It's Like We Know What We Are Doing

Every time we fly, we try to figure out a way to get upgraded.  It's one of the reasons we stick with one airline partner.  If we're loyal to Oneworld, chances are upgrades could happen. They rarely happen. Sure, occasionally there's an upgrade to First Class on a domestic flight.  Then again, I have a ton of upgrade segments from this past year and haven't once been upgraded.  But I keep trying. And one time there was that sweet ass Business Class upgrade to Australia .  That was cool. But that isn't the norm. Adele and I always strategize on how we can do the whole upgrade thing.  Do we call them in advance??  Do we keep trying at the check-in desk??  Then again in the lounge??  Then again at the gate?? Seriously, the amount of time spent thinking about upgrades is ridiculous. Starting the flights off right. In the bar. All of this trial and error makes for a sweeter moment when these upgrades actually do happen. ORD-LAX...

Friday, May 27th So really, what is there to do in Alice Springs??  It's a small town in the middle of the Outback, seemingly a place to stop in between Uluru and Darwin.  But we weren't going to Darwin.  We arrived in Alice Springs specifically for our visit to the Kangaroo Sanctuary .  But that wasn't until the evening. There was a main drag where there were many places to eat and shop.  But that wasn't going to sustain us forever.  And we're in Alice Springs.  No one seems to go to Alice Springs.  We need to accomplish something . School of the Air Mom had asked at one point in the trip planning if we could visit a school.  Being a former First Grade teacher, she is always interested in seeing how schools work in other areas.  She also talks fondly about a group from Australia who visited her school back in the day.  I think they were in town with a reading program.  I could ask her, but that would involve work. ...

Thursday, May 19 We left our flight from Chicago feeling defeated and broken.  We were mostly separated on the plane, with two of the four of us stuck in middle seats for the four hour trip.  The journey had barely started and we were tired.  But fate had a way of making sure we were feeling ok about this whole long journey.  A Business Class Upgrade. Our flight landed at LAX in Teminal 4.  Following the signs to the Tom Bradley International Terminal was easy.  An escalator here, moving walkways there.  I had read a blog post in yesterday's frenzied Internet research about Qantas Business Class to know the terminal was relatively new.  And walking to the terminal was quiet, but quick. At this point, we didn't actually have tickets in our hands.  They couldn't be released when we checked in a few hours earlier.  So my main goal was to figure out where to check in.  As we walked through the terminal on Level 5, we began passing by th...