A last-minute invitation brought me back to Gold Coast this summer for the APVRS congress. My chauffeur picked me up immediately after I came home from my division meeting to board the 12-hr flight to Brisbane. My early morning arrival gave me a chance to explore the city a bit. I picked up a magic coffee from Espresso Garage and Biscoff croissant from C’est du Gateau to stroll the South Bank Parklands, stopping at a park at Kangaroo Point to practice my talk, then walked across the heritage-listed cantilever Story Bridge to explore the Howard Smith Wharves. Dining waterside on the solid prix-fixe menu at Yoko Dining had me in near-coma on the hour-long ride to my hotel, which was thankfully a bridge-connection away from the convention center. Filling on reception hors d’oeuvres allowed me to skip dinner to turn in early. I awoke early Saturday to catch up on emails on traverse the massive Pacific Fair mall for quality Hakataya Ramen. Our lively symposium on gene therapy awarded the speakers cuddly koala stuffies that was pleasant company for nap time following a swim at the rooftop pool. The evening gala at the Australian Outback Spectacular was an impressive albeit cringy dinner show that follows a community of Aussie farmers persevering through drought and bankruptcy, complete with live horse stunts, cattle mustering, quad bike races, aerial dancers, rain effects, and a full-scale helicopter. The food itself was basic, but got me through the night to catch my morning flight home Sunday. Despite the short trip, I could not escape jetlag and slumbered through Coyote vs. Acme with my family. We did get to try out the Fukumi Ramen that opened in Davis, as well as a few games of Top Golf with my lab. The games were nonsensical and Westley had no hidden talent for the sport, but we at least enjoyed the fried snacks and an excuse to drag us away from a long weekend of fighting ronins and raiders in Ezo.