We arrived in LA at about 1:30pm, fully prepared for a long wait in the customs line, then an arduous several hour wait for our flight to up to Portand. Thankfully we experienced quite the opposite – we whizzed through customs, staying only long enough for John to achieve taking a picture in a prohibited area, and for Josh to get in trouble for not taking one! Shortly thereafter we easily claimed our baggage, made our way to the Alaskan Airlines counter, and secured a flight two hours earlier than originally scheduled.

We had a rapturous reunion with Steve, Brenna and Matt, and a long-awaited introduction to Eva. After anticipating the moment for so long, it was almost surreal to finally be together – but it was so good. They piled us into cars and we headed off for dinner at Carl’s Jr. This is one of Steve and Brenna’s favourite outlets, and it is fast becoming a tradition to visit it upon airport pick-up of Aussie relatives! And it was yummy-yum.