One day we'll Fly Away

So Saturday has finally arrived. We all go our different routes and arrive at Heathrow. We all get through the customs check pretty quickly but becasue of the last minute rearrangement of the flight, guitars are in the wrong seats to fly. Under the rules they have to be in a window seat.That finally sorted, we get on the plane. Under mouse rules something has to go wrong and duly does. Somewhere over North America the plane double backs on itself. The pilot ask if there are any medical personel on board. It transpires that someone has had a heart attack and the plane is being diverted to Montreal. Once we land a medical team comes aboard and the lady is taken off the plane. After about an half an hour, with thanks from the woman's husband and the captain, we finally are on our way again. We arrive at L.A. after about a 12 hour flight.

Luckily we have a six hour wait and even with the delay, we arrive in L.A. with plenty of time to spare. We all get onto the connecting flight and are on the last leg of our marathon journey. The trip from L.A. to Anchorage is about 5 hours. Some of the gang eventually manage to get a few hours sleep. Looking out the window at about an hour from Anchorage was an awesome site. The horizon is deep orange hue and has the look of a sunset,which of course it was but at midnight Alaska time. As we get closer to Anchorage, we begin to see the tips of mountain tops breaking through the clouds and on the horizon, Mount Denali and the surrounding mountains come into view.

Eventually we land at Anchorage at 1:30 am local time,and collect our baggage. Except we don't all collect our baggage. After about an hour it's apparent that Lyndon's bag hasn't made the trip to Anchorage. Enquiries are made with Alaskan Airlines and they put a tracer procedure into place. The next flight from L.A. isn't until 8:30 am so there's nothing that can be done except call in the morning. Taxis are hailed and some go to hotels and the remainder hit the Motorhome Park where the keys are essentially "under the mat". Once all the baggage is on the RV, then it's night night and some well earned rest.
- posted by Tom @ 11:24 AM