20 Jan 2025
Unlike most of my recent trips, today did not start at 0’dark-thirty; my flight out wasn’t until late afternoon, which meant I didn’t have to set an alarm! Always a good way to start a trip!
…should I be worried about this chomp missing from my plane?
Farewell, cold snowy MSP!
It was -8°F / -22°C when I left; Australia is in the middle of their summer so it should be in the mid-80s (~30°C) when I eventually arrive.
A few days ago, a snow storm swept through a swatch of the Midwest:
It was neat to be able to see where that snow line started and watch it get heavier in the middle:
Sunset and another plane on the approach to Dallas:
Dallas was surprisingly cold- only 32°F / 0°C, but fortunately, I’ve just got a short layover here before hopping on my next flight.
And oof, is this one gonna be a doozy! Advertised at a little over 17 hours, this’ll be my longest flight yet! I upgraded myself to Main Cabin Extra for that extra little bit of legroom and got lucky with an empty middle seat. Plus, the guy on the aisle kept ordering drinks and got up to use the bathroom about every hour, so I had plenty of opportunities to get up when needed.
The plan for this flight is to stay awake for the first half, grab a snack around Hawaii (which is about the midpoint of the flight), then try to get some sleep during the second half:
21 Jan 2025
Today was really short! mostly because sometime between Hawaii and Australia, we crossed the International Date Line and it became tomorrow.
22 Jan 2025
Good morning, Australia!
Honestly, this wasn’t a terrible flight- long, yes, but I managed to get some decent sleep and the food was alright. But I’m ready to get off this plane and move. Unfortunately, there was some sort of medical event during the flight. I was slightly afraid we’d turn around or divert to Hawaii (it happened shortly after we left the West Coast) but it must not have been too bad because they never announced anything overhead and we kept flying, but medics and security boarded our plane when we landed to get the patient off, and while they were efficient, it did delay our deplaning by about 20 minutes, which means my 2.5 hour layover just got a bit shorter.
And apparently, they didn’t start pulling bags off the plane until the patient was off either, because I waited for a solid 45 minutes for my bag; it finally showed up and I cleared customs with a little less than an hour before my next plane was scheduled to board.
Also, the domestic terminal in Brisbane isn’t attached to the the international terminal, so I had to wait for and take a bus over to the domestic terminal:
They run a continuous loop, so it was only a 5-10 minute wait, and it was only a 5-10 minute ride, but all these little delays are adding up and I’m beginning to wish I had looked at my connection times a bit more closely- 2.5 hours is far too tight for an international connection.
I rechecked my bag and went back through security where they completely disassembled my carry-on. Usually it’s the stack of batteries I carry for my underwater strobes that look suspicious, but this time it was my underwater camera itself. Security took everything out and sent it through the scanner separately. It took a few tries before they were either satisfied, or sick of looking at my stuff.
I made it to the gate just as my plane pulled up!
This last flight is operated by Jetstar (the rest of my flights are by American Airlines) and, because I didn’t look closely at my itinerary, I didn’t notice until I tried to check in and couldn’t- had to download the Jetstar app when I got to Dallas (the downside of such a long flight is that this last flight was over 24 hours from my first flight, so I couldn’t check in until partway through my travels).
Jetstar is the budget airline of Australia, where everything other than a seat on the flight is an extra cost, but apparently because it was booked on my AA itinerary, I got a $15 credit, so I got some snacks and this awesome lemonade:
Wish we could get this here in the US- it’s delightfully tart and bubbly with just the right amount of sweetness.
I think this is the Great Barrier Reef!
All the baggage gates had a fun critter opening; my suitcase came out of this shark:
I’ve been debating visiting the Cairns Aquarium, but they aren’t open very late and it’s already almost lunchtime so we’ll have to see.
This is the shuttle I booked to take me to my hotel:
…or, it was supposed to be. I watched the one next to it load and leave, but the trickle of people leaving the airport eventually dried up and I was still sitting, waiting. I double checked that I was waiting for the right shuttle and I was, but it was also waiting for some people from the next incoming flight. So back outside I went to wait.
And wait.
And wait some more, until one of the drivers came out- the incoming flight was delayed, so rather than make me keep waiting, they upgraded me to a private driver!
My good luck continued- even though it was a bit early to check in and the room I booked wasn’t ready, they upgraded me to this room:
With this amazing view from the balcony!
I mean, how awesome is that!? I’m definitely going to explore that park, but first, I’m gonna visit the aquarium. My driver told me it was small, but well done, and that he fit it all in in under 2 hours.
It is quite toasty here- high 80s (~30°C) and humid, so I appreciate these water stations I found every few blocks here in Cairns:
This page has gotten pretty long, and I took way too many pictures at the Aquarium, so click that Next button to explore Cairns with me!