01.06.2019 - LHR to LAX

[Sam_Smith]

Travelling this time was DH (54) - driver/eater/moaner/petrol head/biker

Me (51) - navigator/planner/booker/spreadsheet creator/feeder

Our California road trip kicked off on Friday 31st May when DH got home from work at 2pm. (Friday is POETS day! )

I had already packed and cleaned the house to within an inch of it's life so all that had to happen is to drop 'Arry off at the kennels. Most normal dog owners dread this, but 'Arry has been staying at the same kennels since he was a pup and he does not even look back when they take him through the door to his holiday appartment!

This is the sort of thing he gets up to whilst he's there, which we are able to see on fb whilst we are away

We then made our way to our friends house in Surrey for the evening. They always put us up as they are only 12 miles from Heathrow.

The Saturday dawned and we made our way to Heathrow. I had booked long stay T2 parking months before and it is really easy to find. £81.40 for 20 days. We had parked up and were waiting at the shuttle bus stop for the short hop to T2 by 11:30. Perfect timing for our 14:30 departure with United Airlines.

We paid £28.20 for 2 full English breakfasts in Wondertree T2.

Flight was on time and we were in PE thanks to my friends husband who works for UA.

Not much to say about the flight really, apart from it is loooooonnnnggg! 11 hours to be more precise

I tried to sleep, and I think I may have nodded off a few times, but I definitely didn't sleep for long.

The plane was a Dreamliner and DH was really excited to fly in one, but tbh it was rather underwhelming. They didn't use any of the mood lighting, and the seat configuration in PE is exactly the same as in economy. This means the only difference is 3 extra inches leg room, which if you happen to be 5 foot and a fart as I am, you don't actually notice any difference whatsoever! Just as well we didn't pay for it!

Food was OK. Forgot to take pictures I'm afraid, but I always choose the veggie option and it was edible.

We landed on time and were through passport control with no issues. We had to catch a shuttle bus to Dollar to pick up the car, and had chose our shiny white Chrysler Pacifica by 18:30. £355 for 20 days with unlimited mileage.

The 23 mile journey to our first motel was very uneventful. The GPS we rented happened to have almost zero charge and even though it was plugged into the USB in the car, it died on us 8 miles in. I just used Google Maps and found it no problem.

Dunes Inn Sunset was exactly what I expected. £296.92 for 3 nights. It was nearly opposite the Netflix offices in Little Armenia and had a café and a Denny's literally next door.

Best thing though was the Panda Express a few doors up! Well it would be rude not to, so in we went! Still no photos I'm afraid (this will improve I promise) but I had Fried rice with Kung Pao chicken and Honey Walnut shrimp with a bottle of water and DH had Chow Mein with Shanghai angus steak and Grilled Teriyaki chicken with a bottle of coke. $24.53 and the receipt says it was paid for at 19:07.

We took the leftovers back to our room and crashed.

[KayLouise]

Great start 😊