Arrived At Last!

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Ok… here I am safe and sound in Australia. I took 3 plane rides to get here. Each plane varied in size and length of trip.  

Flight #1: Vegas to L.A. Embrae rj140  Sat in 5C near window on the right side of the plane. Flight Time - 2:50 pm - 4:00 pm

I showed the FoF letter to the boarding lady and she said “oh aren’t you so cute! Sure you can meet the pilot and see the cockpit”. So now it’s time to board and I’m walking through the tunnel. My nerves were rattling inside and I could feel tears starting to well up. The flight attendant pointed me left to the pilots cockpit area and both pilots started talking to me. One of them started telling me how the plane worked and the different noises that I’d hear but I interrupted him and said I had prepared myself for the sounds. He said “great!” and then told me that we would have moderate turbulence climbing out from Vegas because the winds were pretty heavy. I said what’s moderate?  he explained to me that on a scale, it went light, moderate, heavy and severe. I said ok… 

I then heard my name, turned around and the flight attendant had taken my picture. LOL!!!  Then I said thanks to the pilot, and headed to my seat.  I sat down, buckled up… took my deep breaths and tried to relax. Got my camera ready for the take-off pictures and video.

We started moving but we had to wait, we were 3rd in line for take off. When we rounded the corner I could hear the engines race and then we started down the runway. I felt slight pressure as I was pushed back in my seat but it wasn’t at all what I had imagined. Felt just like a quick take off in a car but it lasts much longer.  Take off video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrycMLlSTfk

We lifted off and Lyn says…. hold your gut now…. I tightened my stomach, felt a very slight pull but it was nothing.  Now I have a very keen sense to movement. I”m sensitive to it so dramamine is a must for me.  And it helped.  As we climbed (in my video) I said OMG! It was really cool!  I’m afraid of heights but this was so different!!  I remember people telling me that it’s not the same but until you can experience the height factor yourself, it IS. I took a whole bunch of pictures from the window and just was amazed at the sight! It was beautiful! I was so overwhelmed.  The turbulence was just as most people have told me it was. A bumpy road, but you can’t see the road. Most the time you can’t even feel the plane moving. I was amazed.  Some portions of the turbulence I could feel the plane “dip”.  Like a dip in the road but not as pronounced. It gave me a slight dizzying feeling and if it weren’t for my dramamine, I probably would’ve gotten sick but it only lasted a few seconds. I took my deep breaths because my nerves got a little rattled by that but now I know what it felt like.  I can deal with it.  We approached L.A. and the landing was the best part. I think I enjoy landing the most when it comes to flying. Perhaps because it’s over?  LOL!!  No… seriously, I like landing.  Anyway, the landing was smooth. Felt the tires hit the runway and we bumped along to a stop. It was great!

Landing Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEHTpLIBWYE

Flight #2 Qantas Boeing 747-400  Seating 3-4-3  Sat in 40A Left side of plane over the wing. Flight time: 11:00 pm US time Arrived 6:05 am Brisbane Australia. Total flight time 13 hours.

Sat in the L.A. Terminal for 6 hours and I felt pretty good. We watched our plane pull up to the terminal and of course I took pictures.  We found our seats and had one other person sitting with us. Lyn was crammed in the middle. I tried to take video but I got too much reflection off the window so it came out crappy. Sorry…. 

We headed for the runway and with this plane being SO much bigger I felt the pull much more during the take-off. It wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated which was a relief. What I was more worried about was not being able to see out the window during this flight because it was dark. I was concerned about the motion and how I would have to deal with it. I loved looking outside, it was a relief for me. But I worked on it. I was a bit nervous, maybe one deep breath had me back on track and I got myself comfy as we started climbing to cruising level.  We reached 40,000 feet.  YIKES!  I wished so bad I could see out but it would have to wait til morning.  The flight crew came around with dinner but I didn’t eat. They passed around all kinds of stuff which was kind fun (for a first timer).  After dinner was picked up, the lights went out.  I curled up as best as I could and put on a movie to try and fall asleep to. The sounds of the engine was soothing enough for me. White noise puts me to sleep easily. Pretty much about 9/10′ths of the ride was smooth. I felt a few little bumps here and there and because I was half asleep, I thought someone was bumping my bed. LOL!!  About midway through the flight the turbulence got a little bit heavier and then I heard the ding ding and the pilot ask to fasten our seatbelts as there is some turbulence over the Pacific.  After he announced that….. the ride went smooth.  Didn’t feel a thing.  Most of the night was spent tossing and turning and just trying to get comfy. I used the bathroom a couple times. Man- they’re tiny!!!!  LOL!!!  

A couple hours before landing I was feeling a wee bit hungry but still too afraid to eat anything. By the time breakfast came around, I wasn’t feeling to good, so I skipped eating. I thought I was feeling icky from the flight but as I write this now, I can contribute how I felt due to the fact that I’m now with a cold and “Aunt Flo” arrived after my third flight landed.  So my feeling not so good was due to those two factors and NOT being on a plane.  You ladies should know who “Aunt Flo” is…. LOL!!!

Ok…. we started our decent from 40,000 and by golly my ears were in such pain!  Nope, chewing gum and swallowing doesn’t unplug my ears… yawning is the only thing helps but I couldn’t get myself to yawn enough.  The pain was pretty bad. I thought my head would explode.  Now I said I like landings but the decent on the big planes from that height was a little bit dizzying. Again, I’m thankful for dramamine. But really it isn’t as bad as I had imagined. It’s true what your imagination can do.  Anyway, we landed but the pilot announced that there was a sick passenger on board and we had to wait until they got him off first. So here we are all wondering what he had or if it was just some sort of heart condition.  We landed in Australia, so if it was anything contagious, I’m sure we would’ve been quarantined or something. All was good.

Flight #3: Qantas Boeing 737 Seats 2-3-2  Sat in 47K (I think!) Right side of the plane. Flight time 10:00 am to 12:30 pm.  Brisbane to Cairns

Ok… again I contribute how I felt towards getting a cold and Aunt Flo arriving but at the time I didn’t know this.  I started getting really apprehensive about this 3rd flight. I was finding myself doing deep breathing exercises more frequently and trying to divert my attention onto soemthing else. I was just really nervous for some reason. This was the last leg.  We were initially going to drive from Brisbane to Cairns but those plans had changed. My blog explains all that. Anyway… it was time to board.  I sat in my seat. Lyn beside me. I was deep breathing a LOT and very very nervous. I was seconds… SECONDS from bailing on this flight!  I just didn’t want to take it!  I really felt sick.. nauseous … and I didn’t know where the “barf” bags were and I didn’t want to get stuck sitting there if I DID get sick.  I regained a bit of control. Took more deep breaths…. got out my camera and started taking pictures of the outside, looking around, watching the crew below with the luggage, etc.  That really calmed me down. I diverted my mind away from how I was feeling and it helped. Next thing I knew we were backing out.  We had a long taxi to the runway and by the time we turned to take off I was completely calm!!!  The whole entire flight from Brisbane to Cairns was uneventful. The take-off was beautiful, the cruising altitude of 38,000 was smooth, no turbulence what-so-ever.  And the landing was perfect!  That was the best flight out of the 3. 

Besides the fact that my ears/head were in severe pain, I can say that I will fly again!  I’ll have to deal with the turbulence like everyone else but that’s what the dramamine is for.  It’s not so bad.  And if I’m faced with the bad stuff, so be it. It’s part of flying!  It’s no different then wondering out the drive will be in your car on a road you’ve never been on. Will it be bumpy or smooth?

So after landing in Cairns, I picked up a cold from somewhere. Sniffles and sneezing, head cold. And aunt flo decided to arrive. So I know that the last 2 hours of the long flight and the last flight were reasons of feeling ill.  I won’t let myself relate those feelings to my flights.  It wasn’t there fault.

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