| All eyes are on the next face-off between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump | Greetings from the skies somewhere between the nation's capital and the Midwest, en route to the second debate in the Say It Like It Is State.
That's my terminology.
The state's nickname is actually the Show Me State, so call it an Aussie translation of Americana.
The countdown to election day is into the 30s and we're getting to the very pointy end of this journey to the White House.
Am I in the pointy end of the plane?
What do you reckon? (This is not a quiz people.)
People from Midwest Missouri are said to be blunt, pragmatic types so you can assume they'll be seeking some answers to some practical problems when they get the chance to quiz Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on Sunday night.
We say: bring it on.
This debate will be run town-hall style, with half of the questions from the two moderators and half from an audience of undecided voters handpicked by the polling and research outfit Gallup.
It will be the only one of the three presidential debates to be run this way. Issues canvassed will be across the broad spectrum of public interest sourced from social media and elsewhere.
It was in Ferguson, Missouri that the Black Lives Matter movement was born after police shot and killed unarmed black man Michael Brown in 2014, so expect law and order and criminal justice to be a focus.
Mr Trump famously said that Ferguson was one of the most dangerous places in the world, so that may also come up.
Here's a really good piece from Time that sets out a lot of the frustrations of African Americans, even after eight years under an African American president. The Democrats have work to do if they want to prove themselves worthy of the default black vote.
It's worth noting however that Missouri is not a swing state, and Mr Trump should win it come election day, based on blue-collar, white votes.
However speaking of swing states, Mrs Clinton is seemingly sustaining her bounce from the first presidential debate with improved poll numbers in Florida, Pennsylvania and Colorado and an average margin of around 4 per cent nationally at the time of writing.
There's a hint that the expectation is starting to swing a little more strongly towards a Clinton victory but no one's calling it, and even the vagaries of the weather on election day will make a difference.
The Democrats are in full voice pleading with people to get out and vote and the ad campaigns are on high rotation.
Mr Trump did try (repeatedly) to tell everyone he'd actually won the first debate but even plenty of Republicans discounted that.
His frustration eventually boiled over with a 3:00am tweet storm late last week that didn't help his credibility much.
Call it insomnia or confirmation of his prior claims that he only needs a few hours' sleep each night to function at his best.
Either way his supporter and former house speaker Newt Gingrich pretty much nailed the reaction:
"You can't tweet at 3 o'clock in the morning. Period. There's no excuse. Ever. Not if you're going to be president of the United States."
The vice-president picks also debated this week in the small town of Farmville, Virginia.
The lead-up was fairly ho-hum - even the puns at the local cafe were mild, at best.
Mr Trump's running mate Mike Pence was widely hailed the victor with the usually mild mannered Tim Kaine panned for interruptions.
The debate and its wash-up made barely a blip on the news cycle, however, and history shows that VP debates rarely have much of an influence on the presidential polls.
There is some evidence, however, that both VP options appear to be helping shore up support at the top of the ticket in their respective home states of Indiana and Virginia.
As I fly west, Hurricane Matthew also threatens the US south-east coast. This is a literal hurricane as opposed to the figurative one that we've been chasing around in circles this year.
It's one to watch, because of the obvious risk to life and property but also because of the political impact it could have. Never underestimate the unpredictable effect a disaster - natural or manmade - can have on a campaign.
For the moment though, with our thoughts with the people in Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas and our fingers crossed for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, it's onward to St Louis.
HE SAID
"I have legally used the tax laws to my benefit. Honestly, I have brilliantly used those laws." - Mr Trump to supporters in Pueblo, Colorado, earlier this week after the New York Times revealed tax information that supposedly showed the Republican candidate claimed $916 million in business loss on his 1995 tax returns.
SHE SAID
"What kind of genius loses a billion dollars in a single year?" - Mrs Clinton to supporters at a rally in Ohio in reply.
MIC DROP
First Lady Michelle Obama is proving to be one of the more formidable surrogates for Mrs Clinton on the campaign trail.
This week in Charlotte, she took a not-so-subtle swipe at Mr Trump and his claims that his microphone was faulty in the first debate.
WHERE'S BERNIE?
Bernie's back! And he's a busy guy! He was in Minnesota on Tuesday, Iowa and Wisconsin on Wednesday and will be in New Hampshire on Saturday.
After a hiatus from the campaign trail he's back on the stump in support of Mrs Clinton.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Speaking of Democratic power brokers, Senator Elizabeth Warren has been one of the most aggressive in her pursuit of Mr Trump for the Democrats.
She delivered this zinger in relation to his late-night tweeting tirades:
WHO'S TEAM TRUMP?
We're still getting to know the Trump supporters around the country but this week, in attendance at one of his rallies was a man dressed as Uncle Sam, an Elvis impersonator and a dog wearing a "deplorables" t-shirt.
Oh, and elsewhere, there's also the Amish for Trump. Yup.
PHONE A FRIEND
Once Mr Trump's most bitter rival, now, Ted Cruz is working the phones for the Trump-Pence ticket.
It's been a quick fall from grace for the once presidential hopeful.
Neva-DUH!
For the first time in years, Nevada is a state in November's election and some polls show that Mr Trump has his work cut out for him to hold onto the usual Republican stronghold.
He's spent some time there this week, but if he wants to win there he might need to work on his pronunciation.
For the record, locals call it "Nev-AD-uh".
GARY DOESN'T KNOW
In what seems to be a new regular segment of this weekly wrap, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson's general knowledge (or lack thereof) has come under fire.
This time, the New York Times asked him to name the leader of North Korea and he was coy with his answers, to say the least.
ENDORSING MAJOR IMPACT
A lot of newspapers have bucked trends to endorse Mrs Clinton over Mr Trump - or to simply disavow Mr Trump - but one reporter at the Houston Chronicle has taken the interesting step of supporting the Sweet Meteor of Death, whose campaign seems to be building momentum as it gets closer to the Earth's surface.
We're big fans of the meteor's progress, so it's good to see it gaining speed and mainstream support.
TOPPING THE POLITICAL PIE
Your other option?
A Bostonian man is making his pitch for a slice of the Massachusetts electorate. Josh Freeman is the founder of the Pizza Party.
It sounds delicious - and 184 members agree.
WANNA BET?
With just four weeks to go, the election is anyone's bet, but you folks back in Australia can make a wager.
Australian betting agencies are shortening the odds for Mrs Clinton (paying $1.38) whereas Mr Trump's prospects have ballooned to $3.25 after the first debate.
A week's a long time in politics!
PANTSUITS ARE GROOVY BABY
On optics, Mrs Clinton wore a vivid Republican red pantsuit to the first debate while Mr Trump wore a tie in deep Democrat blue.
Some kind of spooky subliminal appeal for hearts and minds?
We'll leave that with you, but in the meantime check out this pantsuit flash mob dancing it up for Hil in NYC.
We reckon she could use some of these moves on the way onto the stage at the start of the second debate. Surely Michelle Obama can give her some lessons?
TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD...
While Mrs Clinton and Mr Trump continue to duke it out for the White House, take a look at these side-by-side photos of President Obama from eight years ago to now:
He's not the only one getting grey hairs this year!
That's a wrap. Watch out for our debate coverage from St Louis!
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