So for completeness sake, I suppose I should write a quick note about my trip home. (Mind you I’m writing this Tuesday, and I was traveling Sunday and Monday). Similar to my trip to Australia, the return trip from Australia was also plagued with problems.

To start with, let me give kudos to Expedia.com. They were great, they sent me an e-mail on Saturday stating that “significant change to your flight schedule [has been made].” Ok, that sounds bad, so in that same e-mail, Expedia suggested contacting the airline for more information. So I called up Quantas. “Yes,” they said, “your flight no longer is leaving at 11:20AM, it will be departing at 5:00PM.” So my obvious question, what about my connecting flight at LAX? “Not sure about that, we have a rebooking team that will handle those questions and it will be arranged once you arrive at the airport.”

So the gentleman from the shuttle service arrived at the hotel at 7:00AM (as previously arranged). I told him about the change in my flight schedule and he was able to reschedule my pickup. So I was able to hang around the lobby of the hotel for a few hours (I had to be checked out of my room by 10:00AM). I arrived at the Brisbane airport at 3:00 — still not sure about my connecting flight, but “they will be able to tell you more once you arrive at LAX.” Ok, no big deal.

I arrive at LAX…run to the United Airlines terminal (of course one of the farthest terminals away from the International gates)…I’m instructed to use the kiosks to check in since my baggage has been transfered from the Quantas flight. I go through the prompts and I receive the message “your flight has already departed.” Panicked, wave down one of the United employees…I’m directed to another queue to check in…wait another 20 minutes. “Yes, your original flight has already left, but we have you booked on a flight tonight departing at 10:55 “— it’s only 12:30 in the afternoon. So I had the opportunity to spend the next ten hours in the Los Angeles Airport! Wow, what a thrill.

So Monday morning at around 7:30 I made it back to Orlando. Jenifer and I had a pre-existing appointment with our realtor at 10:30. After we got back, I pretty much crashed for the rest of the day. I was so off on time-zones and sleeping.

I’m back, and I’m staying here in Orlando for the foreseeable future. :-)

Matt