On My Way To OZ-Part One

Oceania » Australia
March 4th 2012

Published: March 5th 2012

The Adventure begins!

Hi to all who are reading this...yes,I am taking another journet across our globe,this time all the way to the land Down Under!!

This first part is mainly travel details,so for those looking for Aussie specific info,skip ahead...

Day 1-Buses,Trains,Planes, and Their Wonderful Companions

I began my travels yesterday,actually,with a ride on the Megabus from Hartford-NYC. First time I experienced that,and I have to rank it better than Greyhound but not quite as good as Amtrak. It was comfortable,had WIFI,and a couple behind me who seemed enamored with the capabilities of their cell phone to play drawing games. No,unfortunately,it wasn't a parent trying to entertain a 5 year old-it was two 20 somethings squealing over the discovery that yellow +green=purple. Don't ask.

Good points about Megabus? The driver got us from downtown Hartford-Midtown in 2 hours on the dot.

I also discovered a few other finer travel points during my night in Manhattan:

1. The subway system? Not so much on the luggage friendly aspect. Getting one suitcase+one carry-on through those narrow turnstiles was a joke. Don't EVEN get me started on the many flights of stairs.

2. New Yorkers will actually take pity on you if if looks like you are ready to fall down said flights,and help out.

3. Don't ever ask your male significant other to meet you at the subway stop to witness the abovementioned debacles. This will lead to...

4. Don't ever let your male significant other actually carry your suitcase,if there's a remote possibility that you have a chance to repack before your trip.

The end result of these events? I was forced to endure an inspection and lecture of suitcase and ended up being lectured about "unneccesary junk," and watched him cart off half of my belongings,locking them securely in another room. I lost my shampoo/conditioner plus several outfits, but at least was able to argue my case for the five pairs of shoes( a MINIMUM necessity for ANY female)!!!

Anyway,once my luggage contents were annhilated, we did have a relaxing evening, and morning,leaving for JFK at 1100 via subway/Airtrain, we arrived probably within 30 minutes, and check-in with United was a breeze. I was a bit worried,sinc ethey had their merger yesterday,but I had no trouble whatsoever.

After that,headed to security,said goodbye to Giles, and promptly hit the wonderful,serene XpressSpa(HIGHLY recommended).They have many full services,as well as several shorter massage combos for those on a quickie layover. I tell you,relaxing in their chairs with a fuzzy blanket and a massage...definately needed before a 20+ hour flight!

I attempted to terminal hop after this (had about 3 hours prior to boarding...yes,I like to be early!) but apparently JFK now frowns upon this,and will only let you in each terminal if you have a boarding pass for a flight leaving said terminal. Grrr.

So I headed back to T7,grabbed some food,wandered around for a while,then went to my gate,as we were supposed to start boarding at 4:40 pm for a 5:25 flight. There was a charging station there,which was useful,as my phone battery was rapidly dying!

Thus began the wait.4:40 came and went,and then the announcement that it would be "at least another 20 minutes" came at 4:55. This alone started the crowd into being irritable...

Then came the ear piercing,head splitting sound of an unhappy 2 year old......

As said child proceeded to scream for his father,throw himself onto the floor, and then climb onto the seats behind myself and about 5 other passengers,the child's mother was working very hard...and playing with her other,older child. A few glances over at her uncontrollable offspring and a weak reply to "quiet down," did nothing-except prompt everyone around them to pray like mad that he would be seated NOWHERE near us.

We FINALLY boarded at about 5:35,during which time the child proceed to throw some toy at the back of some man's head(bless him he didn't even turn around) and run down the trminal from the father that he was earlier wailing for.

I was in the last group to board,but near the front,so i didn't care too much. Until I got on the plane and discovered that ALL of the overhead bins were full...

As I was finagling and bargaining with another guy,who had a mere briefcase taking up precious space(easily stowed under the seat in front), i heard a scream behind me.

Not the two year old-thankfully. No,this was from a 60-70 yr olf man who was yelping b/c some 20ish girl lost her balance trying to fit her bag in the overhead,and the bag grazed his hand. She turned to apologize,totally embarrassed.

"You crushed my fingers!!!!" he bellowed. "I might not be able to use my hand now!!"

(Yes,seriously,these were his words....)

The poor girl looked mortified,and someone else took pity and helped her out. Meanwhile,the incapacitated gentlemen proceeded to switch seats with someone else-to sit with his wife-in the aisle across from me.Lovely.

I got settled,and quickly realized...I HAD THE ROW TO MYSELF!!!!! SCORE!!!! (Now,if ONLY my luck hold out for the Sydney flight...)

As we were taxiing to takeoff,my companion across the aisle decided to start chatting about the horrors of the UA/CO merger. Basically,they were unable to upgrade him, and he''s a "million miler." Sob,sob. I did notice that his fingers functioned well on his iPad during this "forbidden" point of flight....

Then it was time for lift-off,my least favorite part of flying...luckily I was semi-well anesthized. I proceeded to stretch out,and enjoyed having the row to myself,using both plugs for my phone/laptop. The economy plus seats have some extra legroom,I didn't notice it too much,since I'm a shorty,but the inflight power and WIFI was definately a nice touch.

All was well,until 3 hrs in, when a flight attendant approached me,saying that she was moving another girl up to my row. Apparently,she was the poor soul stuck next to the screaming toddler (who,thankfully,I havent heard in flight). I couldn't really fault her,so now I am in the window seat and we both sort of have out stuff in the middle seat,but its a fair compromise.And she's not a chatter. Yay.

So its 9:46 my time now...about 2.5 hrs to SFO! Here's hoping for a decent layover...smooth flight to Sydney...and an empty row for Stacey!! (I've been looking at the seatmaps...odds are good...cross your fingers for me!!)

Next post will be upon arrival to Sydney!!!!

On My Way To OZ-Part One

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