Tuesday, September 13, 2011

US Holiday - Day 4 - Los Angeles to New York

Day 4

Today was a very early start. Didn't want to miss the plane nor did I want to take a chance on the traffic in Los Angeles. On arriving in LA, the cab driver took me via an express way but thankfully this driver took me a different way. He arrived bang on 6am which meant I was just up before that and pretty much throughout the night clock watching. Next time I will look to do a flight during the middle of the day and thankfully the remaining flights on this trip are during that time frame.

The journey from the hotel to the airport was pretty quick. I was surprised by the amount of traffic on the roads or the lack there of. Arrived at the airport in around 30 minutes via the back roads of Santa Monica. Headed into the terminal and proceeded to do the auto check in. I had the option of either scanning the passport, scanning the credit card or putting in my electronic ticket number. The first two options didn't work so thankfully it accepted the electronic ticket number.

Next port of call was to check in with the bags. This involves going to a counter where they allocate you a baggage ticket but you then have to take it to another section of the airport for scanning. As the bag had padlocks on it I had to wait whilst it went through the xray machine and given the OK. Unfortunately it was not given the OK and I was asked for the keys. At this point I knew it was the two jars of vegemite that I had in the bag for Pete. The proceeded to open the luggage and then swab the jars and put it into the scanner. I was concerned when the screen went red but they swapped the latex gloves and tried again and all was good.

So the bag was scanned and given the all clear, now it was my turn. I had to go through a full body scanner. The thought my double handkerchief in right jeans pocket was suspect but once I showed them they said all was good and I was cleared.

Waited for around 30 minutes for the plane to start boarding. It looked like the gate was undergoing some work so we went down the aero bridge onto the tarmac and onto a bus for a 5 minute ride to the arse end of the airport where we boarded the plane. Did have to wait about 30-40 minutes for the second pilot to turn up and once he did and the flight checks were done we were off.

The flight to Newark was uneventful apart from the odd bit of turbulence. Coming into Newark we had great views of Manhattan as we travelled north to south. On landing it was a quick journey to the gate before departing and meeting up with Pete at the baggage claim.

Pete then drove me back to his place but not before I tried to get into the drivers seat. Rookie mistake. Didn't encounter too much traffic along the way and was back at his complex in no time. We were greeted by Tyson Beckford polishing his new Nissan GTR out the front of this place. He only lives a couple of doors up from Pete and Maggie.

Greeted Maggie and handed over the Vegemite. Am glad not to be carrying the extra weight around now. Had a glass or two of champagne and a quick bit to eat before dinner and a walk along the board walk with fantastic views of the Manhattan skyline.

Tomorrow will be venturing into New York to see the sights. No idea what I want to see. Maybe look in a few shops I think.

No comments:

Post a Comment