QUEEN ELIZABETH

Well that was an interesting flight home of 13 ½ hours.  Firstly the Rental car drop off bus dropped us off at the wrong terminal.  We new it was Terminal 4 however the bus driver thought otherwise and insisted on dropping us at the Tom Bradley terminal. Once we had confirmed we were in the wrong terminal it was a bit of a struggle pushing the trolley with 4 large suitcases and towing two wheelie bags along the footpath to Terminal 4. Roy was delighted to have to have a body x-ray…not.  He said if he had known he would have done some training so as to look a bit better in case he pops up on some documentary about airport security in the future….lol.

The tug had to tow our aircraft on to the gate; however the tug broke down and due to the volume of aircraft coming and going in LAX there was quite a wait to find another tug to pull the aircraft.  Eventually we boarded the flight about 30 minutes later than scheduled.  The Captain notified us he was taking on more fuel which would delay us a little longer, no problems there we thought better to have too much than too little. We were quite happy sitting at the gate doing some more people watching.

Fortunately the flight wasn’t full so Roy and I had three seats between the two of us…..that was lucky. J Feel like you’ve won the major prize when that happens. J

Two rows ahead of us a large couple sat down at the window and middle seat thinking they had won the major prize as well…. But no, a few minutes later a young lady walks down to their seats and she’s the one with the allocated window seat and doesn’t want to swap….fair enough we think.  The large couple then had a problem the large wife was stuck in the window seat and couldn’t get out.  We watched as there was some strenuous pulling of arms and breathing in when finally she was extracted from the window seat. Miss pretty young thing could then sit in her allocated seat.  I’m typing this from on board and it is now 9 hours since we left L.A. and poor Miss Pretty hasn’t left her seat, she’s probably thinking ‘Mrs large’ is now stuck in the middle seat with ‘Mr large’ on the aisle. I went for a walk in their direction to stretch my legs only to see Miss pretty huddled up by the window with ‘Mrs Large’ and her excess encroaching on Miss Pretty’s territory.  Poor girl, she must have a strong bladder…lol.

In the meantime we’re having a very rough ride, fortunately shortly after take-off dinner was served when our ride was still smooth.  I can just imagine all the folks who have just been to Disneyland wondering why they bothered we’ve got a ride that’s lasted for 10 hours so far that feels just like a roller coaster even the crew have also had to be seated for long periods. and the Captain has told everyone not to get out of their seats… they’d be mad if they did. That probably makes Miss Pretty feel better knowing that she’s not the only one stuck in her seat.

Then you guessed it,  ‘Mr I don’t listen to anyone’ gets out of his seat and before you know it he’s lost his balance and on the floor. He jumped up and went back to his seat as if it had never happened.  Giggling could be heard in the vicinity.  I might add only his pride was hurt.

I’m listening to the music channel but for some reason am only getting Bollywood music, and after 10 hours jiggling around with the rough ride I quite like the Bollywood sound it sort of goes in time with the movement.  I’m learning Hindi as well…. What a bonus.  J

Around the cabin I see people click the ‘destination’ channel on now and then just to see how far we have to go and I’m sure they’re like me and try and not look too often so you get a surprise that an hour or more has gone by. It’s like a little game on long haul flights. The Captain has been changing the altitude frequently to try and get out this turbulent weather.  Hope it settles so we can all enjoy breakfast. Only 3 hours and 27 minutes to go.  Dawn is beginning to break now and I do feel as if I’ve had some sort of sleep overnight.

Newsflash…. Mrs Large has just been extracted from her middle seat and toddled off to the bathroom followed swiftly by Miss Pretty.  I see Mr Large has now taken over the middle seat, hope he’s not hanging over too much into Miss Pretty’s territory!

Yum, I can smell breakfast.  Better get myself unravelled from the headphones and cord and untangled from the blanket and put my tray up ready.  Still bumpy but a little less at the moment as we fly over Fiji at an altitude of 36000ft. Just as breakfast was being served there was more turbulence but only for a short while so we were served half cups of cold tea instead of the usual full cup of cold tea.  Why can’t airlines serve a nice cup of tea?  I know it can’t be too hot in case of spillage and scolding but it could definitely be at least warm to hot!  In the good old days tea and coffee was served in silver pots which kept the heat, these Bodim pots they serve with these days are made of glass which may look good but they don’t hold the heat.  I also didn’t appreciate my warm muffin being served by hand by our Cabin Attendant when he had tongs with which to serve the muffins hygienicallyL. I noticed the Attendant on the other end of the cart was using his.

Oh wow, just had a song from James Blunt pop in amongst the Bollywood songs.  I’ve past level one in Hindi now J. Bollywood seems to be the default channel on my entertainment system at my seat.

Only 1 hour and 15 minutes until we arrive in Brisbane.

And so are the joys of long haul air travel.  By next week everyone will be happy to do it all over again….and we will. J

This is me and aircraft VH-OJA signing out until next time.  :)