Los Angeles - Tuesday, 17th September
Well, we arrived on the west coast of the USA but not without a farily nerve jangling experience and a delay en route. Our direct flight from Heathrow was due in to LAX at 12.25 (20.25 UK time, we're now 8 hours behind) but as we flew over Canada a rather odd, acrid, smell filled the cabin of our British Airways Jumbo Jet 747-400. Much activity amongst the cabin crew and anxious faces amongst passengers before the captain came over the tannoy to announce seatbelts on, screens off, we're diverting to Chicago, 300 miles/45 minutes away. 45 nerve jangling minutes later we touched down in Chicago to be greeted by the Chicago Fire Service with sniffer devices and heat seeking machines!
Flight duly aborted, BA chartered an American Airlines plane to fly us across America to Los Angeles (2,300 miles/4 hours further on) and we eventually arrived in LA at 19.30 (3.30 UK time) arriving at our hotel Crowne Plaza, Los Angeles Airport an hour later, tired and hungry, having been travelling for over 24 hours.
Checking e-mails over a much needed California BBQ pizza there was one from our travel agent advising that our return flight from New Orleans has been cancelled! Looks like we'll be travelling back via Miami now, another unexpected stop-off!!
Anyway here is the view from our hotel window, overlooking Los Angeles airport where Billy and Wyatt's adventure in the film Easy Rider began with the drug deal (Phil Spector played the part of the drug dealer) that financed their road trip to New Orleans:
We meet our fellow travellers Wednesday afternoon and pick up the bike and head out of LA on Thursday morning.
Flight duly aborted, BA chartered an American Airlines plane to fly us across America to Los Angeles (2,300 miles/4 hours further on) and we eventually arrived in LA at 19.30 (3.30 UK time) arriving at our hotel Crowne Plaza, Los Angeles Airport an hour later, tired and hungry, having been travelling for over 24 hours.
Checking e-mails over a much needed California BBQ pizza there was one from our travel agent advising that our return flight from New Orleans has been cancelled! Looks like we'll be travelling back via Miami now, another unexpected stop-off!!
Anyway here is the view from our hotel window, overlooking Los Angeles airport where Billy and Wyatt's adventure in the film Easy Rider began with the drug deal (Phil Spector played the part of the drug dealer) that financed their road trip to New Orleans:
We meet our fellow travellers Wednesday afternoon and pick up the bike and head out of LA on Thursday morning.
Oh my goodness, what terrible luck! That must have been a scary and exhausting experience. I am shocked that you were not provided with an additional meal, wonder if you will be entitled to any compensation for the delay? Even worse that your return flight has been cancelled, I wonder if that is to do with the pilots strike. Anyway, we hope you are now well rested and ready to enjoy your holiday. Miss Gillian and Slowhand.
ReplyDeleteBloody hell and I thought our delay st Folkestone was bad enough.
ReplyDeleteI trust you are not going to enact the easy rider bit too closely. Just enjoy and keep us up to date.
We've found a great Riverside bar . Very bohemian.
Not the most perfect start to your trip but hope everything goes more smoothly for you.
ReplyDelete