Because my flight from LAX to Sydney took me across the International Date Line, Day 7 of my trip was essentially a “lost day,” all of which was spent at cruising altitude over the Pacific Ocean.  Essentially, I never got to have an October 24th.  However, I’ll get one really long day on the way back over the Pacific sometime in February.

Americans dream of travel to Australia, but most of them wonder whether they can survive the 14 hour flight to get there.  My flight actually wasn’t bad at all because I slept most of the way.  I was advised by my Sydney host to try to stay awake as long as possible and then take a sleeping pill and sleep for the final 7 to 8 hours of the journey.  The plane lands in the early morning, so it helps you adjust to the time change.  On the flight, I tried to keep myself awake reading Bill Bryson’s “In a Sunburned Country,” a book about the author’s travels to Australia.  The book is a fascinating read, but I ended up falling asleep earlier than the advised time.  I woke up about 8 hours before landing, so  I took a Lunesta and slept for a good five more hours.