A Land Down Under

Today begins quite an adventure for me. In a few hours, I will take the first of three flights that will result in a trip to visit my brother, thundering36, in Melbourne, Australia. It's been several years since I have traveled far from the USA, and this trip will easily be the farthest.

The flight from San Francisco to Melbourne is a straight shot -- over 15 hours, almost completely over water. Mrs. lightning and I were debating whether it would be better to be eaten by sharks or munched on by miscellaneous ocean fish if the plane crashed. I think I would prefer feeding a group of many fish. I guess it's just my nature!

We've planned a few things for the trip. thundering36 and I will celebrate his birthday with a nice brunch buffet at the Crown Casino. Strangely enough, I think I'll find a little time for poker!

We also will be going to a footy game, which I am really looking forward to. I imagine the experience will be quite different than watching Australian Rules Football on television in the USA.

The real challenge of the trip will be driving on the opposite side of the car and the opposite side of the road. I'm gonna have to make sure I concentrate and don't do anything stupid.

I'll be staying for 11 days before heading back via Sydney and Dallas Fort Worth. It should be quite an adventure. I decided not to take a laptop computer, so I'll probably be communicating mostly via phone and social media.

Thanks for reading!