Australia - Getting There

We took the kids to Australia in May 1983. As the kids get older and have kids of their own, I anticipate the incredulous question--Why? Why indeed. Gordon was five years old and just finishing kindergarten, Laura was three, and Karren a mere 15 months. Stu was in utero, leaving me seven months pregnant and enormous. The answer is complex. Gordon and Laura, we were sure, would have a great experience, and were old enough to be manageable. Karren wasn't likely to be manageable, but we had just left her to go to Comdex Atlanta, and she was still miffed at us about it. I was sure she would be heartbroken and furious if we left her again so soon, and without any siblings for comfort, and told myself that, though she wouldn't remember it, the richness of experience would raise her IQ by several points. So we bought the best stroller on the market (this was an Aprica, long before Bugaboo), which was well-sprung and roomy but folded quite compactly, and included Karren in.

Gordon got tubes in his ears two days before we left, but since we had water-tight plugs for his ears, I was more concerned about a little cold Karren had. I took her to the doctor the day before we left, and he reassured me that she would be just fine. Famous last words.

On Wednesday May 4, we took a late-afternoon flight to San Francisco so we could catch the 9:00 pm flight to Townsville. As the airplane headed off across the Pacific, we changed the kids into their jammies, and tucked them into their reclined seats for a night's sleep. It worked for Gordon and Laura, but Karren was another story. She didn't have a seat of her own; she had a bassinet that folded down from the bulkhead right in front of my seat. It should have worked out all right, but Karren wasn't feeling well, and was restless and cross. I spent HOURS walking her up and down the narrow aisles, draped over my shoulder and massive stomach, before she finally went to sleep and I could tuck her into the bassinet. Unfortunately, the bassinet was small and Karren was not. Her head touched one end, and her feet the other, and she slept fitfully.

We arrived in Townsville at 5:30 in the morning, eight hours after a brief stopover in Hawaii, and it was Friday, May 6. We had crossed the International Date Line and missed Thursday altogether.