The Trip

The trip to Tasmania ended up being easier I thought it would be.

We got to the airport early enough that they were able to get me on an earlier flight. This was good because the transfer between terminals at LAX

All packed and ready to go

was confusing and complicated, and the extra time was helpful. The only way to switch between terminals without exiting and passing through security again is to hop on an infrequent (and not well publicized) shuttle. Nothing more than a small bus that weaves between the jets on the runway as it travels from one terminal to another.

Luckily Sam will not have to deal with that, because he goes through San Francisco. Particularly lucky because best I can tell, a transfer to a Sydney flight (rather than Brisbane like my trip) requires two shuttle transfers.

Layover in LAX was long enough for me to catch a meal in an actual sit-down restaurant.

As always, the international flight was very cramped. I don't know how a person of, say, Cooper's size could make it. Example: I dropped my headphones on the floor and was unable to reach down to the floor to pick them up -- only way I could get them was to slip my socks off and pick them up with my toes.

Nice in-flight entertainment system. Each seat has its own screen, with on-demand movies, TV shows (all weird Australian and Asian stuff though). I watched "Dinner for Schmucks" and "The Other Guys" then slept until breakfast was being served. After that, it was only an hour or so until we landed.

I thought I would be able to see a lot of evidence of flooding as we flew into Brisbane, but except for the extreme amount of mud in the river, there wasn't much to see.

No problems with Customs or Immigration.

A little confusing in Brisbane switching between international and domestic terminals, but in the end no problem.

Four hours to kill before my flight, but I had a good book.

Good views out the window over mainland Australia, but all clouds over Tasmania.

I was shocked to see how large my rental car was. A big SUV thing. I ended up trading down for a tiny economy car.