Day 2: Crossing the IDL & Arriving in Sydney (Fri 10/31/14)

Well, on Day 2 of the ‘Golf Journey to Australia & New Zealand,’ I made it to Sydney after a 10-hour flight from Honolulu! Or was today Day 3 too? I thought I was leaving from Honolulu and arriving in Sydney on the same day but not exactly as I fly over the International Date Line. According to Wikipedia, the IDL is an imaginary line on the surface of the Earth that runs from the North to the South Pole and demarcates backward calendar day from the next. It passes through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180 degree longitude. I have no idea what that means but the lady Sydneysider sitting in 27D aside me told me that when we land in Sydney it will be Friday, not Thursday. So I missed my first connection in Sydney which was scheduled for Thursday afternoon! Reminded me of how I lost my very first job out of college with Mobil Oil before I ever started But that is another story. Hawaiian Airlines Flight 451 was a good flight especially in terms of the hospitable staff and the fact that they feed you and feed you well! Being on time, not too bumpy and being able to pick your own premium movies when you want to also made it a great flight! I watched a Korean golf movie with English subtitles called ‘Mr. Perfect.’ It was the fictional story (I think) of Baek Se-Jin, an amazing golf talent, whose life spins out of control and bottoms out when his manager is killed when he is drunk driving, as they called it in the movie. He escapes to a small island where he saves a school while the young children, one who Se-Jin develops into a champion junior golfer, while they save him from a useless life. Good story and a testament to how popular golf is becoming in Asia. Arriving in Sydney I had the distinct pleasure of watching a nice custom official empty completely my roller bag and backpack and open and search my rigid golf travel bag. No worries, I am a day late anyhow! The cell phone SIM card option didn't work with my phone so I ended up buying a new phone but now I have GPS and a way to communicate with all my new Aussie friends! A rental car was still there for me a day later and also the room I am staying in for the first week near the University of New South Wales! Driving the car was a bit tricky as like in the UK they drive on the left side of the road here in Australia. "Think Left, Left, Left" were words of wisdom from Dick Donovan the renown book collector  when I made my first trip across the pond to St. Andrews with my older son Joe. However, when a pedestrian crossing the street, you better look right because that's where the cars in the closest lane to the sidewalk come from. My biggest challenge will be having the blinkers on the right side of the steering wheel as I turned on the windshield wipers a hundred times as I drove the 10 km. to my new home in Kingsford. All in all, a great first, and second, day here in Australia! Sunset was 7:22 pm, sunrise will be 5:55 am with the days getting longer. It was another day (or two) with twenty hours of sunshine in it. I am 9,631 miles from home and 15 hours ahead timewise. So I here in Sunny Sydney heading to bed while my buddy Stokes is teeing it up back in Ponte Vedra Beach. Now that I am here it is time to find the golf! Arrived in Sydney but not sure what day it was! (-:   (Facebook Link, Andy Reistetter, 10/31/14)