The trip

This was several days ago now, so I don't remember all the details, but obviously any story about moving to Australia is incomplete without the description of the trip. 

I packed up the house and put everything into a self-storage unit that costs about $100 a month, so it actually works out to be about the same cost as renting a UHaul and taking everything to Reno, which is what I did last time.  All I was left with I could fit into the back of the Prius:  3 suitcases, a filing cabinet, and a box or two.  It's amazing how much stuff I really need... which isn't much.  I had a lot of furniture, much of which I never even used!

After getting to Reno in the Prius (thanks for driving 90% of it, Dad), I further consolidated and ended up taking two large suitcases full of clothes (mostly).  That, and a backpack with my laptop, my kindle, and a few other electronics was all that I brought. 

The trip itself was remarkably easy.  I left at 7pm from Reno, getting into LAX at about 8.  My flight for Sydney was on a Qantas 747-400.  I was a bit disappointed to not get an A380 but I'm sure I will at some point.  Rik says that the 747 is more comfortable anyway.

I had a window seat near the back, which was perfect for me.  Even on a long flight I prefer a window seat.  I can sleep better and I wanted to be able to see out when I landed in Sydney.

For some reason, a really long flight (it was about 14 hours) bothers me a lot less than a 4 - 5 hour flight.  I usually find myself sad that the flight was ending.  I read my kindle almost the whole time - there was a cool entertainment system but the only thing I watched on it was the replay of the Australian F1 Grand Prix. 

After landing in Sydney I had to drag my bags around a bit, but it wasn't too bad.  No problems going through customs, and then I got on a commuter to Canberra.  They didn't do anything like boarding groups or numbers like on Southwest, they basically just said "All aboard"!

Unfortunately the weather was cloudy so I didn't get to see anything on that leg of the flight.  Oh, I was taking pictures all along the way but I lost my camera in the Sydney Airport, which is why I don't have any up yet!