Cruise With Christine Pappin: Travel to Melbourne

Sunday, March 8, 2020

Travel to Melbourne

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ORD - LAX - MEL

Our Southern Australia to Singapore adventure began on February 12th with our evening flight from Chicago (ORD) to Los Angeles (LAX). We had friends take us to the airport a couple hours early, as we normally do. Just as we arrived at the airport, it started snowing.

We went thru security and headed to our gate. Since we had a four hour flight, we picked up salads from the food court so that we'd have some dinner on the plane.

Our flight boarded on time, but due to the snow, the plane needed to be de-iced which caused us to be delayed for about an hour. Despite the late departure, we still arrived in LAX on time. We had a two hour lay-over in Los Angeles before our next flight.

Connecting Flights

To expedite security screening, we'd packed all our electronic items (laptop, iPad, DSLR camera, Kindle) and 3-1-1 bags in a separate carry-on bag. This made going through security in Chicago much easier than it would have otherwise. I say easier, because my knee brace always requires extra screening, which this time was quite involved, and took some time.

You may be wondering if we needed to go through security all over again in LAX?

Fortunately, the answer to that question was no. Upon debarkation in LAX, we asked someone for directions to the connecting flights. At the end of the terminal, there was an escalator that took us to an upper level. You can see from the picture above that we are above the security screening and flight check-in stations.

Getting Comfortable

Another thing that we had in our separate carry-on bag was a change of pants. We took turns changing into our lounging pants prior to heading to our gate. This way, we didn't need to attempt to get comfortable in the small onboard restrooms. We wanted to be comfortable for the approximate 15 hour flight from there to Melbourne.

We also suggest a comfortable neck pillow. Even though the airline provides pillows on long-haul flights, you might want to have your own to add to your comfort. Also consider compression socks to prevent DVT (clots) and some slipper socks so that you can keep your feet warm if you remove your shoes.

Next Stop - Melbourne

We boarded the flight about 10:30 PM Pacific time which was 12:30 AM at home. We were already tired, but we needed to stay up a little longer. Dinner was served around 1:30 AM and then it was time to take a long nap. A couple hours before we landed, breakfast was served.

If you are like me, I can't fall asleep easily on planes. My husband on the other hand has no problem. This time, however, I was out before my husband and skipped dinner. Throughout the flight we both got up and took restroom breaks, allowing us to stretch a little. It is a good idea to do so as well as some plane exercises to be sure not to get clots.

We'll talk more about our arrival in another post. For more images, see our Shutterfly Photo Page.
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