Tuesday, April 4

After breakfast, we checked out of our motel and headed for the Melbourne airport, where our Qantas flight departed around 10:30 in the morning.  Surviving a second trans-Pacific crossing, we arrived at LAX at 7:30 a.m. the same day, reclaiming the time we had “lost” during our trip in the opposite direction.  Several hours later, we boarded a Continental 757 for an uneventful return flight to Newark.  A hop, skip and jump later, respectively via the airport monorail, a New Jersey Transit commuter train and finally in the back seat of a friend’s car, we were home.