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Introduction
Seattle to Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Brisbane
Brisbane to Sydney to Canberra
Canberra
Canberra to Melbourne
Melbourne
Qantas First Lounge Melbourne
Melbourne to Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Seattle
Conclusion

                                                                                                                                                                   

After Dinner I bid farewell to Kevin and reluctantly handed the 300C back to National Rental Cars. I didn’t want to give up what felt like my new love but I had to as there was a long fight ahead of me and some faces I wanted to see on the other end.

I was on the shuttle back to the airport and check in once it was full (which took about 10 minutes at that hour of the night). Once we arrived at T3 I grabbed the Suitcase of doom (which thankfully wouldn’t exist for much longer) and I was heading towards check in. I have previously blogged about T3 at LAX (since it seems to be my common terminal to fly out of there) but tonight was different. I was checking in and dropping a bag off for a Virgin Australia flight, not Virgin America.

There was no wait at the priority check in as I handed over my passport and I was asked how many pieces of luggage I was checking. As i put the suitcase of doom on the scales I tried to distract her from the weight of the suitcase by asking about the loads of the flight, but it didn’t work. This bag was way over weight and would of set me back $100 in excess luggage weight, but I had a little trick up my sleeve. Since the suitcase was sacrificial on the other end I pulled a rabbit out of my hat and did what I didn’t really want to do till I got to Aus. I split the suitcase in half.

I pulled out the suitcase I was using for my flights out of the suitcase of doom and left all the giveaways and gifts and candy in the suitcase of doom. Zipped it up and now miraculously I had 2 pieces of checked luggage, well within my allotment of 3 x 23kg. HAHA! I win! This stunned the check in agent as she looked at me and said “You seriously had 2 suitcases in one?” I explained that the bigger suitcase was “returning to its owner” which although a little bit of a lie was more of a stretch of the truth as I was still the owner, it was just returning to its country of purchase and never going anywhere again since it had fulfilled its duty honoribly.

With bags checked, lounge invite in hand, boarding pass printed I consolidated my crap ready for security (and the destruction of my boarding pass by TSA with their random scribbles). Security wasn’t nearly the zoo it could of been as I had timed it well to avoid the Sydney flight which probably would of been full as it had been lately. This flight tonight though according to the agent was “About 90% full” pfft!

I had managed to snag myself an exit row, a consolidation prize since again, no upgrade with Virgin (suprise suprise) but this time not my usual seat as I was in the 2nd economy exit rows more towards the back of the aircraft. I headed up from security to the Virgin America lounge where nothing much had changed from my last visit in January though they did tell me they would call the flight at boarding time so that was good.

I settled in to finish off the night with the yummiest cookies that seem to exist in LA and a number of coffees and a view of the runway as the new colours Virgin Australia pushed back right infront of me as I sat down. My lounge time was spent between inhaling coffee and cookies, twitter and catching up on emails.

The time in the lounge seemed to fly by and as I was surrounded by Aussie Accents everywhere it really did feel like I was heading “home”. Though I feel like Seattle is my new home, I will always still love Australia and feel comfortable around the accents etc but it was good still to have that little reminder of my home country, even if I won’t get to spend much time there on this trip.

Virgin Australia – VA8
Los Angeles to Brisbane
2355-0700
Boeing 777-300ER (VH-VPE)
Economy Class – Seat 39A

Boarding: 2300 (Gate 38)
Push Back: 2355
Take Off Roll: 0019 (Runway 25R)
Top of Descent: 0641
Touch Down: 0702 (Runway 19)
Shut Down: 0708 (Gate 81)

I headed down to the gate a little early in the hopes of getting onboard first so that I can grab a few photos of the empty cabin and thankfully I did as they announced boarding about 10 minutes earlier than indicated which was a good omen I guess.

Even though I was flying on an aircraft that I had previouly flown on multiple times I was greeted onboard to the new look as it had been refurbished with the new seat designs. So the flight really was off to a good start. Even better is that unlike the previous exit row seats I have had which had no window, this exit row kind of did, though it was offset. But I won’t complan!

The boarding process was long and the cabin didnt fill but my exit row did (I wonder how much these guys paid for their exit row seats?). I should of really asked at check in if I could get a row of 3 to myself as there was plenty of opportunity for this with economy only about ⅓ full. A good portion of the pax had rows of 3 seats to themselves.

We were boarding complete a good 10 minutes before scheduled departure and since the full load of fuel had not yet been taken on, we had to wait and that meant numerous announcement not to buckle your seat belts yet. The Aussie accents were flying thick and fast not only on the crew but the passengers as well. It was good to be “home”

We pushed back dead on time as I was chatting away with my seat mate about Cars & truck prices in Aus vs the USA as he was a Dodge Fan and I was just happy to talk about my Ram and the 300C I had driven that day. Good way to start the flight. The flight attendant in my area was not at all happy with me snapping a photo during the safety demo, or having a pillow in the small of my back and kept admonishing me for every little thing (apparently having a pillow in my back is an impedanment to evacuation of the aircraft?). Whatever!

We taxiied all the way to the South side tonight which was wierd as the Sydney flight had taken off from the north (right infront of the lounge) and this was a serious waste of precious fuel and we were loaded down as we slowly taxiied around. After a brief hold just off the runway and a clearance to 25L the big GE90s wound up and started to scream bringing a smile to my face. Though I couldn’t see these beasts from my seat, I could feel and hear them. That sound as they wind up on the take off roll brings a smile to any Avgeeks face. Such raw power, I still stand by the saying that GE90s are the engine that doesn’t fly push the aircraft along, it sucks the world around below it so instead of pushing the aircraft to your destinatin, the engines pulls your destination to you!

Once at cruise I was greeted by the Cabin manager as expected being a Velocity Gold, offered a newspaper and given an express pass for Brisbane (another one since I have one stashed from last time, which now that I have two I might send them to a client or something… maybe). Dinner service was conducted quicky… REALLY quickly and we had been fed and watered and coffee/tea offered barely 90 minutes into the flight. The lights were dimmed, the cabin prepped for sleep and pretty soon people were conking out left right and center.

I tried to get some sleep but couldn’t find the right position so after a little while (about half way through the flight) gave up, went and had a chat with a couple of the extremely cute crew (this may have been the reason I went to ask a favour 😉 ) and got some work done over a coffee, before my laptop battery was due to die as there was no power up the back in economy…. sadly.

I had a bit of a mid flight snack that I had brought with me as there was nothing to snack on other than chips during the flight and I really don’t like them these days so after some nuts from the Virgin Lounge and a coffee I set in for a couple of movies, and to watch as we tracked over the pacific ocean leaving open ocean behind and approaching the islands as they appeared on the map display.

The sun rose as we tracked past Nadi (Fiji) and this brought with it a little bit of a realisation that I was now closer to Australia than I was to the USA or anywhere else. I was getting closer and closer to being back to my country of birth. Not that it was worth much of a difference but it was something to think about. The flight at this point was pretty boring actually. I managed to finish watching Argo (since I think i may have fallen asleep in the middle of it) and also watched all of Django Unchained which is almost 3 hours long. Just as I was finishing that movie the seatbelt sign went on and we hit some good lumpy bits for a little bit so I started another movie, Hurt Locker.

I was originally going to watch something else but figured I would save that for the way back (if Qantas has it as an option, if not I had it on my hard drive). After coming out of the turbulence we were about 2 hours out of Brisbane and the breakfast service had begun and I declined this really with just taking the small little bowl of fruit salad and getting some caffeine into me. I would have breakfast waiting for me at home in Brissie, so why have 2 of them (plus the two options didn’t really interest me all that much).

As we started a very very gradual descent into Brisbane the area around my seat became extremely crowded. I don’t think people on the flight quite understood that there were lavs at the very back of the aircraft and that there really wasn’t a wait for these at times. Each time I looked at the lav indicator (which pointed to the ones at the back of the aircraft) they showed as vacant yet these was generally a line of 6 or 7 people clammering to get into the one right infront of my seat. O well!

When we started our official descent into Brisbane about 25 minutes out I had just literally finished watching Hurt Locker so it was good timing. I was just in the middle of packing my stuff as it happened. As we came into Brisbane from over the bay on a direct 19 approach it was a bit of a shame as I kind of wanted to see a quick glimpse of the city. It was a bit surreal though as we approached the threshold of the airport as I had landed here so many times but yet it thrilled me every second of the way down, even if to some it was the most boring approach ever.

When we hit the ground they taxiied almost the full length of the runway before turning off which most long haul pilots dream of as within minutes of wheels on the ground we were at the gate, however it took 10 times that length for me to get off the aircraft as I was banished to the back of the plane it felt.

Once off the plane I tried to get through the process as quickly as possible to maximise my time with my family (what limited time that was) but it was almost a solid hour before I had cleared immigration, collected my bags and cleared customs. The problem was immigration and bags. As we had touched down you also had QF16 from LAX, Emirates from Dubai, Air Nuigini and also Singapore Airlines all at the same time. Heaps of widebodies disgorging passengers all at once. Not pleasant!

Baggage was slow and by the time i walked out of the doors into the terminal proper I could hear my mum shouting my name above the crowd and running after me. It was good to be home….. even if only for a couple of hours!

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Introduction
Seattle to Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Brisbane
Brisbane to Sydney to Canberra
Canberra
Canberra to Melbourne
Melbourne
Qantas First Lounge Melbourne
Melbourne to Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Seattle
Conclusion

                                                                                                                                                                   

When I had my bag in hand at T6 well within Alaska’s 20 minute guidelines, it was time to get the shuttle to the hotel. When I last stayed at the hotel they operated their own shuttles and you had to call in to get them to come pick you up. However this is not the case anymore as they used the shared shuttle company (though with a dedicated bus) and it operates every 20 minutes 24 hours a day.

Once you finish the last pick up at T7/T8 you are mere moments away from the Radisson as it is the closest hotel to the Terminals being right at the entry road. They do tend to treat their Club Carlson members pretty well, as last time I had been upgraded to a nice big suite overlooking the runway. This time was no different. Even though I was on an industry rate and more than likely would not get any points from this stay, my Gold Benefits were still honoured.

The way they were honoured was a bit different from last time. Usually you recieve a giant cheese, fruit and wine platter upon arrival, however as I was arriving around 11pm at night and more than likely would not eat it I had let them know in advance to not worry about putting this into my room. Instead they noted that I had made this request when I checked in and out of the blue offered me Free Breakfast instead! Score!

My upgrade this time though was not the same suite as last time, it was more of a Junior Suite with no physically seperate living area but the room was huge! There was a 4 seater sofa and a smaller 3 seater, a giant Plasma Screen and small “office space”. But the one downside to the room. A tiny tiny bathroom… tiny! Such a big room footprint but only a small bathroom. Can’t have everything right.

It was here that I dropped the 60lb suitcase on my foot taking a huge chunk out of things making that transition to sleep all that more difficult but I managed. The Cake Pop and Chocolate coated strawberry left in my room (in addition to the free breakfast) helped soothe the pain a bit.

Wednesday 3rd April – 2013

After a morning run around the LAX perimeter where I was buzzed by plenty of CRJs and regional aircraft, but also an El Al 777 and a Philippines Airlines A340. It was time to get myself sorted for a mixed day ahead.

Breakfast was served in Palmera the hotel restaurant which had this old world kind of feel to it. It could of passed for a steakhouse in New York from the 60s with lots of big booths, dark woods, big comfy seats and not a single window. The breakfast buffet was unique with the usual basics you would expect from a hotel buffet but with the addition of cake… lots of cake. Not just muffins and pastries but chocolate donuts and pineapple upside down cake!

With breakfast consumed (although the oatmeal was watery) I was off to pick up my rental for a day exploring Los Angeles. I had booked a car for the day with National and knew that although the National office is a little bit further from the hotel than the likes of Hertz, Budget and Avis it was worth the walk, since I was working off a sneaky piece of cake. The usual process with National awaited me of getting to choose whatever I desired from the Executive Aisle (a benefit I must find a way to keep!).

As usual it seems my luck was again against me in LAX as there wasn’t much in the way of cars that I was hoping for. I was hoping for a Ford Escape or an Edge or some sort of SUV just to give them a try (I would of loved to try the new Escape to let my dad know what they are like) but there was none on the lot. It was all nissan all the time again. But with a few goodies strewn throughout. I did ask if there was any 300Cs or SUVs around that I could get, but someone had just snagged the last 300C on me and the only SUVs were Chevy Captiva’s.. .pass!

As I was about to jump into one of the 3 Dodge Challengers sitting on the lot (there was also a Mustang Hard top but that would not of fit the suitcase of doom very well) the lot attendant came running up to tell me that there was a 300C waiting for me if I still wanted it, freshly cleaned and sitting in prime position. I jumped at it and threw my bag into the car within seconds.

I did mention in this post just how much I LOVED this car. It had everything I could of wanted and more and was definately something I would of loved to of owned myself. Back home in Aus I can see why these are used by limo companies everywhere, they are a sweet ride!

I will admit to giving it a good thrashing up and down Aviation Boulevard during the day and using it to drive over to the California Science Center for a tour of the Shuttle Endeavour but my day was filled with the usual exploits for a stay in LAX. Plane Spotting. A bit different this time as I was not carrying the bigma and using my 70-300mm Travel lens. So although I don’t think my camera turned out my usual quality of camera, it was still a great day with some good unique catches.

I finished off my day of fun with dinner at the Proud Bird restaurant overlooking the southern runway approaches chatting with my mate Kevin from Aviation Photographic as I shouted him dinner for his birthday. A great way to end the day and prepare myself for a long flight ahead.

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Introduction
Seattle to Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Brisbane
Brisbane to Sydney to Canberra
Canberra
Canberra to Melbourne
Melbourne
Qantas First Lounge Melbourne
Melbourne to Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Seattle
Conclusion

                                                                                                                                                                   

Tuesday 2nd April – 2013

An evening flight allowed for a full day of stress and work before having to brave peak hour traffic in the truck before getting to the airport. Thankfully though traffic was pretty light compared to normal and meant that I was able to get to the airport in about 40 minutes. Within an hour and 10 minute of leaving work I had driven to the airport, dropped the truck off at Wallypark, got the shuttle over to the terminal, checked in my excessively heavy suitcase ($50 bag and overweight charge) and then made it through the standard TSA security line.

I was flying Alaska tonight so it was pleb mode this evening. No priority anything, no lounge no nothing. Just me and the rest of the flying public. I was “slumming it. I had somehow managed to score row 6 on the flight though which is the first row behind Alaska’s first class cabin with plenty of legroom as it passed for a “bulkhead row”.

Once through security and into the terminal proper I had a good 2 and a half hours till my flight. I knew alaska boarded early generally so since we were leaving from the North Terminal I figured I needed to be over there about an hour to 45 minutes prior. That gave me 90 minutes to kill in the main terminal. First things first. A shoe shine. $5 for a shoe shine that would make my shoes (that I hadn’t worn since Qatar) spick and span ready for the wedding was totally worth it. The job was completed without fuss, they looked amazing and I got a good chat with the guy out of it.

With that done I scouted my take out dinner options and then sat down with a coffee, a biscoff that I had somehow found in my draw at work and some emails and a view of the tarmac. The one thing that I do like about Seattle is that they do have rocking chairs in the main food court area, lining the windows so you can sit back and watch the aircraft rotate right in front of you.

With about an hour and a bit to go before boarding I grabbed my takeout dinner from Dish D’lish and a bagel and drink. With that all tied up nicely I headed over to the North Satelitte to find a seat by the gate… weirdly by this time it was approaching about 10 minutes to boarding time and we still did not have an aircraft. There was no way we were departing on time! Shortly after I sat down the aircraft showed up and by the time they started to disembark, we should of been departing.

It didn’t worry me all that much, I had a bed waiting on the other end of the flight and I wasn’t flying to Australia tonight so I didn’t have to worry about connecting times etc. I was just happy to sit on my butt and wait. Which I did. A few emails later and they were pre boarding those with assistance.

Alaska Airlines – AS462
Seattle-Tacoma to Los Angeles
1955-2225
Boeing 737-800 (N546AS)
Economy Class – Seat 6A

Boarding: 1937 (Gate N8)
Push Back: 2017
Take Off Roll: 2026 (Runway 16C)
Top of Descent: 2200
Touch Down: 2226 (Runway 25L)
Shut Down: 2232 (Gate 66)

Boarding was called for first class and elites, and since I was up front I was expecting to have to wait till right at the end. What puzzled me most was they called Row 6 seperately… wierd! It meant I got to board kind of early.. sweet!

By the time I got onboard after waiting in line, it was already starting to get crowded as it felt like half the plane had pre boarded or come onboard with the elites, but there was an older mexican gentleman having to move around and I was asked to wait while he sat down, which was kind of stupid because he had to get back up again so I could sit down. Smart move Alaska FA! It was all sorted out and eventually I managed to get myself settled and started more reading of my book.

We pushed back late (as expected) with a 100% load (as expected) and had a quick taxi from N8 to the 34 series. We skipped last left and turned onto center with no wait and headed directly for the sky. The flight out was dark with no views so I was head down in my book the whole way. That’s the one thing about night flights, I can never take photos no really spend all that much time looking out the window as all you see is black. When we passed 10,000ft the ipod came out for some entertainment.

With entertainment covered, dinner awaiting to be eaten and a book to keep me sane, the flight just kind of passed by. Nothing really to talk about. I did get a full cup of soda.. wooo and a bag of snack mix… woo. Decent size cups but nothing to complain about. The main thing I did during the flight was eat, drink & read. Isn’t that what flying is all about.

Lights started to appear out the window after a little while as the clouds broke apart and we started our descent over Los Angeles. The city of lights, lots of lights. As we descended it was obvious we were heading to the south runways and I was sitting on the wrong side as I couldn’t see LAX but I did have a fantastic view of Downtown including Dodgers Stadium just after a game had let out with traffic everywhere. Streets jammed full of lights just glowing red from tail lights.

As we turned for finals to the 25 series (25 is the south runways with 24 being north) I started to notice landmarks and soon enough I could see Hawthorne airport just a mile or so outside of LAX and then before I knew it we were slamming onto the ground, and slam we did. I swear we bounced a little but I can’t be sure. At least the shocks on the landing gear got a good test.

We taxiied quickly off the runway and did not have to hold at all, which was good luck for LAX since a lot of the late night departures from the south side might of had us holding a while but we flew past the holding points and straight to T6 where an empty gate awaited us. Now came the real test for Alaska. As they opened the doors on that flight, the counter started. Alaska guarantees that your bag will arrive within 20 minutes of flight completion. So as soon as that door opened that clock started and they had 20 minutes to get my bag to me.

With the timer running I didn’t exactly sprint to the baggage claim and took my time wandering through T6 since I hadn’t been there in almost a year. The last time I had been in T6 was just after Alaska moved in, not that it was all that evident that late at night as the terminal was pretty empty with a handful of red eyes to the east coast or south to mexico. As i reached down to the baggage claim area within about 1 minute of getting there the baggage belt started, only 9 minutes since the doors opened. Alaska are good! Even better, my suitcase was bag #3.

With my suitcase in hand, I headed for the shuttle to my hotel the Radisson LAX, where I promptly dropped my suitcase on my foot and took a giant chunk out of it. Dammit!

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Last week while in LA before my flight down to Brisbane I hired a car for the day… as usual. Now I talked a couple of months back about how much I love National Car Rental. Well this day sealed the deal, because I scored again!

I have been wanting to try a Chrysler 300C for a while now, they seem to be the “pimp” car down in Australia, over here not so much. So after National managed to find me one in LA I gave it a good what for. I sadly didn’t take any photos of the interior (stupidly) but I did get a couple of the exterior of this fine beast.

From Wedding Time Down Under
From Wedding Time Down Under

This car was fully loaded! Electric everything you can think of. Leather seats, climate control, working sat nav (usually disabled in most rental cars unless you pay extra), sirius XM. But the kicker for me in this car was the cup holders. Wow… it had cup holders. Well yes. But it had dual action cup holders. One side of the attached switch and it chilled your beverage. The other side of the switch and it warms your beverage. And each Cup holder had its own switch. So I could keep my water cold and my coffee hot!

Plus the car wasn’t a slouch either. Probably just as good with the foot down as my truck (though I am pretty sure there was no hemi in this). It was a good car to drive around and now its a tough choice. Challenger or 300C next time? or better yet… something new…

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Introduction
Seattle to Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Brisbane
Brisbane to Sydney to Canberra
Canberra
Canberra to Melbourne
Melbourne
Qantas First Lounge Melbourne
Melbourne to Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Seattle
Conclusion

                                                                                                                                                                   

A number of years ago before I moved to the USA and before I had even lost all the weight I did a contiki through the USA. That trip was great and I made quite a number of friends on that trip. Two of them who met on the trip, lived in Canberra. They had met on the trip, moved in together a few months after the return to Aus and eventually got engaged. Their wedding would be in Canberra and I would not miss it for the world. So with the date set and a half portion of ticket still to be used back to Australia a number of points that needed to be used this trip just had to be done.

The wedding was not the only reason for the trip but it was the main one. There was a couple of side reasons:

1. Visit Family
2. Visit Friends
3. Get 4 minimum segments with Virgin Australia to requalify

So with all of that set and a wedding date advised I set about arranging what would be an extremely short trip. With my ticket to Aus covered from LAX to Brisbane with Virgin Australia unfortunately due to the days of the week of this flight I could only get into Australia the day before the wedding. O well. It meant that whatever time I could get with the family would be between my flights in Brisbane. This worked out to be barely anything at all (3 hours of family time).

My flight home was dictated by the availability of points redemptions which when I booked it as soon as it came out pretty much meant that I had a few days after the wedding to get myself to Melbourne (as there was no Sydney availability with what I wanted). My points redemption home though was something I had dreamed of for quite some time. Qantas First Class.. on the A380. I was going to enjoy that flight and everything that comes with it. I was going to do it in Style! Pyjamas the lot!

With the two over water flights handled I just had to do the flights internally. Since I needed 3 more Virgin Segments it meant that my flight from Brisbane to Canberra could not be direct and there would be a forced 90 minute minimum between flights in Sydney thanks to segment rules (at that time). So with that arranged and the 4th and last flight from Canberra to Melbourne booked I was all set. Eventually once the flight prices went on sale for Seattle to LAX I ended up with Alaska down nice and cheap and Virgin back for the right price. Virgin on the way back was perfect as I could get Lounge access in T3, Alaska down was purely a timing thing. If United had of been cheaper I would of gone with that but they were sadly not. It meant I had no priority treatment at all and would even have to pay for a checked bag 🙁

The flights all handled it was then onto hotels. Canberra was dictated by the wedding so that was set (At least I got a good rate). LAX is always a crap shoot and for so long I couldn’t make up my mind. In the end I was checking out the Radisson and the rate was super cheap, so i booked it. When I got home from work that night I saw that the website had stuffed up the dates and booked it for THAT night! O Dear! I called the Radisson and they got it Fixed up but the price wasn’t as cheap as before but it was cheaper than the others so I sucked it up and kept it. Melbourne was a bit tougher. I had a number of options but I wasn’t going to spend much time in the hotel as I was planning on catching up with plenty of friends. Eventually a co worker suggested I use a contact at the Langham to see what they would offer and the rate was DAMN good. Add on the 1865 program error that was floating around and I could use that to get elite status and possibly an upgrade! score!

So all hotels were set up, flights set up. Time for cars! As I was flying down the night before in LAX I would have the whole day to do whatever I wanted. So the usual rental company was used (National of course) and then in Australia it wasn’t cheap at all as I would need a car to get around Canberra rather than relying on my friends for once (since they would be busy with the wedding). So I touched base with a friend at my old work and they set me up with a good rate and a possible car upgrade. Better than nothing right?

In the end the plan looked like this:

Australian Journey Map

April 2nd – Seattle to Los Angeles, Overnight at the Radisson LAX
April 3rd – Spend day in LA, Los Angeles to Brisbane
April 4th – Ceases to exist
April 5th – Arrive Brisbane, spend time with family, Brisbane to Sydney to Canberra, 2 nights Rydges Capital Hill Canberra
April 6th – Morning to explore Canberra, Wedding in Afternoon/Evening
April 7th – Morning free in Canberra, Canberra to Melbourne, 2 nights Langham Melbourne
April 8th – Meetings and friends in Melbourne
April 9th – Melbourne to Los Angeles, Qantas First, then Los Angeles to Seattle.
April 10th – Back to work cause I have no choice

Lightning Fast 4 Day trip covering god knows how many time zones and miles all for a wedding. Was I insane? Check out the map and you tell me?

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Finished a very interesting book today.

Where Men Win Glory

The book is Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer. What the title doesn’t tell you is that this is a book on the Pat Tillman story. Who is Pat Tillman, well here’s the brief run down.

Pat Tillman was an NFL player for the Arizona Cardinals. Just after the September 11 attacks in New York he gave up a very lucrative deal to instead enlist in the US Army as a Ranger and was deployed to Iraq & Afghanistan. Here’s the kicker. He was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire.

The book follows his life but also how Afghanistan’s tumultuous history saw the beginning of the taliban and other tribal factions. So not only do you grt Pat Tillman ‘s history but also why he was there.

Then once you get to the day it happened the events are given a good amount of detail so you can understand what happened. The aftermath and cover up is also covered which may have been a bit one sided but it does pose a good amount of questions. The whole premise of the possibility of many more unreported friendly fire incidents.

The events never really made newa media in Australia and the book was recommended by a friend. Well worth the read and makes you think about the real merits of selflessness and sacrifice. Worth the read!

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You know your home kn Seattle when you walk out the door and it’s grey, a drizzle and the 405 is backed up causing delays.   It’s good to be home!

The flight home was the most amazing experience I have ever had, the time just flew by and before I knew it we were approaching LAX signaling the end of it.

I will keep all the details for the trip report (which I have to finish writing mind you) but that should start rolling out this week.

Right nowy priority is getting back tk normal life, dealing with the curveballs that come through thick and fast (like coming back to a broken washing machine, thankfully I have enough clean clothes to keep me going till it should be fixed).

But right now my priority is sorting out all the goodies from my trip 😉

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Today has been a long time coming. A Dream flight that I have desired over, drooled over and just down right wished would hurry up for almost 2.5 years. That day has finally arrived.

It will be a quick blog post while I wait for check in to open but my time in Australia is coming to an end. Melbourne was great and I had a great time catching up with friends and a fantastic hotel stay at the Langham. I couldn’t of asked for more.

But now the entire point of this trip from Melbourne is here. As I wait in the very private and exclusive Melbourne Airport Qantas First Class check in area (leeching off the free wifi) my Spa appointment is booked, I am ready for an extravagant breakfast and lunch onboard.

O boy o boy!

So for the next 15 hours of my life (well once we leave) i will be relaxing in my first class suite, onboard the lower deck of the A380 hoping to god that it never ends

Current Location: Melbourne Airport Qantas First Class Check In

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My time in Canberra was brief but so worth it. I had a great time but it wasn’t all plain sailing. Let’s just say I cut it so close that had I been later than I was… I would of hated myself for ever. Lets step back a bit though. After flying all the way south from Brisbane to catch up with the folks and having a brief few hours with them and stopping by for a 10 minute catch up with my old team I flew from Brisbane to Sydney to Canberra. The only thing on my mind for half that time was “get my phone working” as the phone that was waiting for me was stuffed.

So $100 later and a cheap android phone I was good to go! I didn’t get it fully working till I got to Sydney so that was a relief when I was able to have the GPS nav ready for Canberra. I only managed to drive on the wrong side of the road once and that was immediately after leaving the rental car lot… woops! Indicating with the windscreen wipers, that is a whole other story.

I had a quiet night on Friday night and then spent Saturday morning at the War Memorial and it turns out it was Open Day so it was nice of the RAAF to put on a display for my arrival to Canberra. But because of this I was running late and a stop to grab some lunch at the slowest cafe known to man (confirmed by my Canberra friends) and I was running way behind.

It was a 215 wedding for a 230 start. I thought it was a 230 for a 245… When i realised this it was 2pm and I still had a 25-30 minute drive out of the city. I broke every speeding and road rule known to man and thrashed the crap out of the little car that Avis gave me (which is a whole other story) but either way… I got there directly ahead of the bride. So I did make it! If i had of missed the ceremony I would of hated myself for ever that I had flown all that way and then missed it.

The ceremony itself was great and then the reception was back at the hotel where I was staying and it was great to meet all of Stuart & Michelle’s local friends and family. I did get singled out for travelling so far but like I said every time someone mentioned this to me, I would of travelled there no matter what! That’s how good of friends they are!

So as I headed off to Melbourne before returning home, they head off on their Honeymoon to LA and beat me there by One day (18 hours actually). Either way it was a short but brief time in Canberra, the wedding was great and they had a great time! Now the trip was all worth it… now to head home tomorrow!

Current Location: The Langham Hotel Melbourne