Actually, yes, we are! It’s 0230, Wednesday morning and I’m up typing because I’ve had enough sleep! The flight was excellent, as my clever wife had booked a seat in the second last row of the plane which allowed me heaps of leg room in front and also beside the seat in front. Brilliant. The flight was uneventful apart from a bit of turbulence in the early hours of the morning so I was able to walk around the plane a lot and also to snatch about 5 hours sleep so I’m feeling pretty chipper.
My clever wife also organised assistance for me as she was concerned about distances at the airports and how far I would have to walk, so we got Express check-in at Mascot and a wheelchair assistance at LAX. Good thing too, as the plane appeared to have landed in a different state to where baggage check was located and the terribly polite and helpful Mexican man pushing the chair (all of the airport staff appeared to be Mexican) hustled us through Customs and Immigration and down to baggage claim in near record time.
The family was waiting with signs..
..and we bailed quickly and got on the road. Leith and Natalie have this giant people-mover thing that seats 7 and still has room for the kitchen sink. Big V8 engine and a thirst to match, once we cleared the traffic, it was a bit spooky to be boring down the freeway, headed south at 75mph (120kmh) (legally!) The fact that the freeway was 7 lanes wide most of the time was also a bit disconcerting.
So many impressions but the overwhelming one was how much like Australia the countryside is in Southern California. No surprise, really, if you know your Australian history. In the late 1840’s Edward Hargraves left Sydney to go to California to look for gold during the American gold rush. He didn’t find gold but he couldn’t help but notice how stunningly similar the topography, landforms and vegetation in SoCal was to what he had left behind in NSW. Reasoning that, if the Californian surroundings were producing masses of gold, then the similar surroundings in NSW should do the same. He returned to Australia, headed west of Bathurst and, to everyone’s surprise, except his, he found gold and so the gold rush in Australia began in 1851.
Here’s a picture of the mountains to the west of the freeway here in California.
As my American friend Kurt Lenz, from the east coast of the USA, remarked last night, “I travelled all the way from America to Phillip Island and found myself in Southern California!”
San Diego is nearly 2 hours south of LA so it was a mini-road trip but the time passed quickly as we renewed ties with the family we haven’t seen since May last year. Joshua has shot up and is nearly as tall as me (he’s 14) and he and Daniel and Thomas were so excited to see us, the trip was filled with the usual hilarity, which I have missed so badly.
Nat’s apartment is big, airy and cool even though it is the middle of Summer here. I hit the sack as early as I could and here I am, in the middle of the night, feeling refreshed and ready to rock and roll.
Oh, recognise this location?
Yes, this is the famous culvert on the outskirts of LA that has been the scene for so many car chases, from “Grease” to “The fast and the furious” and so many others.
Better leave it at this and get back to bed. Must try and get the body clock synchronised. We are 17 hours behind home here (add five hours and go back to the previous day – we left on Tuesday, flew for 13 hours and arrived on Tuesday!)
Thank you so much for all the good wishes. I’ll try and do an update each day and especially report on the bikes and cars that I see. Corvettes all over the place and Harleys lane-splitting traffic at 75mph!
Finally a very sad postscript. Kenan Sofoglu’s little baby boy succumbed to the effects of the cerebral hemorrhage he suffered earlier in the year and was buried yesterday. Such a sad occasion for a family that has already endured so much family tragedy. Condolences, champ.
Catch you tomorrow.
jeffb says
Loved the pic of the kids’ signs at the airport,Phil! Nothing better than catching up with family- be it a couple of hours or across the world. Safe travels to you and Helena . It will all go way to fast but enjoy everything! Jeff
Phil Hall says
Thanks, mate, worth every cent.