Aussie Update #2

The flight.

My god, if I never come back to Canada it will be just to do anything in my power to avoid that flight again. Ottawa to Chicago was okay, a quick 2-hour jaunt, except for the woman sitting directly behind me who, everytime we hit turbulance, yelled loudly "WE'RE GOING DOWN!!!!" Not exactly the reassurance I would have appreciated...Chicago I was stuck in the airport bar (hey, I'm on vacation here!) for five hours, bored to death. Then off to L.A. for a four-hour flight, most of which was turbulent, that I couldn't even go to the bathroom because the seatbelt sign was on most of the flight. We were about a half hour late, so I had a real run ahead of me in the LA airport, to catch my next flight to Sydney. (Which, by the way, was NOT on my itinerary). I was pretty well going insane on that 14-hour flight so with the help of a few Gravols and some red wine...umm....and some Bailey's, I was nice and sleepy. Unfortunately, I was also REALLY uncomfortable, so I would doze off in 20-minute periods. This means I have seen bits and pieces of The Family Stone, Fever Pitch, Walk the Line, Pride and Prejudice, and some other movie I can't recall. In Sydney I had only 10 minutes, but then the announcement came "........and so because of this mechanical failure, passengers will not be allowed to board the aircraft for at least an hour. You are invited to leave the boarding area if you should choose to do so."

Okay, I figure I will wander the airport shops (yes, they have Kangaroo Jerky) and all is going well when I hear..."LAST CALL FOR PASSENGER (insert my last name here)" OOops...turns out that mechanical delay was for a different flight, not mine...of course this is the time when I now get picked for a "random bag check" - barely made it to Melbourne...but, here I am.

Now, I'm off to enjoy the sunny day, but will update more later...