Alex and Gloria drove us to the Sydney airport on Sunday. We had a couple of hours to spend with them before our flight, so we did the done thing and had a cuppa with them. We have so enjoyed our short time with Alex and Gloria and we wish them well in their new home(s). The new jetty at Daley’s Point has already been started, and Alex has purchased a new 61′ boat to dock at the new jetty. The sailing yacht he owns is still for sale. The new boat is a cabin cruiser which hopefully will be easier to manage. We will look forward to our next visit and a tour on the new boat.
It was then off through security and immigration and on to our plane. The trip across the Pacific to Los Angeles was just shy of 13 hours, about 2 hours quicker than the trip over. We left Sydney at 2:00pm on Sunday, and arrived in Los Angeles at 9:00am Sunday. We skipped a Thursday on the way over, and added a second Sunday on the way back. That kind of messes with your mind. The trip was uneventful, but we did have one laugh. Christine has a Fred water bottle. It’s a flask-type bottle designed to fit in a pocket. She’s had it for several years and it fits nicely in the a pocket of the bag she uses for her carry on.
She was taking a swig from it just as a flight attendant was walking by her seat. He jerked his head around and said, “Is that vodka? You’re not allowed to drink that on the plane.” We both burst out laughing and told him it was just water. He was relieved and we were humored. We often joke about Fred looking like a pint bottle of vodka or gin. Unfortunately, somewhere we lost Fred, and we are sad about that because apparently Fred Water is no more and Fred can’t be replaced. As Christine said, at least we got a big laugh out of having Fred before he disappeared.
We navigated LAX easily and took the shuttle bus to the Uber pick up station. We had a quick ride to the Hampton Inn, and expecting to have to sit in the lobby a few hours before a room was ready, we were pleasantly surprised to get a room right then at 10:30am. We were so happy! We kind of crashed for a while and then caught up on email and messages. For dinner, we walked a couple of blocks to an IHOP and had breakfast for dinner.
Monday, we took an Uber back to LAX. It was a zoo! At Delta, we first had to do a self-tag of luggage at a kiosk. We always have trouble with kiosks, but this time, after a couple of attempts, we both managed to get our luggage tagged. Then we had to exit the terminal and stand in a line outside to get back into the terminal to get in the Delta check-in line. It was rather confusing, but actually the line went fairly quickly. We got our luggage checked in and we made it through security easily, thanks to TSA pre-check. Then it was the long walk to our gate through a very large duty free shop and many, many high-end boutique shops.
We boarded our plane a little late, and the boarding seemed to take forever. By the time we were all on board, it was over 30 minutes late. The captain explained that because we were late, the vehicle to push us back was no longer available and we had to wait to get back in the queue for a vehicle. After another 30 minute delay, the chief flight crew person made an announcement to her colleagues to prepare the cabin for arrival. Everyone groaned thinking we would all have to disembark. After several minutes, and several trips up and down the aisle by the flight crew, 3 women sitting in the rear of the plane were escorted off the plane. We didn’t really know what was going on, but we had heard one of the women in the terminal say she wasn’t feeling well, so maybe she needed to get off due to sickness. A few minutes later, another person left the plane. Then a flight attendant announced that due to our lateness, some people would miss their connection in Detroit and if they wished to deplane they had a couple of minutes to leave before the doors closed. Several more people got off the plane. Eventually, we pushed back about 90 minutes late. That meant that we would be very close in making our Detroit connection to Elmira.
Once we got in the air, the flight was uneventful. As you may know, I love looking out the window and seeing the landscape below. However, it was mostly cloudy, but I snapped a few pictures.
We got to Detroit and we had no trouble making our connection to Elmira. It was a short one-hour flight. I was actually a bit surprised that we left Detroit. It was snowing in Detroit and in Elmira, so it wouldn’t have surprised me that the flight had been canceled.
We arrived in Elmira at about 10:45pm. I was a bit skeptical that our luggage would make it due to the short time in Detroit, but our bags came down the chute, wet, but we didn’t care because they were there. Unfortunately, the hotel doesn’t provide a shuttle. I thought we’d get an Uber to the Hampton. No Uber available! So on a snowy night at 11:00pm in Elmira, we had to figure out how to get to the hotel. I called the hotel and they recommended the only 24-hour taxi service. I called the taxi and was told it would be at least 45 minutes for the taxi to get to the airport. One other person was also having difficulty figuring out how to get to his hotel. I suggested we share the taxi and it could take him to his hotel after dropping us off. That worked out and we arrived at the Hampton at midnight. It was a slow ride because the roads were really slippery.
We awakened in the morning to see about 4 inches of snow out the hotel window.
My brother Grant was driving from Binghamton, about 70 minutes, to pick us up. I was concerned about driving in the snow, but he said he had no problems. Here in the northeast, road crews do a really good job clearing the main highways. We had a nice ride back to Binghamton and caught up on the news with Grant. It was pretty seeing the snow-covered trees.
We arrived home and we were so glad to be home after the long trip. We did a few things to settle in and I went to the grocery. When I returned, I found Christine shoveling the driveway.
We’re now nearly unpacked and are settling back in. It is good to be back. I slept nearly 12 hours Tuesday night. We’re ready now to resume life here at home.
This trip was a fantastic adventure. We thoroughly enjoyed being with Louis and Banjo, being able to spend time with Margaret, Clare and Daniel, spending time with Alex and Gloria, getting to see and enjoy the other cousins and families, especially Darren, Selina, Naomi and Rachel, and really enjoying the “resort” that Tony and Liz have in Nana Glen. We all talked about the next time we come, so we hope that we will be able to return. Here’s hoping for good health for everyone. Thanks again for the special and memorable times we shared. Hugs, kisses, and blessings to you all!
Congratulations a job well done we miss you both and look forward to your next visit keep well love Lou
Thanks for sharing your time with us all in Australia. It was a pleasure meeting up. Unfortunately the yacht was out of action this trip but hopefully we will be in a larger Cruiser next time you visit.
Take care and be good.