will seem as if as if more than a day and a half has passed since we left home. This will weigh heavily on our bodily systems, but we have coped with such things before.

The return trip, however, will seem to take less time. Even though we’d still be in the air for twenty-four hours, after you subtracted the fourteen-hour time difference, it will seem as if only ten hours have elapsed since we left Australia. It’s strange how this ends up working out.

Fortunately, we were also in a new year at work now, so Jake had plenty of days to take off. Therefore, our travel arrangements would look like this. We were going to leave from Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon and arrive in Sydney on what would seem to us to be Saturday morning. Then, for the return trip, we’ll fly out of Sydney late Friday afternoon and reach then land in Pittsburgh Saturday morning. I know it sounds confusing, but that’s how it works. It will also give Jake two days to rest up and readjust to the local time zone afterward, since he had taken off the following Monday as well.

I had chartered a bus to take us to the Pittsburgh airport and then pick us up again when we returned. Actually, it would be cheaper for us than driving two vehicles and paying for the long-term parking while we were gone. It also meant I wouldn’t have to worry about the cars getting broken into or stolen while we were away, so I thought it was definitely our best option.

Once we arrived at the airport, it took a while to get everything checked in, so we could proceed to our gate. We had allowed plenty of time to do this, so we had a great many minutes to spare. Once it was announced that our flight was boarding, we all trudged onto the plane and took our seats. I didn’t allow the boys to bring any of their hand-held games or personal CD players on this trip, because I knew they wouldn’t be able to recharge the batteries in Australia, because of the different electrical systems, and I didn’t want to lug a bunch of batteries around with me. Instead, I informed the boys they could spend their time listening to music that the airlines provided. The carrier offered multiple channels, each featuring a different type of music, and it could be listened to over a set of headphones, so it wouldn’t bother those on either side. The boys could either do this or watch the in-flight movies, since I think they were offering two, because it was such a long flight. If neither of those options appealed to them, they can elect to sleep.

They all seemed fine with those options, after I advised them about their choices, so we settled in and prepared to take off. Since all of my family had flown before, no one was very nervous about the flight, although Jesse did tease to be allowed a window seat again. That would be fine and satisfy him until we reached San Francisco and changed planes, because from that point on we’d be flying strictly over the ocean and there wouldn’t be a great deal for him to see. He accepted that information rather easily, so we settled in for the long trip.

The flight to San Francisco went smoothly and we got off and changed planes a few hours later. Once we were in the air again, I made sure everyone was doing all right and then Jake and I settled in for the long flight ahead.

The trip went very smoothly and our plane arrived nearly on schedule. I got the boys to hurry and find their luggage, so we could get to the spot where Mr. and Mrs. Dennis and Peter would be waiting for us. I didn’t know how long they might have already been here, so I certainly didn’t want to make them hang around any longer than was necessary.

As we passed into the area in which the public is allowed to gather, Ricky spotted his former host parents almost immediately. As Ricky was jogging off, I saw Peter bolt from the crowd and rush toward us.

“Pop, you made it,” he gushed, as he threw his arms about my chest. “It’s so nice to see you again, in person I mean, and I’ve missed you so much.”

“Well, I’m very happy to see you again, Peter,” I replied. “Why don’t you formally introduce Jake and I to your parents now, so we can get going.”

Peter quickly apologized for not doing that sooner and then took Jake and I over to introduce us to his mum and dad. After we shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, I explained to Mr. Dennis that I had reserved a 23-seat Toyota mini-bus for our stay here, but asked if one of them would be kind enough to show me how to get to the rental counter so I could finalize the arrangements. Mr. Dennis said he’d be happy to, so I followed him to the appropriate counter, while the others stayed and became better acquainted.

As we walked, I explained I had reserved it for our entire stay and it was large enough so Peter, his wife and he could join us for some or all of our outings. I told him Ricky and Peter had decided much of what we’d do while we were here and I had approved what they suggested and then added a bit of my own. He said he and his wife would be happy to join us whenever they could, but he would be at his job most of the time, but I could utilize Peter as our guide as much as we needed. I thanked him for that, just as we reached the rental counter and I quickly finalized the deal.

I didn’t get the keys just then, because the agent said he’d have someone drive it to an area where we could load up our belongings and be on our way. I thanked him for his help and then went with Mr. Dennis to collect our families. We then walked to the place where the mini-bus was supposed to be waiting for us.

Since the mini-bus was in the proper spot, Mr. Dennis went to fetch his car, while we loaded our belongings onto the bus. Then we’d follow him to somewhere we could grab a bite to eat, since the boys were famished by this time. The airline food just didn’t cut it for them.

Although the Australians drive on the left side of the road and take their roundabouts (traffic circles) in a clockwise manner, I didn’t see this as a problem. I had driven in England before and only had a couple of problems, which I learned from quickly. Therefore, I felt confident following Mr. Dennis to the restaurant.

During a very lovely and relaxing dinner, I informed our hosts about the details of our travel itinerary and Mr. Dennis offered a couple of alternate suggestions. After discussing these in some detail, I changed our plans slightly. It was nothing major, but we did accommodate them by allowing for some other ideas and penciling in the date when Peter had invited some of his mates over to meet us. This date had changed slightly from our initial planning, because quite a few of them had other engagements on the day we had first chosen, so this would work out fine now.

After we finished eating, the Dennises said that as long as we were in Sydney they thought it would be best to show us around the city first. I agreed and talked them into leaving their car somewhere and then riding with us. This way, Mr. Dennis could direct us where he wanted to go and we could chat as we traveled. They agreed and soon we were touring the surrounding area.

We started off at the Queen Victoria Building, or QVB, which is a massive Romanesque style building in the center of the city. It was built in 1898 and was home to the George Street Markets. It provided a business environment for various tradesmen, such as tailors, hairdressers, florists and mercers, who dealt in textiles and fabrics. It also housed a concert hall, which was later turned into a municipal library.

Today, the QVB features four shopping floors, with the upper three having a huge void in the center. You might say they are like three large tracks running around the building at different levels and is similar to the design used in some of the current malls, although this one was built much earlier. Two large clocks are also featured in this open area and hang from the ceiling. The Royal Clock is the largest hanging animated turret clock in the world and the top half was made to resemble a castle in Scotland. Every hour on the hour (from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.) loud trumpeting announces when mechanical figures in its four dioramas come to life. It show scenes from English history and include King John signing the Magna Carta (1215), King Henry VIII surrounded by his wives (1509 – 1547), Queen Elizabeth I knighting Sir Francis Drake on the deck of the Golden Hind (1588), and then the final scene.

Mr. Dennis had made certain we were on the upper level on the hour, so we could witness this for ourselves. The process was announced by the sounds of trumpets and we watched the clock spring into life. It was fascinating and truly remarkable, so we stood transfixed as it moved through its entire sequence.

“Oh, my God!” Sammy shrieked, as he watched the final scene play out. “They just chopped off his head.”

“Yes,” Mr. Dennis confirmed. “The was the execution of Charles I. He was beheaded in 1649, for treason.”

“They killed the king?” Little Ricky followed.

“Yes, they did,” Mr. Dennis confessed. “Although other members of the royal family have met the same fate, Charles I is the only monarch to have endured such an end.”

I think all the boys were quite impressed by the clock, as well as Mr. Dennis’ explanation, so we moved on to see the other massive clock. The Great Australian Clock contains thirty-three scenes from Australian history, as seen by both the Aboriginal and European perspectives. This clock weighs 4 tons (or tonnes if you’re an Aussie) and is 10 meters (or metres as they spell it) tall. Both clocks were quite impressive and we walked all the floors, so we could view them from various angles.

“What’s that thing moving around the top,” Jesse wondered, after seeing a figure circling the upper portion of the clock.

“That is an aboriginal hunter,” Mr. Dennis explained. “It continually circles the clock and is there to represent the never-ending passage of time.”

“So he’ll do that forever?” Jesse followed.

“Or until the clock is no longer functional,” Mr. Dennis confirmed.

While we were there, we also saw two other impressive displays, the first featured a life-size figure of Queen Victoria, dressed in historical costume on her coronation day and surrounded by replicas of the British crown jewels of that era.

“Those aren’t real, are they?” Graham wondered.

“No, they are merely replicas,” Mr. Dennis explained.

“But she looks so young there,” Andrew acknowledged. “That’s the same lady as in the statue outside. Right?’ Mr. Dennis nodded. “But outside she looks so old.”

“Yes, Queen Victoria had a very long and glorious reign,” Mr. Dennis clarified. “Here, you see her when she first took the throne, when she was eighteen, but she ruled for nearly sixty-four years. The statue you saw out front was made during her later years.”

The other display was of a bridal carriage of a Chinese emperor. It is made entirely out of Jade and weighs over two tons. It is also the only such carriage to be found outside of China.

“That certainly doesn’t look very practical,” Danny observed.

“No, being made of Jade, I’m certain it was only ceremonial,” Mr. Dennis agreed.

From the QVB, we went across the street to the Sydney Town Hall Building. It is a sandstone structure, with a large focal tower, and is the oldest building in Australia that is still used for its original purpose. It was built in the 1880’s, in the Grand Victorian Second Empire style, and is still home to the Sydney City Council.

Adjacent to it is St. Andrew’s Cathedral, which is an Anglican Church and the seat for the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney. The Gothic Revival structure was built in 1868, in the traditional cruciform shape, and is also constructed of sandstone. It is also the oldest Cathedral in Australia.

From there, Mr. Dennis took us to see the Sydney Observatory. It sits atop a hill, on which once stood a windmill. It was built in 1874 and served as a nineteenth century astronomical observatory, but is now a working museum. However, the 1874 zoom refractor telescope is still being utilized.

From the observatory, you also get a great view of Sydney Harbor and the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

“Ricky, is that the bridge you climbed,” Cole asked.

“That’s it and I want all of you to do it too,” Ricky announced.

“I don’t think we want to try it today, because it’s kind of blustery,” I responded. “Let’s wait until we come back to Sydney later, when it’s a nicer day.” Ricky was disappointed, but did agree to the suggestion, after I promised we would definitely do it.

From there, the Dennis family took us for a tour of the Sydney Opera House. Construction on it was begun in 1959, but it wasn’t completed until 1973. It was designed by a Danish architect and meant to appear as a giant sailing ship, and from certain angles it actually does. Although you can’t tell it from a distance, the sails are covered by over a million individual ceramic tiles, which were attached when the covering was still on the ground. The unusual exterior design of this building is often featured in movies and publications about the area, because it is so easily recognizable.

As Ricky discovered when he was an exchange student, it houses not only an Opera Hall and concert hall, but we soon discovered there is much, much more to this amazing structure. The Concert Hall, which seats 2,678, is home to the Sydney Symphony and contains the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ. This organ has over 10,000 pipes and is the largest mechanical tracker organ in the world. The Opera Theatre seats 1,507 and is home to both the Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet.

When we were there, some of the boys tried to get Dion to do something for them. “Come on, Dion,” Little Ricky urged, “get up on the stage and sing. I want to see how it sounds in here.”

“No, way!” Dion refused. “They’d probably lock me up if I did that.”

“Oh, don’t be a chicken,” Ricky concurred, as his way of supporting his younger, sometimes mirror image of himself.

“Aw, come on babe,” Trey chimed in. “You could sing ‘Ave Maria’ so I can hear you this time.”

“Forget it,” Dion repeated. “They probably don’t allow anyone but professionals up there.”

“That’s not exactly true, young man,” a voice piped up behind us. “I work here and manage what goes on, and I’m willing to let you give it a try, if you’re interested.” Dion looked doubtful, but the others kept urging him on.

“Come on, babe,” Trey repeated. “I’d love to hear you sing that.”

“So would we,” Danny confirmed. “We were all at college when you did it, so we’d like to hear you too.”

“I probably wouldn’t do it very well acappella,” Dion insisted, “so maybe it would be better if we wait.”

“I do play piano and provide the accompaniment for many of the rehearsals,” the guy offered. “What song is it? I’ll see if I know it.”

“It’s the ‘Ave Maria,’” Trey yelled out, before Dion could say anything.

“Oh, yes. I certainly do know that one, if you want to give it a go,” he replied. The boys all started to tease Dion to do it, so hesitantly he strode up on the stage and waited as the man pushed out a grand piano. Once he sat down and began playing, Dion started to relax and belt out the song in his sweet tenor voice.

As Dion was singing, I began to notice heads popping out from various places, as they listened to him. His voice was just as true, crisp and clear as it had been when he sang it at the Christmas concert, and when he finished, everyone began clapping, not just my family.

“Hey, Clive. Is that one of your new soloist,” someone shouted.

“I should be so lucky,” he replied. “He’s just here on a walkabout, but he’s really aces.” After saying that, he turned back to Dion. “How old are you?”

“I’m seventeen, sir,” Dion answered.

“And where have you studied or who have you trained with?” the man named Clive pressed on.

“Uh, just my high school music teacher and I’ve taken some lessons at the University of Pittsburgh,” Dion told him.

“Well, son, don’t waste that talent,” Clive continued. “God doesn’t give gifts like that away very often and there aren’t many that could do what you just did. I hope you intend to pursue a career in music and don’t squander such a precious talent. You could probably do well singing opera, if you’re not opposed to that idea.”

“My music teacher told me the same thing,” Dion admitted, “but I not sure about that. I am going to study music at college, so maybe I will try opera too. I just don’t know yet. I know Dad listens to Luciano Pavarotti a lot, so I’ve heard it and all, and it is really pretty.” Clive turned to face me.

“So you’re this young bloke’s father?” he asked, and I nodded. “Well, it would take some work, but I think he has a chance to come pretty close to matching Pavarotti. Even if he doesn’t, I believe he could have as fine of a career as Jose Carreras or Placido Domingo.” I recognized those names as being the other two tenors Pavarotti often performed with and realized what esteemed company this gentleman was placing Dion in.

“We both appreciate the compliment,” I acknowledged, “and I will do all I can to encourage his pursuits.” Clive nodded, then shook Dion’s hand and gave him a few more parting words of encouragement, before he left us. As soon as he was gone, Dion’s brothers barraged him with comments.

“That was beautiful! You made me cry,” Trey informed him.

“Dion, I wouldn’t say this to just anyone,” Dustin began, “but that was truly awesome. You sent shivers up and down my spine.”

“Dion, that Clive guy was right,” Danny added. “You can already sing as well as most guys that are earning a living doing this, so once you get some training, you’ll be absolutely unstoppable.” Dion was looking a bit embarrassed, because of all of this attention.

“Hey, I know I pull everyone’s chain now and again,” Ricky interjected, “but there’s no way I can make fun of what you just did. I mean you must have seen all of those people coming out here just to hear you sing, and even they were impressed. I’m sure that’s not easy to do, since they get to listen to professionals all the time. Dang, Dion, you’ve got some real talent there.”

I think hearing Ricky tell him this helped to convince Dion of their sincerity, even if the others had not. He knew Ricky would have been the first one to tease him, had he not truly felt this way, so he thanked everyone for what they’d said and promised he’d do the best he could with his singing.

Once we left the Opera Theatre, we also learned there are some smaller theaters in this building as well, beginning with the Drama Theatre, which has 544 seats and is used by the Sydney Theatre Company and other groups. There is also the Playhouse, with its 398 seats, the Studio, a flexible area seating up to 400, the Utzon Room, which is a multi-purpose area seating up to 210, and the Forecourt, a flexible open-air venue. The complex also had a recording studio, restaurants, souvenir shops and a few offices. It is a truly amazing place.

Our next stop was to the Sydney Tower, or AMP Tower – as it is also known. It is the tallest freestanding structure in Sydney and the second tallest in Australia. It looms to a height over just over 1,000 feet (305 m). The observation deck is located at 879 feet (268 m) and we got to see some magnificent views from there. Mr. Dennis pointed out many different areas of interest to me, including the Blue Mountains.

“You’ve definitely got to spend some time in the Blue Mountains,” Mr. Dennis urged.

“Yes, it’s simply lovely there, even at this time of year,” his wife agreed.

“I guess you don’t remember my telling you this earlier,” I replied, “but we do have some activities scheduled in that area.” They both seemed satisfied with my response.

By the time we finished there, the boys were becoming hungry, so I decided we’d eat at one of the revolving restaurants that were also open to the public. We went to the buffet restaurant, because I knew that would better meet the needs of my hungry young men, plus we got to enjoy the spectacular view a little longer as we dined.

“Wow, this is wonderful!” Pat exclaimed, while glancing out the window. “You can see everything from up here, but maybe I appreciate it more than the others, because I remember what it was like when I couldn’t see anything.” I believe we all reflected back upon the time when Pat had lost his vision, due to an accident, and we suddenly became more appreciative of the view ourselves.

After we returned to ground level, I hustled everyone off to our final activity of the day, which was a sunset/evening cruise of Sydney Harbor. Yes, I know we’ve spent a lot of time on ships in the past, especially during last summer’s vacation, but I was told it was a lovely way to get a different perspective of the city, so I decided to take advantage of it. The city looked beautiful as the sunlight began to fade, but it was even more spectacular once the area lit up after dark. It was a truly unique view of this fascinating place and one that will probably stay with us for a while to come.

As soon as we finished the cruise, we took Mr. Dennis back to pick up his car and then I followed their lead to the cabins we would be staying at. After listening to Peter beg and plead for a while, and after receiving my assurance that it would be fine, the Dennises agreed to allow him to stay with us. Mrs. Dennis said they’d drop off some things for him the next day, so he’d have something else to wear, even though we were planning on using Sunday to rest up and become a little more acclimated to the time change. Despite the fact that we had slept more than a little on the flight over, we were all quite tired by this point, even though it was still quite early in Australia.

The cabins were actually quite nice and spacious, and since we had already decided who was going to share each of the cabins, the boys took their things and went off to clean up and rest, while Jake and I thanked Mr. and Mrs. Dennis for their help.

“It was our pleasure, old chap, and the missus and I would like to thank you for allowing us to show you around Sydney earlier,” he countered. “I feel badly that you insisted on paying for everything though. I would say you spent a bloody fortune taking us around to all of those places and it’s only your first day in Australia.”

I assured him the rest of the trip wouldn’t be as costly, but told him it was our pleasure to do it and have them serve as our guides. I thanked them again, and then went into our cabins, after they left for home.

As it turned out, Ricky and Peter were staying with Jake and I, so they could discuss any last minute changes to our schedule and be able to find out what we thought of what they had planned for the day we had just spent together.

“What did you think of Sydney, Pop?” Peter asked me, once we were alone.

“I thought it was absolutely marvelous and you boys did a great job planning our activities,” I told him. “It was a little rushed, but not too badly, but I think everyone enjoyed the things we did.”

“Yes, but when we go back to Sydney, you’ve got to climb the bridge with us. You promised! Remember?” Ricky reminded me.

“I do,” I confirmed, “and we even changed some things around and did them today instead, so we’d have time to do the bridge climb before we went home. I promise we will do it before we leave.” Ricky and Peter both seemed satisfied with my promise, so we began cleaning up and getting ready for bed.

Although Peter wasn’t as tired as we were, he still went to bed at the same time, because he wanted to stay on our schedule. I thought that was sweet of him and told him so, and then he replied.

“I should be able to do some things for you too, since you’ve done so much for me,” he explained. “You went and spent a whole lot of money on my parents and me again today, by taking us all those places with you, so I guess I can go to sleep a bit early without griping.”

I just smiled at his comment and wished Ricky and him sweet dreams. As they headed off to their room, Jake and I did the same. We had another full day ahead of us tomorrow.