USA to Melbourne, Australia
Weather: Negative 1 million at 36000 feet, then about 10 celcius on landing. Brrr.
This post by: Craig
I warn you now, nothing happens in this post. I implore you to reminisce on the boat day, the golf day, the Californian shenanigans, the Winchester Mystery House, the Twin Peaks and Seattle joys, the cycling in Chicageee ... so much stuff, and so many happy people!
But anyway, here's the final post for the trip.
Waking up is hard, and having to prep for the final leg home was tough. But we were determined not to miss any flights, like we did in Chicago, as one missed flight could have screwed all four, and that would mean MASSIVE BUCKS. So no, we dragged our sorry asses (and our sorry luggage) to the car, and Gene and Marshall were ace to give us a lift to the airport, after a delicious home-made Marshall coffee to see us off to a good start!
(There was no time for a photo of the actual coffee or Marshall!)
The quality of florists decreased rapidlyWe made the airport on time and practised our 'waiting in an airport' skillz, which would come in handy. 4 flights ahead, 36 hours of traveling and/or waiting around, yeeeeesh! Thank crikey we could check our luggage in 5 hours early at LA. Nice!
We got real good at luggage and escalators But let's not dwell on the dull moments! Let's just summarise!
Los Angeles The flights were all pretty good! We did Kentucky to Texas, Texas to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to New Zealand, New Zealand to Melbourne. The plane was still too warm for good sleeping on the long trip, but maybe it's just being down the back of the plane. Next time, we sit further forward.
Somewhere over California Highlights of the plane and the waiting included:
* Watching a new mother jiggling her baby about happily, then turning away to miss seeing the baby puke all over her tshirt, then turning back to discover the mess. Lesson? Don't jiggle babies to celebrate getting through some jiggly turbulence. :)
* This is Spinal Tap. We only watched 15 minutes before Crystal passed out, but it was as good as I remembered!
* 30 Rock. And 'laptops'. Good lord, if you have to wait for 5 hours for your next flight and it's gonna be a long one, then having a great show like 30 Rock and a laptop to watch it on is GOLD! Funniest part is scouring the whole terminal to find a power socket that isn't already being used by small pockets of people, also using their laptops to kill the time. It's like finding a lamp that doesn't have moths and insects all round it. Funny!
And then we were home!
Upon returning to our normal lives, the highlights have been:
* "Wow, you've actually got a tan!" (thanks, Kentucky!)
* Cool air, and dry tshirts (good lord, Kentucky, that was some HUMIDS!)
* Not living out of suitcases... Sleeping in our own bed. Suhweeeeeet!
The last vestige of our trip came courtesy of cousin Jordan, shown here in the bedroom he was kind enough to share with us... with his favourite poster...
Two good things to come out of Kentucky, Jordan and Ashley Jordan had this postcard on his desk, which I spotted while internetting...
Postcard from Happy Cholesterol Land... and it resulted in this awesome dinner, back in Melbourne!
The "Mile High Salsa Pie" Recommended: 1 serve per month And that's it!
Thanks to everyone for a TOTALLY AWESOME holiday and a great FamFest, thanks and big love to our wonderful old friends, our wonderful new friends, and our awesome families. Oops, they're cueing the music like at the Oscars, we better go...
So until the next holiday, or if something bloggable happens, adios and thanks for all the reading!
TOOTOOOOOOT!!!
Craig & Crystal
