We had good seats on our LAX-SYD flight, and because it was a red-eye flight I, miracle of miracles, actually managed to get a couple of hours’ sleep! We landed in Sydney at 8:30am local time, and had a four-hour layover to sit through.
Author: MJ
Homeward Bound
Leaving family is the worst.
Pacific Park at Santa Monica Pier
So, here’s the thing. Josh and I are both surprisingly good at ring toss.
Los Angeles and Madison’s Birthday
My lovely cousin turned nine, and for her birthday she wanted to have lunch at American Girl.
When Lori told me we were going to have lunch at a doll shop, my reaction was kind of, “Okay… cool?” I was not prepared for this experience, at all. It is very serious business, lunch at American Girl! However, the food was surprisingly delicious and they made a huge fuss of Madison for her birthday, which was awesome.
Washington, D.C.
Everyone told us we were mad to fly all the way from California to D.C. to spend 36 hours there.
They weren’t wrong.
Big Bear Lake
The day after Hallowe’en, we hit the road to the cabin at Big Bear Lake. It’s about two and a half hours from Paul and Lori’s house and we hit the road at just the right time, arriving in the village just when we were all starting to get peckish for lunch. We swung into El Jacalito for our first true Mexican food experience, and it did not disappoint. It was absolutely delicious (and the margarita was pretty delicious too!)
Hallowe’en
Hallowe’en is… overwhelming. I think that’s the best word for it.
Disneyland
I may never be able to feel my feet again.
The alarm went off at 5:30am, and we were on the road by 6:20am. A quick swing by Starbucks to attempt to wake up and we were on our way. Unfortunately we were alongside the commuting traffic, so I had a very fun 2.5 hours down the I-5—quite an experience!!
Arriving in Los Angeles and the US Brodies
I have never been so happy to get off an aeroplane as I was at Los Angeles International Airport. I got precisely zero sleep.
The final flight was great—especially surprise middle-of-the-night sliders that came around between lunch and breakfast (flying across a ton of timezones is weird).
Sydney Layover
4:20am is a terrible time to get out of bed.
It’s even worse when you get precisely zero sleep.