How long is the flight to Australia? Oh, not too long - just 16 hours (!) or so from LAX to Melbourne.

Of course, few of us start in Los Angeles. Our journey took us from Albuquerque to LAX (5 hours because there were no nonstop options available), from LAX to Melbourne, and from Melbourne to Hobart (another hour or so, plus several hours to kill at the airport). By the time we arrived at our hotel, the fabulous Maylands Lodge in Hobart, we were understandably exhausted...and then my husband took me on a surprise, multi-hour hike. Uphill!

Do I even need to say it was a surprise? Surely no sensible person would have agreed to strenuous activity after all that flying unless they didn't understand what they were getting into. Then again, after that much travel, is anyone still sensible? Can they understand anything?

(Honestly, I think SN just got lost and he wouldn't admit it.)

I'd been dreading the long flight even before booking it. I tried to convince my travelmate of the meri…

I'd love to blame this one on jet-lag.

This morning, I rolled off of my Amerisleep mattress feeling completely unlike my usual, lazy self. Today, I was full of determination. I was going to accomplish everything (everything!) on my To Do list, even the items that have been there forever. Yes, I was finally going to tackle the mess that is my office.

And exercise!

And stop eating sugar!!

And write a stack of long overdue thank you notes!!!

It was going to be quite a day. With the help of Alexa, guiding me through my Amazon Echo Dot, I completed a meditation session before I'd even had my coffee. Feeling very zen, I decided I would practice mindfulness while making my morning latte - feeling the weight of the cool mug, listening to the sound of the milk being poured, inhaling the aroma of the freshly ground beans. I rejected all outside distractions and was 100% in the moment. Aaaahhhhh.

I don't think I did it right.

While engaging in my mindfulness exercise, I was feeling …

We've been home almost a week and I still haven't done any serious Tasmania blogging. Jet lag is no joke! Plus, we seem to have brought home a cold (me) and the flu (SN) from when we visited my family in Perth at the end of our trip. (His is totally the same thing I have, morphed into a man cold.) When traveling to Australia, keep in mind that it may be their flu season when you visit.
Here is the detailed itinerary we began our trip with, including notes on the best restaurants per stop. Locations that are in bold are the main focus of the day. I'll share the changes we made to the actual trip (and the ones we wish we'd made!) in the coming days. 

You can also find lots of photos and funny trip stories on my Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

If you've ever wanted to visit Australia, now is the time because of the generous exchange rate compared to the US dollar. Be sure to make Tasmania a priority. My husband and I have visited Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne …