After 1 month, 2 conferences, 4 concerts, 7 cities, 2 trains, 2 buses, 10 flights (with 3 more to come), and countless amazing humans, it’s time to head home to Melbourne.

My home town remains my favourite place to be in the world, but still, this trip has provided many moments of joy. Here are just some of my favourites:

In Williamsburg, I got to have brunch with Lachlan, Ellie, and the curious kitten Sir Edward. The food was delicious, the company delightful, but the kitten cuddles may have been the best part.

At Ruby for Good I was able to piece together enough clues to win a werewolf game for the villagers (even though the last wolf killed me). Werewolf is often chaotic and nonsensical, so it’s a nice surprise to win a game so clearly and logically!

In Washington DC Katie and I got to experience some amazing Lime and Coriander sorbet (or Cilantro on this side of the Pacific). It was at Dolcezza’s Logan Circle store, for anyone near that corner of the world.

I’ve grown up listening to the music of Peter Gabriel - just one of many musical influences from my father. His albums - old and new - are ones I continue to listen to, and so when I realised he was touring the US with Sting while I’m here, I knew I had to see him live for the first time. The tour’s opening show in Columbus Ohio fitted neatly into my schedule, so that is where I went! And the gig was brilliant - especially In Your Eyes and Solsbury Hill - but it would have been even better if my dad and youngest brother were there to enjoy it as well.

The next stop in my trip was Nashville to see Kishi Bashi - which was also a superb concert. The performance that dominated the night, though, was the thunderstorm that hit a few hours later. The lightning was searing the sky with barely a pause, the rain was bucketing down, and it was so glorious to watch (especially because I was inside and dry).

And finally, this morning I got to sit down with Steve - a former colleague, a fellow cofounder of Trampoline, and a dear friend - to discuss my current hunt for a new job. Now that he lives in San Francisco instead of Melbourne, I don’t get to catch up with him or his amazing family nearly as often as I would like, and today’s conversation was a wonderful reminder of his intelligence and wisdom.

There are many other wonderful friends who I’ve spent time with on this trip, and many more who I didn’t quite catch but would have loved to if circumstances had been kinder. You’ve all played a part in making this trip special, thank you!

Now, it’s time to board. Only 25 hours or so until I’m back in Melbourne!