March 31, 2014: Monday night date night, reconnecting after a long week away. What are you doing over there? :)

March 30, 2014: Sister snuggles!

March 29, 2014: Came home to some super cute signs from the girls. Also, snow :(

A hasn’t been feeling well (someone always gets sick when I leave for a week, guaranteed!) so we took her to prompt care.  Thankfully, she doesn’t have measles. Haha!  Tonight we tried out Tucano’s since Jen had a free birthday meal to cash in.  It was great! Reservations definitely recommended. Kids eat free. We’ll be back. 

March 28, 2014: DTF for lunch followed by a trip to find the best macaron’s in Sydney.  Trying to take some home for Jen even though everything I read says they are horrible to try to travel with.  Worth a shot! 

I was scheduled to be on the last 747-400 United would fly from Australia.  Cool, historic moment.  Unfortunately, my business class upgrade hadn’t come through.  FORTUNATELY, the Melbourne-Sydney flight got cancelled so I got upgraded as I walked on the plane (!!). Unfortunately, that means I was not on the last 747 from Australia since that one had to fly back the next day from MEL-SYD-SFO.

Fortunately, I don’t care that much because I got upgraded. :)

In-N-Out.  Again. Starting to sound like a broken record.

March 27, 2014: Started my day off (not) right, finished up work at the Uni with a 3 hour workshop for ~50-60 employees, and then hit the road back to Sydney.  SURPRISE, DTF for dinner.  SPOILER, DTF for lunch tomorrow.

March 26, 2014: I don’t recall it ever raining in Australia before.  Glad I have a sweet umbrella.

March 25, 2014: BEAUTIFUL DAY IN AUSTRALIA.  Always so good to be here.  Stopped by Hillsong to have brekkie with Ally and drop off a care package from Genesis Church, then down to Cronulla to meet up with my mate Glenn! I haven’t seen him since London in October so it was great to catch up.  Afterwards we swung by the cubby to see the Future Mrs. Hamblen(!) and I ended up hanging out there for a few hours.  Very relaxing day after a long trip here, which was just what I needed! From there I took the drive down to the Gong, watched a storm roll in from the ocean, and got to my hotel just before it cut loose.  

March 24, 2014: Lost this day in air. Happened last week with Captain Phillips, and today my meal comes right at the bloody climax of Parkland. I can’t win.

March 23, 2014: Back on the road. Em was a mess when I left, thankfully A is still oblivious :) Fast turnaround, only got about ~10 hours of awake time with the girls from March 12-28.  Surprise to see a high school friend flying my plane to Houston, and the clouds on the way to LA were stunning.  

March 22, 2014: Family trip to the Children’s Museum. Soaking up lots of quality time with the kiddos today.  Apparently 1 trip around the world in a month isn’t enough :) Off to Australia tomorrow!

March 21, 2014: CUTENESS OVERLOAD.  And she’s not mad that we left her for a week! Haha!

March 20, 2014: Korea’s got Seoul!  This 9 hour layover was originally designed for 2 reasons. 1) Go see Seoul, 2) Fly United Global First on Saver Award. We decided to skip #1.  Seoul sits about 90 mins from the airport, which would have taken 3 of our ~7 hours out of the airport, so we decided to stay and experience the #1 airport in the world!  Amenities include:

• Free showers


• Massages on the cheap


• Movie Theatre


• Cultural Shows


• Cultural Center with painting exhibits


• Ice Skating Rink


• and more!

Spent some time in the Asiana Airlines first class lounge, more massages there. (We’re seriously relaxed at this point).  

Today was a big one for a travel nerd like me, getting to fly United Global First in the 747-400.  First class sits in front of business class on the first floor, but below where the pilots are.  So Row 1 is in the curvature of the plane’s nose!  So ridiculously cool.  We opted to be in the middle of Row 2, seated together but facing the nose.  Got to experience the over-shoulder seat belt I’ve seen so many times on the safety video.  Like I said, big day for a travel nerd like me.   Bad timing at dinner though, my meal came right at the end of Captain Phillips. Hah! 

Landed at SFO, with just enough time for a burger run.  Cabbie, take me to Millbrae!  And after that, 1 SFO-IND flight to get us home.  We made it.  Around the world in 8 days, 4 nights on a plane, 4 over the water… so basically, 8 nights overwater :)   260,000 United Miles, 140,000 Hilton Points and 80,000 Singapore Airlines Miles later, and we have successfully completed a $60,000 vacation for the total cost of under $5,000.  Now that’s #travelhacking.  Home is wherever I’m with you, babe!

March 19th, 2014: Overnight flight to Singapore, 4 hours and 3 hour time change which made for a short night. We skipped both meals and opted for sleep, which was a good call.

Today I was able to squeeze in some client work in the afternoon, while Jen napped and shopped. Not bad for her :)   Then I got to show her a bit of Singapore, take her to my favorite restaurant (Din Tai Fung!) for soup dumplings, and then down to Chinatown for some birthday shopping.

After our 17 hour layover it’s now off to Seoul!  But not without showing Jen some of the amenities of the Singapore Airport… free foot massage, a butterfly garden, the 3 story slide, the orchid gardens, the SilverKris Business Class Lounge was a great stop as well.  (I wish I could have snuck us back to the Private Room!)

Another overnight flight… here we go! Maximizing our time for sure :)