Plane ride from Dallas to Brisbane

Plane ride from Dallas to Brisbane:

We boarded the plane in Dallas around 11 A.M. on Thursday, the 16^th (10 P.M./Wednesday in the U.S.). It was there that I met my first Australian friend. His name was Jerry, he was pushing 70, and he was our flight attendant. He chatted with the kids, asked about our trip, and was thrilled about our move. We exchanged titles of Australian books we were reading. A few moments later, he returned with his book and said, “Just read a few pages and see if you like it.” It was a very thick, completely boring book (at least the few pages I read). When he came back, I smiled, thanked him and told him I loved it. I didn’t want to hurt my new friend’s feelings. The rest of the flight was quite uneventful. The kids were able to sleep 10 hours. I was thrilled. The only problem was that they woke up at 1 A.M. Brisbane time. Just before landing, Jerry brought me a bottle of wine and said, “Cheers mate! Best to you!” I guess it is true, Australians are really nice.

We headed off the plane with our six carry-ons, on our way to baggage claims to retrieve our 7 heavy suitcases. All I could think was, “This ought to be fun!” Fun? No. FUNNY to many, I am sure. We staked out a spot by the carousel and waited with 3 carts. The first bag came and Hannah Grace and I couldn’t manage to get it off the carousel. I said, “Never mind, we’ll get it next time around.” We needed to be better prepared. I saw another one coming. “Okay, Hannah Grace, get ready!” This bag was a monster, but we managed this go round. I wheeled it over to the cart while HG waited on the next bag. 7 bags later and it was time to situate them on our 3 carts. Again, “This ought to be fun!” I tried to put the first bag on and the cart went flying. I needed a new plan. Finally, all 7 bags plus 3 of the carry-ons were loaded onto the carts. While HG and Ellis were discussing who helped me the most, it happened. One of the carts wasn’t balanced and tipped over into the second cart. The bags landed on my foot, I was trying to keep them from knocking over the second cart, and I was sweating profusely. Luckily, the kids saved their conversation for later and came to my rescue. We pushed our way through customs and out the door to a smiling husband/daddy.