DAY 2

TWO DAYS OF FLYING

We enjoyed our short stay at the hotel.  We awoke early before taking the hotel shuttle over to the airport which is less then a five minute drive.  Unfortunately, it is not possible to walk to the airport with luggage.  With the windchill it felt as if it was in the 20's.  There was one other person on the shuttle who was here on business and from Cleveland so we were discussing what cold means to us versus to him.  He was not wearing a jacket.  

After check in at the ticket counter we went through TSA quickly since we have Global Entry including TSA Pre Check.  Keith was the lucky one stopped for the random check of his hands.  Anne Marie was lucky the past two times.  We are glad they do this as in the end safety is and should be the number one priority of air travel.

We relaxed at the airline lounge before it was time to walk to our gate.

 

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The good news is that we took off ahead of schedule, even though we had a full flight.  We passed the time by reading and talking and enjoyed a simple breakfast of oatmeal and fruit.  

We benefited from strong tail winds which did push us around for the first thirty minutes of the flight but allowed us to arrive to LAX close to forty five minutes ahead of schedule.  We had to wait fifteen minutes before the gate was open but all in all a nice flight.  

Our flight arrived to the LAX international terminal so we didn't have to get from one terminal to another one.  We were last here in May when the airline lounge was closed for renovations. The renovated lounge is a big improvement.  

We had lunch at the lounge which is vastly nicer then the typical USA lounge.  In fact, when we arrived they were just finishing breakfast with a large buffet of hot and cold foods and someone making omelets.  There was even sushi.    We waited about forty five minutes for the start of lunch.

We spoke with our daughter.  It is her birthday today.  Well actually it is tomorrow in Australia already and that his her actual birthday.  Ironically we will miss that day as we cross the International Dateline.  This happened to us several years ago on a Crystal World Cruise as we skipped that date.  We remember that as someone we know who's the same birthdate was on that sailing and we skipped over the actual date.

The good news is we are here and that is what counts.  We had a choice of three flights; one at the crack of dawn, one early morning and one early evening.  The last flight would have allowed only a couple of connection time and we did't want to have such a tight connection given all the factors that can contribute to a late departure.  With that said we arrived to LAX about eleven hours before our evening flight to Sydney.  

We did recognize one passenger in the lounge; a former member of The Supremes; Diana Ross.  

She looked terrific. Keith had seen her perform in Las Vegas in the early 1990's at a very small venue.  

We are posting early today and will post again from Sydney.  

Please remember that we will be sixteen hours ahead of those of you on the East Coast. 

Keith & Anne Marie