2 Oct 10 – Sydney to San Francisco

By Lou: Fortunately we were all seated together for the 14 hour flight despite the other families checking in from Melbourne and us in Sydney. The first few hours flew by with excited discussions and then a yummy dinner was served. The kids watched some movies and played on their DSs for a few more hours and then we all settled in for a bit of a sleep. I’d say our family got about 4 – 5 hours sleep and then we were up again chatting. Breakfast of eggs was served to a resounding ‘oh gross’ (I suspect they were powdered eggs) and the movie playing at the time was of a bar scene complete with pole dancer. Good morning to you. We had a few more hours of chatting until we landed.

All the crew on United Airlines were American and I was looking forward to some over the top customer service…but it never came. They were really blunt and unhelpful. We got told off for using the buzzer to order a drink as it was expected we had to walk down to the galley and order drinks there. And even there it felt like you were really putting them out. Helen needed some assistance with turning off the air vent above her seat which she couldn’t reach because her daughter Ella was asleep on her lap but the summonsed steward just said she couldn’t reach it and walked away. There was probably one exception and that was when one steward hunted down the results of the AFL grand final replay for us.

By Craig: The flight started well but by the end the skin was crawling and I needed to get out of that little cigar tin. I guess coming out of the Northern Territory with its wide open spaces and into a seat for 14+ hours can do that.
A little red wine helped but I must say the service on US planes is a bit strange or they just don’t get the good old Aussie need for more wine at 3am in the morning.

2 Oct 10 – Sydney Airport

By Craig: Before we knew it, it was time to hop on the shuttle bus and head to Brisbane airport. With a 5.30am rise I don’t think I was truly awake until I was throwing my passport at someone in the Sydney International and catching up with the two other families we are heading to California with, the McConchies and Whites.
















By Lou: It was hard to believe the day had finally arrived to head to America. It was very exciting and all went well with the first leg of the trip, Ipswich to Brisbane airport.






The anxious nerves kicked in when our flight was delayed an hour and when we arrived in Sydney we felt we had to rush through the dazzling ‘city’ of duty free shopping, scoff down a quick burger lunch as we raced along the concourse listening to the boarding call for our flight….only to discover the call was for the flight to LA not San Francisco and in fact we had a leisurely 1 hour up our sleeve.








We met up with the McConchies and Whites and it was excited greetings all round. The boys didn’t skip a beat in reconnecting after an interval of 6 months.

1 Oct 10 - Ipswich

By Lou: It was lovely to catch up with some family in Ipswich. We also hit my mother in law Margaret’s washing machine pretty hard and marvelled at how many bags and ‘things’ we had packed away in the car as we emptied it for a clean.


Jaime is recovering from pneumonia but true to her fighting spirit she whipped up a brilliant spag bol for us and Dave one night and we had a great evening chatting. Grandson Seth is nearly two years old and just adorable. He was a bit shy when we first saw him but some Tonka trucks soon brought him out of his shell. After he saw us the first day he was asking Jaime for Sam and Poppy. I slipped her $50 to repeat ‘Nana Lou’ 50 times a day in his presence.



Sam was rapt to see Nana, sister Jaime, nephew Seth and cousins Beau, James and Hope. I was delighted that the week-long nagging of ‘when are we getting to Ipswich?’ was finally over.

Apologies to friends we didn’t have time to catch up with…perhaps it will be less manic when we return from our trip.



By Craig: Longreach was the last stop in holiday mode however on the way through to Ipswich we were able to stop over in Dalby and catch up with an old Whitsunday colleague. Aaron and his wife-to-be Katrina were very welcoming and we all enjoyed a dinner at the local tavern before camping in their driveway. In the past from time to time, Aaron and I had enjoyed a spot of fishing in Shute Harbour and had enjoyed catching Sweet Lip and Coral Trout but unfortunately time did not permit a fishing trip.


On to Ipswich with arrival at mum’s meaning it was finally time to unpack the trailer, fridges and clothes, check out damage to both vehicle and trailer and store all our stuff away for the 4 weeks we plan to be away in the USA and Melbourne. It was also an opportunity to catch up with Jaime-Lee and Seth (our beautiful grandson) and Dave, Seth's dad. Jaime was generous with her time and it was great to see Seth who was a little shy at first but his gorgeous little character shone through. Uncle Sam was also taken by the little man (Seth) and they played together well.
Sam was treated to an outing with his big sister and although it included a trip to the doc’s for Jaime he didn’t mind at all although upon return Jaime commented on the number of questions a 7 year old could ask in one outing. Our answer was simple: plenty and you have it all to look forward to.