Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Destination: Australia

When I left NYC to travel to Sydney for the Art is You Australian Mixed Media Roadshow, I was not looking forward to the 23 hour travel time. People had said that I would want to jump out of the plane halfway to Australia. Little did I know that the trip would turn into a 3+ day adventure.

Kecia Deveney was my partner in art crime. We met at JFK and off we went on Qantas. Sort of. After we boarded our plane, there was a 3 hour delay while they searched for a part so the air conditioning would work. We passed the time by taking photos and sweating. 



We arrived in LA 9 hours later.

Because the AC had broken along the way and we were due to fly on the same plane, the onward flight to Sydney was cancelled. Qantas informed us no hotels were available in all of LA. Hmmm...must be because Los Angeles is such a small city. Our flight was rescheduled -- for 13 hours later. So we hunkered down for the night in the airport seats. How perfect that just as we fell asleep, the airport terminal lights came on.


While waiting for the flight the next day, we did what any self-respecting mixed media artists would do: journal. With a twist. We decided to work on the same journal pages and pass them back and forth.



page in progress

page in progress

calling it done

An hour before the flight, we were told that our rescheduled flight was cancelled and would be rescheduled again -- 9 hours later. Arggghh. This is what the scene at the airport looked like. It was not pretty.


We were all in it together though and by then we had made a number of good friends. 



For this delay, we passed the time talking and enjoying many refreshments!



After we finally boarded the plane for our 13 hour plane ride from LA to Sydney, nearly 3 hours passed before we took off. But took off we did. I was so exhausted by the earlier delays that I slept for 10 hours and the longest leg of the journey seemed the shortest.

As we got closer to Sydney, our anticipation of arriving grew. First there was a magnificent sunrise to watch.



Then there was this awesome Aussie terrain.


And then the incredible Sydney skyline....Harbor Bridge, Opera House and more.


And then......the fog!


But wait...why are we passing Sydney and not landing? Turns out there was too much fog to land.


 We flew to Brisbane and landed to refuel. Brisbane?? For real??? 

This was our view for the next 3 hours.


We took off again...back to Sydney. Although I figured we would probably end up in Japan...we actually, eventually, finally, happily landed in Sydney. Some 50-plus hours after we left!

Funny thing though...Kecia and I actually had a good time. I guess not showering for 50 hours leads to some real bonding. And, of course, how could we complain when our ultimate destination was a month-long adventure in Australia. More on that soon...

34 comments:

Angie said...

I've been following your 'ups & downs' on facebook. Now you can enjoy Oz.

Beanie Mouse said...

Yowzers!!! I'd be working on a certain letter to Quantas when you get home. 22 hours delay in LA with no hotel, quite frankly, is horse manure!!!
But NOW, the fun bit!!!

Raylee said...

hi seth, been following on facebook as well.
wait till you see the sunshine coast ......that will make up for all the delays!

Jo Murray said...

There is nothing quite like that view of Sydney Harbour. Hope Sydney turns on some sparkling weather for you.

patti said...

Oh No! What a haul!

Lucky you were headed to the best place on earth! (biased Aussie opinion!)

~*~Patty S said...

Golly Seth you had me on the edge of my seat...
A trip to remember in more ways than many!
Here's to smooth travels from here on out...
Enjoy * Enjoy
oxo
p.s. great post making lemonade out of lemons!!!

jenclair said...

Wow! I was just complaining about long flights yesterday--and I knew nothing about long flights! More power to the the two of you for making the best of that experience.

Gwen Buchanan said...

This was awesome and I don't use the word Awesome very much! Take care and enjoy the other side of the world!

Cappuccinoandartjournal.blogspot.com said...

i love your wonderful sense of adventure!

Anonymous said...

You couldn't make me get on a plane! I love that you thought of creating journal pages and I love your progress on them and the finished one is so wonderful. Enjoy your trip and hopefully all the bad parts are over!

elle said...

You are definitely a lemonade maker! :)

lynne h said...

whoa, seth. this tops all of my flight delayed trips by a mile!

travel on, my friend... : )

xoxo

Patti Sokol said...

Seth-I loved how you turned a trip from hell into a positive experience.

lynda Howells said...

Sorry you had such an awful journey but glad you are there now! My son and his wife live in Sydney. Great place .. have fun!xx

trish quilty said...

that's a lot of story telling in your journals. Quite a time you had. Good thing you are there for a month to enjoy all the highlights of the country and not from the inside of an airplane. :)

Win Dinn, Artist said...

Love it - two artists, six+ cancellations/delays, forty hours of sleeping, 'refreshing', talking and journaling, and fifty hours of movement towards a destination, ending with a fabulous story to tell. Thanks for this post - it made my day!

jacqueline said...

Wow what a journaling journey! Enjoy the next bit........

Quinn said...

You are two intrepid travelers, for sure. You've got the best travel journals ever!

Carol said...

Here I am at Rafferty's Seth, waiting to meet you travellers for the first time. After a lot of rain the sky is blue, so here's hoping for some good Sydney weather for us all.

Kirsten said...

Oh my! I'm not sue I would have remained so calm. Thank goodness for journaling was there to help you through it all. I'm glad you finally arrived, have a wonderful time.

Jackie PN said...

WOWS! It can only get Better and better from here on out! Great story though about you and Kecia- how perfect to get to know one another better in REAL Life! No shower for 50 hours!! Yikes teeheehee
Waiting for the next chapter! Hugs ")

CathyB said...

Wow, is all I can say and you're still smiling. Amazing!! Have fun and I hope there no more problems!! :)

schulmanart said...

this is exactly the type of blog post i like to read.. misery expressed with humor and yet not a pity party either. love the plane photos. the art journaling. have fun!

Anonymous said...

I am sooo sorry that you had such a terrible trip to Australia. Glad you at least got to make a journal page along the way.

mamablitger said...

Oh gosh.. What a " marathon" trip it turned into. But now after arriving enjoy that you arrived safely and nothing serious happened !!
Enjoy your stay ! Let each fiber soak in inspiration !!
Hugs from SPAIN

Jane LaFazio said...

OMG Seth. I can't EVEN imagine! The nightmare trip of all time! And you seemed to make it through it...I don't know how I would have handled it.
Remember a while back when that working flight attendant opened the emregency door, with a plane full,of passengers, opened a beer and slide down the emergency slide onto the tarmac? I think that would have been me if I had your travel expereince!
Have a Fosters on me in Oz!
Xo

BackHomeArt said...

holy cow what a crazy travel experience! glad you are there and i hope it's amazing!

Unknown said...

You guys had the worst travel luck!! I'm sure the trip will be worth it! Can't wait to see you in Melbourne!

dorit said...

Wow! What a nightmare..but it sounds like it is worth it!
Have fun down under!

rivergardenstudio said...

Even though this must have been excruciating at times, your story is great!! Have a wonderful time Seth!
roxanne

PocketSize said...

Oh. My. God. I think I would've completely lost it and been rolling around on the floor babbling after about 10 hours! I had been seeing your updates on facebook but it's quite something else to read the whole story as a whole; and I'm sure that doesn't even begin to touch on what it was like to experience it yourself! I hope the month in Australia is worth all the travel grief!

bellefrogworks said...

I think many people would have (and no doubt some did) lose it totally. However I am glad to see that you kept some sense of humor over this. But - 22 hours in LA with no hotel - maybe, just maybe, they owe you one!

Marjie Kemper said...

Fifty hours!!! OMG, I knew it was bad (really bad) but I didn't know it was THAT bad. You two must be the best of friends after that journey!

Hoping the Road Trip is amazing and that you have the trip of a lifetime.

Angi in hana said...

U are awesome! U have such a sweet attitude about life, we can all learn from u, enjoy u guys, I am so jealous u got to hang with Keith lobule! Aloha, angi in hana