I think she did want to escape.  As for California, the state had a mystical aura back then enticing people to flock in droves over its borders.  Your grandmother went to work in the state TB hospital half way between Pringle and Custer.   She boarded there and did not have a car.  It was cute valley but I am sure it was lonely.  Custer/Pringle was not HOME……………. that designation was either Mission or Campbell, NE.  I would want to create distance from Cyril Fuller.  I am sure that was paramount.  She had been to Chicago and Delaware so the east must have not been her thing.  Traveling to exotic destinations was more of  big thing back then.  Fairly easy now.  I doubt she had Australian on her mind but after being in the bay area working, Matson line cruise ships were sitting there saying TRAVEL WITH ME OVERSEAS.   Their dock was on the west side of SF harbor not too far from where she worked. I have to run so will talk later about food. – pzdid

I do not think Lani made it to Australia, but your grandmother did.  There were plans for another trip but was issues prevented it.  The Matson line boats were pressed into military service, although they did take some foreign nationals back home.   It was rather impossible to leave people stranded for years.   Your mom returned to the USA shortly before the war ended on a military boat (???? which one) and they were supposed to dock in S.F. but were attacked near the coast.   She had photos of the damaged boat in her little photo album (almost pocket sized).   The boat ended up 29 days later in Seattle.  The damage was bad and it finally ended up being towed.   Aunt Ara Fuller Bjornstadt picked her up there until transit to California could be arranged.      She had a fiend named Edna Yeoman that wrote her very often and mentioned many times how much she wanted to have your grandmother come back again.   She lived in Dandenong, which is a suburb of Melbourne.  The boat she traveled on was the USS Mariposa and was on the Lurline at one time, too.   I do not think she sailed on the Matson Monterey or Chandris.   I do NOT know how long in duration the Australia thing was.  It could have been weeks or years.   ????????????  I know she said their paper was poor grade with pulp blobs in it making writing difficult with other comments about drab buildings and poor transit systems.   If I remember some more, I will let you know.  – pzxMATSON LURLINE LINKhttp://www.cardcow.com/15866/matson-lines-luxury-liner-lurline-transportation-boats-ships/

Source: Zeimet, Peter  Paul. Australia, 3 Sept. 2013.