Return to USA

On Airport Shuttle

             On Monday, 22 Oct 2012 in Sydney, Australia our alarm woke us up at 6:00 AM.  (We set two clocks, just in case.)  After dressing, eating breakfast, and finishing packing, we made it down to the lobby on time.  The shuttle arrived at 8:30 AM, and got us to the airport a half-hour later.  The airport layout seemed a little confusing, but we soon learned that the airline counters were arranged in alphabetical order; however, we still could not locate Qantas Airlines.  We were informed by one of the staff that the Qantas Airline’s counter was located in the C-D area (phonetic alphabet arrangement?).

            Our plane took off at 11:52, almost an hour late.  After only about 3 hours of sleep (typical for her before a trip), very soon Sally came down with stage one of a cold (runny nose and sneezing), which made for a miserable day; our cold medications were stowed in checked luggage.  On the plane, we were served a nice dinner and complimentary drinks (we chose white wine).  Later, we were served a snack consisting of a small, very tasty, packaged roasted red pepper pizza.  Lots of movies were available on the flight.  We both watched “Dark Shadows,” a comedy with Johnny Depp, and Jesse watched several others.  About 4:30 AM, we were served breakfast, which interrupted Jesse’s movie-watching.  We even had a choice of hot or cold breakfast.

            The plane landed in Los Angeles at 6:30 AM, Monday, 22 October which, by the clock, appeared to be five hours before we left Sydney.  Thus, we started Monday all over again!  (Sally’s watch, still on Sydney time, read Tuesday, 12:30 AM.)  Since we were scheduled for a close departure time to Dallas, we were given orange “expedite” boarding passes after we cleared customs, which helped us move faster through security.  Luckily, we made it to our gate just in time for departure.  (Surprisingly, it was also faster to change from the international to domestic terminal in L.A. than in most other major hubs we have used.)

            The flight to Dallas was on a much smaller plane, with no movies and only the usual domestic flight offerings: nonalcoholic drinks with no snacks.  We landed at the Dallas airport 10 minutes ahead of schedule.  There, we purchased cold medication for Sally, which improved her cold symptoms but upset her stomach.  Our flight to Peoria was scheduled for 2:50 PM on an even smaller plane, but due to mechanical problems, the plane did not leave Dallas until 4:30 PM, arriving in Peoria at 6:00 PM.  After driving to Bettendorf, we stopped to eat dinner and then arrived home by 9:00 PM.  Sally was asleep within the next hour – the end of a 40-hour Monday!  (Of course, Jesse stayed up even longer, dozing while watching a replay of the Presidential debates.)

            We slept until the phone rang on Tuesday afternoon after 1:00.  Although Jesse got up, Sally continued sleeping until 5:00 PM.  Probably it will take a few days to resume a normal sleep schedule.  Yes, Jesse is already planning our next cruise, next time maybe to the Far East, but first he has to clean the basement – Sally’s orders.

THE END