We arrived at the airport in Sydney in plenty of time to get to our gate, have breakfast and did a little shopping.
We are flying Qantas Airlines, which is part of One World Alliance (American Airlines - which will be merging with US Airways this fall). We checked in using electronic kiosk, which printed our boarding passes and our baggage tags. Unlike the US, we proceeded to the electronic baggage check in station, these things are cool. It weights, scans the baggage tag and then sent the bag on it's way. So far, we haven't talked to anybody nor shown any form of I.D.
Everyone was hungry, so we proceeded through security to have breakfast. We were a little confused, since we didn't have to remove our shoes and didn't have to show I.D. the only thing similar to the US was we had to remove our laptops. This is "TSA Pre-Check" on steroids!
Krispy Kreme Donuts in Sydney, Terminal 3 were $3.00 each, must be expensive to fly fresh doughnuts all the way from Winston-Salem, NC Head Office of Krispy Kreme and where Dad goes every week for work.
Breakfast at "HUNGRY JACKS" was good and we were at the gate in plenty of time.
Next Stop Cairns.
Since we had to detour around the Ultra Marathon, we headed west to a town called Mareeba. As we proceeded up the mountain, the road was very windy and Dad took this opportunity to validate his rally car skills. However, Abey's stomach wasn't in agreement with sharp turns one after another and wasn't impressed (as Abey's says on two wheels). After 38 km (24 miles) we arrived in Mareeba, we had to stop at McDonald's for a breather and obviously a slushy to calm our tummies. We headed north to a town called Mount Molloy and then headed back east to Port Douglas. As we know, what goes up must come down, and just before we get to Port Douglas, we had to again wind through the mountains. Abey indicated that I was much better on the way down, but she is convinced she hates mountain roads.
We arrived in Port Douglas around 5:00 pm, and since the race was still in progress they had the entrance to our hotel blocked, so we headed to the grocery store to buy some snacks and wine. First thing once we checked in, we headed to the pool which is in our backyard. The villa (3 bedrooms) we are staying in, is a little dated but very spacious, with laundry and a full kitchen. Time to wash some clothes. The pool was great and the kids swam for about 1 hr before getting ready for dinner.
We had dinner on the resort, and Jacob had two grill ham/cheese sandwiches...the boy is growing again!
Miles Travelled to date: 11,020 (Total Hours of Travel - 23 hrs in the air)
Time Delayed in Airport - 3.5 hrs (LAX)
US Airways - Flight 2508 - Charleston (CHS) to Charlotte (CLT) - 168 miles - CRJ700
US Airways - Flight 721 - Charlotte (CLT) to Los Angeles (LAX) - 2,120 miles - A321
United - Flight 839 - Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD) - 7,516 miles - 747-400
Quantas - Flight 922 - Sydney (SYD) to Cairns (CNS) - 1,216 miles - 737-800
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