Make sure to read I before II. I am already being too wordy and don’t want to exacerbate this vice by repeating events.

1. Sunday. The beginning of a new week and a new ordeal.
2. A sign in the hotel lobby, as we walk to a nice buffet breakfast on Etihad, says only those whose final destination is Abu Dhabi should get on the 11am bus for a 4pm flight. Well, since we rebooked with American and will be in Abu Dhabi for 24 hours, this means us.
3. Bus arrives with an Etihad person bearing solutions for those with canceled connecting flights. One Turkish woman we chatted with, also trying to go to Sydney, said that she was now being routed on two different airlines–one to Inchon, Korea, and then from Inchon to Sydney. She would arrive on Tuesday. Etihad did say that if she could find a better routing, they would book it if any seats were available. Sorry for her, but we are delighted that we had planned ahead.
4. Do the security thing at the airport–I think they are beginning to recognize us. 
5. Go for our new boarding passes at the Etihad counter, and after two hours with the agent and two supervisors, I am writing this as we are aboard our plane ready to push back and fly to Abu Dhabi. Victory is ours!
6. BUT, Etihad could not find the American Airlines reservations in their system. Sure, it was on the  AA website and we have an AA confirmation, but not in the Etihad system. NO SEATS for us!
So, It was our choice: If we were willing to fly business class to Sydney (our miles were for First Class, and this was to have been a trip highlight) they would put us on the 2pm flight to Abu Dhabi so we could make the connection. Since we’re on the verge of doing three days in airports instead of Tasmania, we agreed and boarded our flight. 
8. Now I am sitting in the biz-class lounge in Abu Dhabi. It is 2:07 and my eyes are as hollow as a burned-out tree trunk. The flight from Istanbul was delayed for three hours. First, they had to wait for some passengers who went to the wrong gate. Then, when there were 20 no-shows, they had to offload their luggage. Last, we left at a very busiest time and it took us 30 minutes to take off. 
9. We missed the flight to Sydney. I might need to learn Arabic.
10. Observational note: there are a lot of Arabs in Abu Dhabi. There also are a lot of Americans. There even is US Customs which you can clear from a half-world away. Either Abu Dhabi is the 51st state, or the USA is an Arab Emirate.
11. Good news is Etihad has rebooked us for Monday, will treat us to a hotel room (again), and will try to help us get to Tasmania. Bad news is they won’t let us out of the lounge to go to the hotel until they straighten out all the booking. Bad news is Marcia has developed a cold. Now I hear some of you saying “Poor babies, stranded in a business class lounge.” And it is true that dining on an excellent smoked salmon in cream sauce pasta is not exactly waterboarding. Nor are the Belvedere and tonics. And one guest nearby just complained that his Heiniken wasn’t cold enough. We could have been suffering the grossly overcrowded public lounge with the poor economy class folks and the camels. Yes, we are grateful for the mana from Ethiad, but we also are very tired.

Will the “Fog in the Desert” turn into the “Eternal Blog in the Desert”? Don’t know yet, but look for Part III (and hopefully final) coming soon to your browsers.