It’s all over. I said some goodbyes at dinner last night, expecting to see many of the group later today because we were catching the same flight from Dallas to Sydney. However, it was not to be. I had an early morning breakfast commitment with some Houston friends, so checked out of the hotel early. After breakfast, one of my companions drove me to the airport where I had a long wait for my 2:10pm flight. Except it was an even longer wait than expected.
They boarded us, then told us we’d be waiting on the tarmac for at least an hour because of weather delays at Dallas. We took off about 3:30pm, getting in around 4:30 — Dallas was shrouded in heavy rain and low cloud and visibility was very low. I had plenty of time before my flight to Sydney, due to leave at 8pm, so cooled my heels in the Qantas Premier lounge. Most of the group were scheduled to fly out of Houston around 4:30pm — the hour-long delay saw them racing to get to the gate on time (one missed the connection as she was coming in from Hobby airport in Houston). I saw them briefly at the gate, fully expecting to see them on the flight. But Qantas doesn’t encourage fraternisation between different classes on board! I had received my points upgrade to First Class, but it was impossible for anyone in Economy to join me, or for me to go to Economy. And when we arrived in Sydney, most were on the 8:30am flight to Perth, so they had another dash from one terminal to the other to make their flight. I was booked on the 10:30am flight out of Sydney, so had a leisurely transfer time, allowing me to shower and relax in the Qantas Business Lounge. Which meant I missed saying my goodbyes to a great group of ladies!
The flights home were uneventful — just as I like it! There was a bit of turbulence leaving Dallas, and some midway across the Pacific (usual), but otherwise there was nothing out of the ordinary about the flights. I even slept a few hours of the DFW to SYD flight!
Some photos taken from the plane going across Australia:
Salt lakes in the Western Australian wheatbelt
Straight line of clouds
The Coorong, South Australia
Rhonda Bracey: At Random 