Today (January 14, 2025) begins our really big bucket list trip. We are heading to Australia and New Zealand. As an added bonus we will make a stop in New Caledonia a real island where McHale’s navy used to go occasionally from the fictional island of “Taratupa” where they carried out their high jinks in the early 1960’s sitcom. I always wondered where the old Caledonia was? Turns out based on a google search, it is the Roman name given to Northern Scotland.
Back in the summer when we were making our travel plans we booked a flight with Qantas airlines when they were celebrating their anniversary and we got a great deal, from Los Angeles to Melbourne. Being wise travelers we decided to book our flight from Kansas City to Los Angeles two days earlier because of the iffiness of the winter weather in Kansas City. We did not consider the possibility of the devastating wildfires in Southern California. It is such a tragedy. We are checking the conditions of the LAX airport. So far they have been operating normally. We are staying at a hotel at the airport.
We will let you know how things are when we arrive.
.
Traveling with Ray Owens 