We’re calling an audible today as there is no good news on the volcano front. Planes still aren’t flying into Bali, so the airline is planning on moving passengers to a new hotel and trying again in tomorrow. That means our best case scenario is arriving at 24 hours from now, and then only if the volcano cooperates. The alternative is to improvise, and through a combination of flying, driving and taking a ferry, be certain that this time tomorrow we’ll be in Bali.

It takes a bit of convincing as my travel companions are fairly comfortably settled into their hotel room, but we see few redeeming qualities in Jakarta and ultimately decide to part ways with our fellow passengers and head off on our own. Our first step is a short flight to Surabaya, which gets us about two thirds of the way there in just over an hour. There, we manage to cobble together a rag tag group of travelers and rent a bus, for what Google claims should be a 5 hour drive to the ferry crossing at Banyuwangi.

Precisely 8 hours later, we pull onto a boat that looks like it was only recently dredged up from the bottom of the sea. It does have bathrooms however, and after such a long drive, someone is more than looking forward to squatting over a hole in the floor and working the flush bucket. While she is waiting, she entertains us with her best Grumpy Cat impression.

After a bit more than an hour on the ferry, we finally step foot on Bali, and are met by a driver from the house we rented on AirBnB. He tells us we have 2 more hours in the car to get to the village where we are staying, but as the sun starts to peek over the mountains, we at least know there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Wow, what an interesting 24 hours. While the flights are generally the least eventful portion of our trip, there is a definitely a story behind our journey from Houston to Jakarta.

“Hold on a second”, you say. “Since when were you going to Jakarta?”

To understand that, we have to wind back the clock to where I last left off.

Some may remember years ago when we travelled with Nick to Thailand that bit the bullet and flew him first class to really make his experience one of a kind (it sounds easy when we talk about it now, but my trusty travel companion will tell you how difficult it was to try the additional air miles out of my hands back then). Rest assured, his younger brothers remember this quite vividly, so this time around, we try and do the same thing for Joey. It’s nowhere near as easy now as it was then, but we do manage to score the upgrade on the all-important Houston to Dubai leg.

Why does this leg matter? Well, besides being the longest part of our journey, if you have seen any of the Emirates commercials recently with Jennifer Aniston, you’ll know their A380s are the only planes with showers. Of course, there is no practical need to take a shower on an airplane (there are showers at the airport to freshen up after a long flight), but who would ever pass up the opportunity if the could?

For Joey, the whole experience at the front of the plane is mind blowing. He has never seen anything like it, and the entire time we are boarding and waiting to take off, he taking everything in with eyes as big as saucers. The big seat that turns into a bed? “Awesome.” The big TV? “Awesome.” Personal snack basket and drink cooler? “Awesome.” The remote that controls everything? You guessed it – “Awesome.”

The other notable feature of the A380 on Emirates is the lounge, so after dinner, we all head back to check it out and have a drink. On a 14 hour flight it is nice to get up and stand a bit, and while it isn’t the best use of space, leaning up against a bar is definitely a bit more pleasant than standing in the galley. We also spend some time with a friendly passenger from Dubai who is also flying his family in first class – although I don’t think he is using points. He is disappointed we aren’t staying at least a few days in his country and tells Joey he needs to bring his family back to stay with him and see Dubai. If this flight hasn’t ruined ruin him already, I can only imagine what a week or two in some over the top compound would do to the poor kid when he is stuck in his first apartment out of college eating Cup ‘o Noodles.

While we are gone, the stewardess has made up the beds, so we wind down with a movie and then drift off to sleep.

About an hour out of Dubai, it is time for our scheduled shower. It is a fairly carefully managed event and the dedicated shower attendant stands guard to make sure you don’t sneak in out of turn.

The showers are in the first class bathrooms, which, shower notwithstanding, are over the top. At least one, and probably two of the bathrooms in our house are smaller and certainly less decked out. There is even a TV to keep tabs on your journey, just in case you need to know exactly where you are while taking care of other important business.

Of course no self-respecting traveler would want to step out of a warm shower onto a cold floor, but fear not, they have thought of that too – yes, the floors are heated.

The whole flight is an absolutely crazy, mind blowing, unjustifiable indulgence. Which is to say we loved every minute of it.

Our layover in Dubai is 12 hours, the bulk of which we spend in the airport hotel trying to get as good of a night’s sleep as our messed up internal clocks will allow. From there it is off the lounge to await our flight. Where Alaska puts on their game face with an automatic pancake machine, Emirates goes one step further, by adding a whole separate level to their terminal. Yes, on floor up from the regular concourse, there is another complete set of gates reserved for passengers with lounge access, complete with leather furniture, free food and drink, and private compartments with loungers to relax on.

Stepping back into the real world, we board our flight to Bali, which is another 9 hours. After traveling for almost 2 days, we are ready to get to our destination and you can tell our junior traveler is getting excited. Until…

About an hour from Bali, the captain comes on the PA to let us know a volcano has erupted on Lombok (the island to the east of Bali) and the ash cloud will not allow us to land. Instead we will be diverting to Jakarta to await further instructions. It is late in the evening when we land, and with no immediate plan to reopen the airport in Bali, we have been shuttled off to a hotel to spend the light (props to Emirates for taking care of that as I’m sure a US airline would have sent us away to fend for ourselves since the problem wasn’t mechanical). We’re to head back to the airport after breakfast for what, hopefully, will be a short flight, and only minor delay.

There has been a fairly excited 6th grader bopping around the house these past few days, which means the time has come for him to set off on his big adventure. It was hard to pin Joey down on where he wanted to travel to, but after much reflection (and some martabak manis), he settled on Indonesia and Australia. Across a little more than three weeks, we’ll be visiting Bali, Cairns, Ayers Rock and Melbourne, hopefully sharing some experiences we will all carry with us forever.

As these journeys are primarily powered by frequent flier points, we don’t always get the prime choice of flights. As Australia is typically a tough ticket from the US, our best option was to go the long way round, flying through Houston, Dubai, and Bali. Coming home, we were able to lock down Melbourne to Los Angeles, making Joey the first of the Roberts boys to circumnavigate the globe. It does however make for a very long first travel day (two really, as with the overnight in Dubai it will take us 44 hours to get to Bali). On the upside, the longest leg is on the A380, which itself is a bit of an experience.

After waking up early, still slightly hopped up on Halloween candy, we’re off to the airport, where Joey’s first clue that he’s in for something special is the automatic pancake machine in the Alaska Airlines lounge.

Our first flight is pretty uneventful and we make it to Houston in time to catch the end of the Seahawks game (a 13-12 nail biter). From there, it is 15 long hours stuck in the metal tube I find myself in now, watching movies, trying to keep up with email over some sketchy Internet, and working the rust out of the old blogging software.

Stay tuned…