I am in the guest room of Traveler Nell’s parents house in a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Wide awake at 4:00AM, I’ve been up for the since 12:30 AM (after sleeping 4½ hours. I am spent the past hour in a half cursing my Circadian rhythm and Foxtel for opting to show the Seattle/Texas baseball game instead of Yankees/Tampa Bay.
All in all the trip was quite an experience. Traveler Nell has made the trip several times so she has this down to a science.
•We left Two Travelers Plaza at 3:00PM on Thursday afternoon heading to JFK international airport.
•Arriving at approximately 3:45 we headed to the Business Class check-in for Qantas since Traveler Nell is a long time member of the Qantas Club. There was no line as we were several hours early.
•After check-in we were screened at the First Class security check point which was also completely empty where we were processed within minutes and were headed to the British Airways “Terrace Lounge” where Qantas Club members are welcomed.
Sony Noise-cancelling Headphones
•On our way to the lounge we passed a Best Buy Express vending machine. It was amazing. Filled with all sort of nerdly goods from portable TV’s to a wide range of iPods to Garmin gps. Unable to resist we picked up a pair of Sony Noise-canceling headphones. A God-send these turned out to be to drown out engine noise.
•In the lounge we grabbed a gentile sufficiency of shortbread cookies (biscuits) and I recklessly tried the shrimp salad and watercress finger sandwich. It wasn’t until the bite sized morsel was heading down the alimentary canal did the thought of foolhardiness of eating fish in an airport strike me. (Nothing happened)
•At the lounge we had complete reign over the satellite television room. The lounge was fairly busy so the lack of company was surprising, though not unwelcome.
•At 6:30PM we headed to the gate, boarded the plane and settled into our seats. The flight to LA was delayed by ½ hour due to congestion. Luckily we made this time up in the air.
•Compared to many airlines, Qantas is head and shoulders above with regard to the long haul travel. Between the food, the entertainment or the crackerjack service, it was the best air-travel experience I have ever had. I wont describe the meals as that is a trademark of Traveler Nell but believe me when I say they (or at least mine) were good.
•Landing in LA on time a little before 1:00AM Eastern (10:00PM local) we had 1½ hours before our connecting flight so we headed to the British Airways/Cathay Pacific/Qantas lounge at LAX. There was a nice little buffet of both Chinese and Mexican dishes.
•We headed to the departure gate to catch our flight to Melbourne and learned we would be on one of the 747-400’s decorated with Aboriginal art
•Everyone was on-board in time to take off on time of 2:20AM Eastern. Unfortunately there was an ill passenger that delayed leaving the gate by 15 minutes. Then there was a delay in being able to leave the gate. Once we were in line to take off the sick passenger decided the couldn’t fly after all so we returned to the gate and we placed at the back of the take-off line again. (This is where I had my first taste of sleep; napping until the plane took off an hour and a half late.)
•Once in the air the excellent entertainment came in handy. My only comment on the movies is to say was it really necessary to show the Lawrence Taylor/Joe Theisman leg break tackle so many times at the start of The Blind Side?
•The flight from LA to Melbourne is 15 hours long. I’m going to repeat that and let it sink in. The flight from LA to Melbourne is 15 hours long.
•According to the Traveler Nell long-haul Westerly travel guide you are to stay awake until 9 hours out of your destination. Alas this advice is terrific if you can fall asleep on planes.
So basically except for an hour here or there I cannot. All told I estimate that I slept no more than four hours from the outset of the journey to when we left the airport at 8:00PM Eastern (10:00AM local time) 29 hours door to door or 37 hours since I woke up the day before. I took an hour nap yesterday afternoon and slept a good 4 ½ hours last night.
When I return home there will be 2 months until the Start! Wall Street Heart Walk. Support me and help out a great organization, the American Heart Association. If you are comfortable making a secure online donation, the link on the left hand column of this site will bring you to my donation page. (Please note the AHA’s website requires a minimum donation of $25.00) If you prefer to make a donation of any size by check you can send that directly to me by post. Please email me at TravelerBill@TravelerBill.com for the mailing address.