Airbus to Australia

We are off to Australia.

There was an old commercial that said, “getting there is half of the fun.” I can’t imagine a 15 hour flight described as “fun” but, we shall see. We will be spending that time in a Qantas Airbus 380, a double deck uber-plane with a flying population of nearly 500. That exceeds the population of over half the towns in North Dakota.

An Airbus 380 soars over Sydney 
(We will be climbing the bridge, sitting beneath the tail, later in the trip.)

Compared with the first permanent Australian settlers, who arrived in 1788, ours will be a very fast trip. The “First Fleet," consisting of two navy ships, three supply ships and six convict ships, carried over 1000 convicts, sailors and marines. Their voyage lasted over 250 days. I suspect their food did not match the Qantas fare. And, while we have a return ticket booked, they went south with a one-way ticket.

The "First Fleet" arrives in Australia.

So, on reflection, I have no cause for complaint and I do have plenty of Ambien.

The time change will also tax my math skills. I believe I may need most of the flight to figure out what day and time it is when we arrive. We leave Los Angles, late Friday evening. We fly 15 hours and arrive in Melbourne Sunday morning. Somehow we miss Saturday all together. I’m told we will get it back when we return. I hope so. At my age I can’t afford to waste days.

As near as I can calculate Sydney is 18 hours ahead of Seattle. I find it easier to think that they are six hours behind us, tomorrow. Think about it!

So off we go, fortunate to live in 2015, rather than 1788.