Australia 9/2/2019 - 9/22/2019 |
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Sunday, 9/22/2019 - DepartureWe woke up at 5 a.m., had breakfast at 6:30, and the car that the front desk had arranged was waiting for us when we checked out at 8 o'clock.We arrived at the airport before 8:30, checked in, and went through security. As we walked through one particularly long corridor, we saw the "Panda Art Parade." 2017 was the Year of China-Australia Tourism, and many panda statues had been painted in various Australian motifs to celebrate (it reminded us of the Buddy Bears of Berlin which we had seen in 2004). Craig was tired and the distance was pretty far, so he sat on a bench to rest while I photographed eighteen bear statues. We went downstairs to a spacious open gate area. Our gate was at the far end, but they were soon cordoning off that area and making people move elsewhere. They set up security equipment and carefully regulated entry to the gate once they were ready to admit people. We wondered if something had happened in the world to prompt a sudden increase in security. We were a bit out of touch with the news, so it was certainly possible. When we boarded our Virgin Australia flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles, we were seated in two aisle seats in the middle section. The seat between us was empty, which afforded us plenty of space even though we were seated in Economy. Perfect for such a long flight! They fed us beef stroganoff, fruit custard, cheese and crackers, and bread. Craig drank a Wild Yak Pacific Ale. I typed up notes on my laptop, but then I ran out of battery power. There was no outlet at my seat, and I asked the flight attendant about it. He said that the seats don't have power, but he kindly offered to charge my laptop in the galley. While it was charging, I decided to watch a couple of movies to make the time pass. First I watched "Kursk," as I am fascinated with Russian submarines. As a kid, I loved "The Hunt for Red October," and when we went to St. Petersburg two years ago, we were able to tour the Whiskey Class Soviet Submarine C-189. We had talked to tour guide naval officer Igor, who said that he had been stationed on a nuclear sub like the Kursk. Wow, this movie was a tear-jerker. I was crying like a baby. Such a preventable tragedy, which was mishandled at so many levels in an effort to save face after the collapse of the Soviet Union. After that, I felt like I needed to watch something a bit more comforting, so I watched the new remake of "Murder on the Orient Express." I read the book as a teenager, and I have seen the original movie multiple times. I have just started to delve back into crime fiction for the first time in my adulthood. Revisiting this classic should be fun. I did not feel that a remake was warranted, but it was entertaining enough. The visuals were grand and I couldn't help thinking how much more romantic train travel is when compared to flying economy, I did, however, feel that certain plot details were glossed over, which led to some leaps in logic that didn't quite hold up. I prefer the original. The flight attendant brought my computer back, all charged up, which I greatly appreciated. Craig and I each had a chicken tandoori pizza, which was quite tasty. When we landed at LAX, Craig got a wheelchair. Our wheelchair attendant Ana from Honduras was delightful. We really enjoyed chatting with her, and she gave us hugs as she delivered us to our gate. The gate was a madhouse. It was bursting at the seams. The restroom lines snaked across the gate. There was no place to sit, and no good place to park Craig's wheelchair. We positioned him facing the ticket desk in front of a row of chairs. We were thirsty and had seen a Shake Shack on the way to the gate. We had been unaware of this chain, but Eric in our G Adventures group had talked it up. Vanilla milkshakes would cheer us up! So I went to Shake Shack and got into a huge line. When I finally placed my order, I was given a beeper and had to wait an additional 10 minutes for two vanilla shakes. You would think that a place called "Shake Shack" would at least be efficient in their shake-making. Get me outta here - I just want to go home! While I had been waiting far too long for shakes, the tide of people ebbed and flowed around Craig. There had been no safe place to park him, and he was feeling overwhelmed. When space opened up, a woman approached him and offered to relocate him. He was quite grateful and thanked her. She said that she is a veteran with PTSD, so she realizes how hard hidden illnesses can be. She moved him to a slightly more sheltered spot, facing an empty seat which they saved for me. I returned with the shakes. We wanted to use the restroom prior to boarding, but the lines were still ridiculously long. I went to the gates on the other side of the food court to see if they had additional bathrooms. The bathrooms on that side were exactly the same, and had equally long lines. We simply didn't have time to use the rest room prior to bvoarding. When we boarded the flight from LA to Boston, we were able to see about 2 minutes of the Patriots game before the signal cut out. They had a healthy lead, but really screwed up and allowed quite a few points during the brief time we watched. Maybe it was better for them that we couldn't tune in. We landed in Boston at around 8:30 p.m. By the time we went through Global Entry and collected our luggage, we were within 10 minutes of catching the Logan Express Bus. We waited 10 minutes, relaxed on the bus, and Craig's Mom picked us up at the Logan Express station and drove us back to the house. We owe her a lot of thanks, as she fed our cats twice daily while we were away! When we pulled into the driveway, our cat Inca was waiting in the front window for us! |
 Panda Art Parade at Melbourne Airport  Shake Shack at LAX  Inca waits up for us See all photos from September 22 |
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