Up earlyish and packed in plenty of time. Texts from Cath tell me that her flight has been delayed by 4 hours. BA are useless. By the time she clears customs in Vegas it will be gone midnight.
Weather once again is sunny and warm, though it’s a bit cooler here near the coast, still high 70s though.
I leave the hotel just before 10am to get the airport shuttle bus to LAX. I miss one by 30 seconds but it’s only about a 5 minute wait for the next one. That takes about 10 minutes to drop me off at Terminal 1. I am wearing my Union Jack t-shirt and it draws some comments from the women on the check in desks. I check my case in, at a cost of $20 and then have to wheel it myself over to a guy who puts it through a scanner. I clear security with a couple of comments about how we have scraped through with the US to the last 16 of the World Cup. I get myself a light lunch, i.e. a bottle of water, a packet of ‘chips’ and a Hershey bar, my first chocolate of the tour. I have about 2 hours till boarding time. I find a seat and wait.
Turns out the flight is overbooked, so they ask for volunteers to wait for a later flight. They give a $200 voucher to those that do, so not a bad incentive. Aircraft is small, so they then decide that we can’t take medium sized hand luggage on board. I have my laptop, camera and crash helmet in mine, so I have to take the electricals out and hope they don’t chuck the bag about with my helmet in.
Flight is only about an hour long, just time enough to have a free soft drink. The stewardess has the sexiest voice I’ve ever heard on a stewardess. She’s not a bad looker either, if you like the Sarah Palin lookalikes! I get talking to a guy in the seat next to me. An ex marine and a big bloke but a proper Jessie, he doesn’t like flying. I talk to him as we come in to land at Vegas to take his mind off things. The landing is rough, so that doesn’t do anything to help allay his fears. Nice guy though.
The heat hits me as I walk out of the aircraft door. It’s hot, very hot. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it’s 100+.
Whilst waiting at the carousel for my case I notice a slim black guy, with a suited guy and a minder. I recognise him as a boxer but can’t for the life of me remember his name. If I do I’ll let you know. He’s well known though. He won’t be fighting for a while, if he isn’t retired, as he has his arm in a sling.
Outside the terminal, I buy a ticket for the shuttle bus. You can buy a return but can’t use it the same day. Only saves a dollar, so no sweat. Have to wait about 15 minutes in blazing sun for bus to arrive, then it’s a 10-15 minute journey to the hotel, The Mirage. I check in and then make the journey, yes that’s the only way to describe it to the elevators. It’s a 5 minute bleedin’ walk, through all the slot machines. Room is on the 16th floor. View from the window is rooftop and interstate, though the Trump hotel is off to the right.
I watch a bit of TV, then head out to find out where the Hertz car rental place is in the Wynn hotel. That’s about 10 minute walk up the strip. When I get there I again have another 5 minute walk through the interior of the place to find the Hertz desk. It’s closed but at least I know where we have to come in the morning.
I then take a walk back down the strip to look for something to eat. I end up in McD’s, the first ‘junk’ food of my trip. It fills a gap and doesn’t break the bank, so it’ll do. I head back to the hotel and wait. I have about 2 hours to kill before I have to go to the airport to meet Cath. I watch one of these travelling chef type programmes with some fat bloke eating all sorts of disgusting stuff in Bangkok.
I go down to the lobby and decide it’s probably quicker to get a cab than wait for a shuttle. I’m not sure how often they run anyway. I get a cab, something I’m not usually prone to doing. After the driver drops me at the wrong place, despite me double checking with him (b’stard), I have to get the inter terminal shuttle to international arrivals. Luckily Cath hasn’t come out of the customs hall by the time I get there. 15 minutes later she’s in my arms. It’s been a long two weeks and I’ve missed her, despite the distraction of the ride. We get another cab back to the hotel, a much nicer chap this time and we finally crash out at about 00:30. Car pick up is 9am, so I set my alarm for 7:30 and turn in.
Neill
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