Finally the big day was here and we assembled our bags and completed last minute jobs before we said our farewells to Nan, Pop and the pups. Our driver arrived right on time at 8am for our first leg of the journey to Sydney Airport. We had a slight mishap when my bottle of iced tea leaked in my bag….and onto our new video camera…. which luckily seems to be okay.
We arrived at the airport just on 9.30am and got into the very long line for check in. Then Kevin had the brilliant idea there might be a seperate check in for Qantas Frequent Flyers – and there was. Yay! Only 4 in that line.
We got checked in and went through security. Very little waits so everything went smoothly. Love how the airport is all decorated for Christmas. I bought a few things in L’Occitane, we got some snacks for the plane and we headed to Qantas CLub.
Where we enjoyed some morning tea.
Then it was finally time to board the plane and start our second leg to LA.
Goodbye Australia.
A few hours into our flight we were served lunch.
This was really rather yummy and I ate ever bite.
including Christy’s veggies, hummus and cheese.
I watched a documentary on Bob Marley, while Christy had a nap.
Time for a bit of pampering.
Afterwards they came though with weis’ bars. Yum.
We all tried to get some sleep after this. The kids were succesful. I got a few hours but Kevin couldn’t sleep at all. A couple of hours before landing in LAX we were served breakfast. The eggs were horrible, the hash browns okay and the beans delicious.
Finally LA and the sunrise came into view.
Lots of thick fog covering LA, which was rather scary to land in as it was low to the ground and the landing strip unable to be seen.
We were given express passes due to having a connecting flight so going through immigration and customs was a breeze. We dropped our luggage again and headed round to the United terminal.
We picked up some snacks for our flight to Houston. And were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in Premium economy – which made up for the fact we weren’t all sitting together. The guys next to me got upgraded to first class and Amy was kind enough to offer the seat to Kevin so he could get some sleep (he like to lie on the window).
We all had another sleep and before we knew it we were landing in Houston.
In the airport Amy was excited to find her favourite book, the one she can’t stop talking about.
We got some lunch.
Kevin and I shared this bowl. So yummy.
On the 3rd and last flight we were once again in Premium economy (no idea how this happened) and the flight was very empty so we all spread out.
I was so thankful for this cup of tea, and my first Almond Joy bar.
It was lovely watching the sunset as we flew towards our final destination.
Then finally after 24 hours of travelling we were flying over Florida – which looked so much prettier than the photo captured.
We so were glad to be here and loved seeing this Christmas tree in the airport.
We caught the monorail to baggage claim, got our luggage (which was almost first off), saw a Goldie being picked up in a crate, picked up our hire car (no wait) and were onto the very last leg of this very long journey. We had a bit of trouble finding the resort but eventually got here and got checked in. No firework view room available but we were given a lake view, which was our second request.
The apartment is lovely. So much space.
The nighttime view from our room.
And fireworks!!! No idea what these were for (the Disney ones are in the other direction) but we thoroughly enjoyed them
We were fading fast by this time but ordered some Chinese (only thing we could find easily) and unpacked while we waited for it to be delivered. We ate our dinner and fell into bed around 10pm.
Hi Libby.
I am so excited for you all and look forward to following your trip. What a journey! A couple of questions if you can spare the time to answer. How did Christy fair on that long journey? Any tips for travelling with a girl that age as we are doing Aus – LA – Vancouver in May. And how do you get Express passes in LA? As we didn’t get these last time and almost missed our connecting flight to NY.
Your suite in Florida looks brilliant. How long are you there for? Look forward to more fantastic posts and photos.
Thanks for the great post. I love that it is so detailed – the photos really capture the experience of travelling. Yep, I’ve never come across nice airplane eggs either! Your accommodation looks great. Looking forward to checking back in on your hols. Have fun!
So glad you arrived safely Im looking forward to this trip. Cant wait for the next post. Have fun
Yay! Thanks for sharing so many photos! That taco bowl looks delicious. Glad the flights went ok and seems like they were smooth connections thankfully. Your unit looks lovely with lots of room to spread out.
Wow, what a view from your room. Your hotel room looks great too, very spacious. What a long trip to get there, but totally worth it. Looking forward to following along with your posts. Enjoy your trip.