• 2 hours from Seminary Way, Norton, MA to Logan Airport in Boston, MA, USA
• 6 hours from Boston to Los Angeles, CA, USA
• 7 hour lay over in L.A. (ugh)
• 12 hour flight from LAX to Auckland, New Zealand*
• 2 hour layover in Auckland
• 3 hour flight from Auckland to Sydney, Australia
• 1 hour to get through Customs in Sydney
• 2 hours to load our luggage and get a limo ride to 2/3 Reserve St., Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

* [Airline tickets were about $1650 each; we saved about $200 by going through NZ rather than flying directly to Sydney.]

Off to Logan we go. Pierre was our driver. It was possibly his first or second time driving in the U.S.? (For example, we approached Route 24 to head to Logan; he started to get off 24 South which takes you on a nice route to Rhode Island but the opposite direction to Logan; "Ahem, Pierre, we want the next exit." We arrived safely at Logan, perhaps the most dangerous part of our trip finished.

The trip to LA was very exciting as it was the first airplane ride for the boys. Nate found the lights and airblower very exiciting!

Everyone found different ways to pass the time. Papa read (and recommends) 'The Voyage of the Narwhal'.

The kids were very good; they are so flexible. The movies on the plane helped of course (yet another side benefit of a home with no T.V. is that if you show the boys a monitor, it takes hunger and a plate of food to move 'em). Josh, Jon, and Dave each got a surprise bowl of ice cream from the stewardess for "being so polite." (But hey, I was polite too!?!). On the long flight to New Zealand, everyone tried their best to sleep. Nathan crashed first, quickly finding out that Mama would keep him from falling on the floor and that a brother next to him would not object if he stretched his legs on them. Joshua curled up in a ball and soon fell asleep with his neck cranked into a shape that would have kept me in traction for a month. At one point in the middle of the flight, I woke from a light nod and looked over to find Jon with his headphones back on watching the movie through bloodshot eyes. Kathy, Zac, Dave, Jon, and Papa slept on and off for an hour or two each time, but collectively we think we got about 4-5 hours of sleep on the 12 hour flight.

So for the next few days, we all felt like we were moving. We were sitting around the table at dinner and everyone shared how they felt light-headed. We went to bed at 5pm for the first two or three nights, sleeping until 4 or 5am the next morning. (But probably not surprisingly for folks who travel these great distances more than us, we just didn't feel like we were getting enough sleep. Even today, Sunday, the fourth day since we arrived, my head was a mess by 2pm and I had to take a nap. Of course, here I am typing this in at 10:15pm when I should be in bed :) Ahhh, jet lag: to have it is to know it.