Woodsy in the Los Angeles, California
International Airport -- 8-31-96

Subject: Long Flight to Australia

Los Angeles, California Saturday, August 31

Hi, friends.

Today I fly from Los Angeles, California, to Sydney, Australia. We're in the Los Angeles International Airport right now, just about ready to take off for Sydney in the biggest plane I've ever seen. Of course, I haven't seen very many airplanes before, so I guess they are all big to me.... especially since I'm such a little fellow.

My day started early this morning, but I don't remember much. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers bundled me out of bed so early, before I was even awake. The first thing I knew was when I woke up as we landed in Los Angeles on the commuter flight from San Diego. Mr. Rogers fixed me up with handy seat in his shoulder bag, where I could sit up and look out and see all the sights around me.

The airport is such a busy place, with airplanes of All sizes and lots of trucks driving to and fro, carrying baggage and jet fuel and so many other things, and lots of people doing work.

When we got inside the terminal, I was so excited I could hardly stand it. First, we had to stand in a long line waiting to check our suitcases and have our tickets and passports checked. That was kind of fun because I could hop around and people were real friendly to me. I even met Piggy, a special friend from Virginia in the U.S.A. who was taking her owner to Australia for a visit. I got a good picture of Piggy and me that I'll send to you soon.

After we got our tickets checked we went down to the departure gate. On the way, we stopped by the currency exchange window to exchange our United States money for Australian money. I found out that they use money that looks different than U.S. money... it's different colors and different sizes. I think Australian money is pretty. When we gave them one hundred U.S. dollars we got back 117 Australian dollars. (Mr. Rogers says this is because of what they call the "exchange rate." I don't know what that means, but I do know that one U.S. dollar is not worth the same amount as one Australian dollar.

After we changed our money, I finally saw our plane for the first time. Boy, my eyes bugged out... it was such a huge plane! For awhile, all I could do was look out the window at the big plane. It was a Qantas airline, and there was a picture of a kangaroo on the tail. I hope I get to see a kangaroo when I am in Australia. I also want to see a koala, a wallabee, a wombat, and some of the pretty birds that I hear about.

After awhile I got tired of looking out the window at the plane. So then I sat in one of the waiting room chairs and kicked my legs back and forth. Then I climbed up on the back of one of the chairs and looked around. Then I hopped around on one leg. Then I stood upside down on my head. Then Mr. Rogers scolded me and told me to settle down. Then I took a nap.

Pretty soon, they woke me up and told me it was almost time to get on the plane. And so now, that is what we are going to do. People are lining up and getting ready to have their tickets taken by the flight attendant. Since it's almost our turn, I better stop writing now. When we get started, I'll tell you about the flight.

Your friend,

Woodsy