Tuesday, November 8, 2011

From the 29th Floor in a Perth Office Building

"So my tent does leak," I thought, staring at the roof late last night. I thought briefly about rushing into the car with my sleeping bag, mat, and pillow, but the outside between me and the car was a lot wetter than the inside.

Fortunately, the rain stopped a minute later. But the wind howled all night. 

I'd made it all the way back to suburban Perth over the course of the day, starting in Jurien Bay and visiting Pinnacles, the Benedictine monastery town of New Norcia, then stopping at Yanchep National Park to see a cave and go on a koala information walk before I drove back to Perth where I ended up sitting in the parking lot of a shopping center, watching the rain come down.

"Should I go to a hotel? Should I drive until the rain stops?"

But I didn't want to drive more south than where I was already. The town of Hillarys—where the whale-watching trip I wanted to go on leaves from—was just up the road from the campground that I'd stayed at last week. And that had been all right. 

I called the whale guys. 

"We don't have a trip tomorrow due to the weather." 
Oh. Camping was going to be fun then. 

"Do you have one on Wednesday?" 

"Yes, and that one includes admissions to the aquarium."

Hmmm. I called a Perth Regus serviced office. These are the guys that run the serviced office my company uses in New York. 

"Sure, you can come in and use our business lounge. We can just look up your company on the computer." 

Fine. I'd sit in a nice office all day on Tuesday, while my tent was battered by the wind, and on Wednesday, I'd go look at whales.

I caught the bus right outside the campground gate this morning, and for $3.80 got a ticket that included the train transfer all the way to the center of Perth. I walked four blocks and waltzed right in to an office that closely resembled my New York one, though it wasn't quite as new. And that's where I am right now, in a windowless office. I brought my umbrella, though the wind would just destroy it.

I hope my tent is still standing. 



No comments:

Post a Comment