DAY 14

TRAVEL DAY

We slept well last night.  The hotel has been terrific.  We never heard street noise given that we faced the Sydney Bay and our room was on the 34th floor of the hotel.  The walls were very well insulated so we never heard any noise from the hallway.  The staff at the hotel has been fantastic and we truly enjoyed a great stay.

We were up early to prepare for the day and to complete our final packing.  

​We were taken from the hotel by a private car which Keith had arranged ahead of time with the concierge of the hotel.  We were met at the airport with a representative of a concierge service.  We checked in at the ticket counter and she was able to expedite getting through immigration and security.  Keith was one the lucky ones who did have to have some additional security scanning.  Maybe because he was wearing all black.   She took us to the airline lounge and met us ten minutes before the commencement of boarding to take us to the gate.  

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We boarded the aircraft on time and made ourselves at home for the 13+ hour flight to Los Angeles. One of the flight attendants had taken care of us when we flew from Los Angeles to Sydney and remembered us.  Between her and two other flight attendants up front we were taken care of very well.  We each slept for a little while a couple of hours after eating at lunchtime but having what we would define as dinner.  Anne Marie watched one movie while Keith read and wrote.  About three hours before we landed a flight attendant spoke on the speaker and asked if any medical professionals were on-board due to a medical emergency.  Shortly before we landed Keith asked the flight attendant if the passenger was OK and the good news is that the person was fine.  

We actually arrived to LAX 30 minutes early and had to wait on the plane as immigration/customs personnel were not on duty.  

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After arriving to Los Angeles we cleared immigration, picked up our luggage, went through customs, turned over our luggage, went through TSA security and went to the airline lounge club to await our early afternoon flight back home. The flight back home arrived early and we were back home before 7:00 PM.

This wraps up our Australia Blog.  Please check back in mid-May as we go on another adventure.  Until then we wish each of you happiness in all that you do.  ​