Well, not really. It’s just that the line from the Little River Band song has been going through my head all day…

Twelve thousand miles is such a long way

In this case, the singer is referencing the distance between Vegas and Sydney. But it works in reverse too. Australia is FAR! And although they speak English, different. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be an Australian dreaming of success in the music business. First you’ve got to make it in your own country, then you’ve got to translate in a country so far away, everything’s in reverse.

Sydney is not like L.A. It’s a real city. With high rises. It’s cosmopolitan. And friendly. The ticket-seller at the quay didn’t run out of patience when I asked him about the details of a trip to Manly. Whereas in New York, you wouldn’t get ANY information, never mind the correct details.

Yes, we took the ferry to Manly. We crossed the gap where the ocean rolls in. And roll the ferry did. I’m not that great on the water to begin with. I held on tight as the captain instructed us to. Out there, was the…South Pole?

And after walking the Corso from the dock we encountered the ocean. Forbidding on this grey day. But the surfers, they were out in force in the fading light.

Earlier in the day, we journeyed to the Powerhouse Museum in the pouring rain. I’d like to say it’s the equal of those in London. Alas, it’s not. But, there was a space exhibit, detailing the achievements of not only the astronauts, but the cosmonauts. What a different era the sixties were. Sure, we consumed. But we were riveted by the space race. Imagine men walking on the moon today. Seems impossible.

After lunch in the Customs House, I sneaked into the men’s bathroom to lighten my load before our trip over the water. Got to tell you, I still don’t have the urinals figured out. Do you pee THROUGH the grate, or do you STAND on the grate and pee against the wall?

At first I was sure you shot from terra firma, the tile, that the grate was decorative. But on my numerous journeys to the loo I’ve encountered Australians STANDING on the grate. So, today I decided to follow suit. Only one problem, not everybody could make the wall. The bars of the grate were spotted with droplets. I’m not going to stand in urine. Is everybody else?

Tomorrow we take that big bird home. Arriving about the same time we left. I’ve liked being one day ahead, I’m about to be one day behind again.

Tonight we’re going to dinner on the wharf, at the Quay restaurant. We’ll look through the glass at the bridge. And the opera house. It will be bittersweet, but it will all feel normal and real. But when we get home on Tuesday, the aching will begin. We’ll encounter true normal. And that will be disappointing.

In the upcoming weeks, you can see the Little River Band in the U.S. But it’s the band in name only. The original members have lost the right to use that moniker. That’s rock and roll. Or rock and roll managers. But the men who wrote and performed those hits all those years ago are playing Down Under tonight in Brisbane. And Friday in Sydney. I won’t be here. But I’ll continue to listen to "Home On Monday" and the opus that hooked me to begin with, "It’s A Long Way There".

Now I know how long it truly is. The fact that anybody can make it from a country so small in population and so far away is truly stunning. But cut a record good enough, and it will take you on a trip around the world.

It’s a long way there. But, like the record says, you’ve got to keep on trying.

Keep on keepin’ on.