I’ve never seen Ballina Airport as busy as it was yesterday. Generally, I can turn up at security and be through within a couple of minutes. But yesterday, there was a lengthy queue, and inside the lounge was crowded.

Though I generally arrive well ahead of time, I caught up with a colleague from Sydney who is about to commence work at the local ABC Radio station in Lismore. It’s not like she’s a blow-in, having grown up in nearby Grafton, and she’ll be staying with her aunt at a nearby village.

Hopefully, I gave her some useful tips for both work and pleasure. “This is the third coolest bar in town”, I told her and her partner as we enjoyed a glass of wine at The Sherwood. “The new bar, The Levee, is super cool, and after that, you should check out the rooftop bar at The Metropole”, I told them. “The best coffee shop in town is Benchtop”, I told her, adding that the newly opened coffee shop, Blueys was also good. It was a lovely catchup.

Aside from the airport lounge, the flight back to Sydney was also pretty busy. I don’t think there was a free seat.

Flying in over Sydney was wonderful. Despite the heavy cloud, there were awesome views.

Though it’s only 24 hours, I’m enjoying being back in my apartment.