24-hour flight

In case there was any doubt in our minds just how far away Sri Lanka really is, the flight over here took care of that! It doesn't help when you have to arrive at the airport a full 5 hours before the plane leaves, either. That's what happens when you fly with a dog, 11 pieces of checked luggage, and this pile of stuff, which was actually just our carry-on items. That's right, try getting through airport security with all this:





We had Ruby pretty well set up with cartoons on her I-Pod, which was strapped to an extra snuggly panda for easy viewing.





Knowing just how long the flights were really going to be (19 hours total in the air!!), Gavin tried for a quick getaway in the departure lounge!




The first flight from DC to Doha was surprisingly not so bad - bless those bulkhead aisle seats, I could actually stretch my legs out all the way! But then you're also sitting so very close to business class...it's as if you can taste it.

Anyway, we got to Doha after the first 14 hours, and tried to bargain our way into the business class lounge, but nothing doing. We paid our way into the "Oryx" lounge, which seemed pretty comfortable at first - lots of free snacks, showers, low lighting to encourage naps, and soft chairs. 7 hours later the free snacks had long since lost their luster, and the comments about our cute but exhausted children were less and less friendly. 5 more hours on the plane, and we finally arrived. We're pretty sure Barkley went the whole way without a walk. Anyone remember the scene from Austin Powers just after they thaw him out after 30 years of cryogenic freezing? Yeah, it was pretty much like that when we finally got him to a tree. Poor puppy, but he survived!

We all survived too, but won't be jumping to get on another plane for awhile, that's for sure. Here's what 10 time zones worth of jet lag can do to a person.