Spencem & Angelmouse Live(ish) in LA Day 1

[spencem]

Day 1 Saturday 20th Dec

Cast,

Me, Spencem
Wife, Angelmouse5
DS, 13

Our friends and hosts in California, Dave, Teresa and their two daughters 14 and 7.

We are going out for 15 days, (because I couldn't get a miles plus money flight for the Saturday coming home) staying with our friends in their home in Fullerton which is the next city north of Anaheim.


We got up at a reasonable hour and drove to our 'off-site parking', my sister's house in Stevenage from where she took us down to Heathrow for our 15:15 Virgin flight to LA. So much more relaxed than the usual crack of dawn trips to Gatwick for Orlando flights. We made good time on the drive down and so went into MacDonald's on the A4 for some lunch rather than pay the extra in the terminal.

When we got to bag drop (all the same questions and time as the old check-in, except now you pay for the ink and paper to print your boarding card at home) we were told there would be an hour or so's delay due to bad weather in the US holding up incoming flights. Heathrow wasn't as bad as I was expecting, I thought this being the first day of the school holidays it would be chaos, but we got through security in a few minutes. Once airside we found some seats and then took turns to wander the shops, each getting a book.

Our flight was showing as getting a gate at 14:45, but that rolled around and the display simply changed to 'please wait'. Around 15:00 we were told to go to gate 1, which is part of the refurbished part and quite nice. There was a stampede in that direction and a huge queue formed to get past the gate security. Our plane was Lady Luck, an A340-600.


We chaotically boarded around 15:45. They did the usual call for Upper Class and small kids, but when they got to the general rows they made no attempt to check anyone, so the entire 280 people in economy made a rush for the ramp. We took off over two hours late, not bad compared to some delays we saw on the screens.

The flight was full and my problems started straight away with Mr Extra Wide Death in the seat next to me.:angry: Not only did he sit there coughing, spluttering, sniffing and hawking the whole flight without covering his mouth, he also wanted my seat as well.:angry: He moaned the seats were not wide enough, but still read his broadsheet paper, over my screen.

The seating was 2-4-2 so Son and Angelmouse had a two by the window with me in the aisle seat across the row. They had a great flight, watching films, Wall-e, Mamma Mia, Simpsons and Futuramma between them, and playing son's new DS. Son didn't get his kids meals for some reason but when we asked for it the went and got him one out of Premium.

By the end of the flight I was feeling rough, but not too rough. We landed 45 minutes late, the captain having burnt some extra of Mr Branson's fuel to catch up as much as she could. Immigration was packed, but we used the line next to the US citizen one and sure enough as soon as they were done they called us over. My last view of Mr Extra Wide Death was of him way at the back of a line on the far side of the room.

By the time we got through immigration, whole handprints now by the way, our cases were going round and round. We were quickly through customs and up the ramp into Starbucks for the first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the holiday. The first sign the something was seriously wrong with me was dragging the bags to the hire car bus stop. By the time we got on the bus I could not get my breath, despite the bus driver doing most of the work getting them on.

We got to Alamo and picked up our Thunder Tank, well Chevy Traverse, it is HUGE and lovely


Had an uneventful drive out to our friend's house.


By the time we got in their house I was about ready to lay down and die. We all were in bed by 10pm local, or 6am GMT.

[Guest]

Great journey!

[Jools]

Sounds a bummer of a journey for you. I hope you didn't catch something nasty from Mr Extra Wide Death.

We stayed in Fullerton in 2006. Right on the University campus, I seem to remember that was where the former president Richard Nixon was educated? Anyway these look like they'll be good trippies, I'm looking forward to more of them

[budgie6741]

Good journey

[Guest]

I'm ging to enjoy this... off to read the next installment.

[Sarah84]

What a gorgeous car, shame about the delay and you not feeling too good.

[Strommie]

What an uncomfortable flight for you

[DIBBadmin]

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