Steve and I are in Canberra, Australia! It was a 3-plane trip: Dallas to Los Angeles to Sydney to Canberra. The long ride over the water took 14 hours but it wasn’t as bad as I remember it being. The Qantas aircraft was a practically new A380. We were in economy but the seats were pretty comfortable and there is a really nice foot-net under the seats. It’s not really a foot-rest – it is more of a net (or sling) that supports your feet and lower legs. Every plane should have them.

We bought some flat, inflatable seat cushions from LL Bean before we left home. I will never again fly without mine. Plane seats are very hard and these help.

On the flight from Sydney to Canberra we were on a prop plane. The propellers were right outside my window. I try not to dwell on them when they are moving.

It was a short flight but the flight attendants hid time to serve tea and coffee. They gave us each a tablemat ‘package’. The mat is similar to a thick paper towel – but better. I got a green one and Steve’s was a purple/indigo. When open they almost cover the tray table. A fold on the left holds a sleeve with a napkin, sugar, and stirrer. I have to say that Qantas pays a lot more attention to design details than I am used to in an airline.

It is hot at home in Texas – hovering around 100 degrees. It’s late winter in Canberra and the trees are just budding out. We got out and walked in the breezy cold air – and later in the rain. As Steve says “we are training our circadian rhythm to a new zeitgeber” (zeit means time and geber means giver). I hope to go to bed around 10:00 PM and wake up in the morning good as new.

PS – That didn't happen. We crashed at 7:30 and slept for 11 hours!