Just across the pond

1st July - 5.00AM, Eastern Standard Time -Kyneton. Bags packed, passport, tickets, camera.  

                 etc - Check

                 6.30AM Melbourne Airport. Kiss and hug Tom and Lisa, say goodbyes, check-in,  

                 sit in airline lounge - Check

 9.00AM Board plane, find seat - isle…..excellent, smile at person next to me and 

                 quickly understand he's not in the mood for conversation. Place headphones on 

                 head start watching movie. - Check

11.00AM Watch movie

 1.00PM  Watch movie

 2.00PM Eat meal out of plastic tray, drink coffee.....Watch rest of movie

 3.00PM Watch movie

 5.00PM Lose track of Eastern Standard Time... and movies. Fade to sleep for 

                 3.5minutes until 6'4" man behind me wrenches seat backward again to annoy staff 

                 for more bourbon, as he has done for past 5 hours or so......Watch movie

 Something AM - Pacific Time Zone stretch legs, drink coffee.....watch movie

  6.30AM- 14.5hrs after take off, arrive LAX, descending through a few hundred 

                   metres of smog to tarmac.

  7.30AM - Clear customs and search for airport lounge. Into long queue for security

                  screening prior to gate.

  8.00AM - replace jacket, shoes, watch and patience, collect bags and head for 

                  sanctuary of lounge.

  8.05AM - Reliably informed by lounge staff that I have been directed to wrong 

                  terminal and forbidden entry to said lounge.

  8.25AM - Walk to 'Terminal 4' enter second queue for security screening at 

                  'Terminal 4,'

  9.00AM - replace jacket, shoes, watch and patience, collect bags and head for

                  sanctuary of lounge

                  9.10AM - arrive at lounge, grab paper cup of coffee and sticky danish thingy and 

                  sit down.

  11.30AM - leave lounge and company of disgruntled English man yelling at his 4 

                  children throwing sticky danish thingy's at each other and head to gate. Grab 

                  airport hamburger….. surprisingly good.

  12.00PM - Board American Airlines plane and take seat. Place headphones on 

                  head, start watching movie.

  12.10PM - Reliably informed by Captain that our flight will be delayed due to being 

                  re-routed by air traffic control due to bad weather patterns around Chicago. Flight

                  due to take extra hour.

  1.30PM - Ask airline hostess with extremely happy disposition and beaming smile

                   for a cup of coffee. How do you have it? She asks....Beaming. White please, no 

                   sugar.

  2.00PM - Ask airline hostess with extremely happy disposition and beaming smile 

                  for a cup of coffee. Oh Sir I'm sorry I forgot, I'll get right on that…..

  2.40PM - Smile at  airline hostess with extremely happy disposition and beaming 

                  smile, thinking it may jog her memory of the coffee thing..... Oh my, how you take it 

                  again Sir? She says. Anyway I can get it at the moment, I think of replying. "White 

                  please."

   3.00PM - Airline hostess with extremely happy disposition and beaming smile

                   arrives with cup of coffee. Black. Mmmm, thanks. 

   Sometime? - Lose track of timezone again.

                   9.15PM - Eastern Time Zone - Fly over New York heading for Boston. 

   9.30PMish - begin circling Boston waiting for permission to land.

   9.55PM - Land Boston. Exit plane, through gate and down to collect bag. 26 odd 

                   hours of travel………..

1st July 10.00PM, Eastern Time Zone - See Pete Galbert's familiar and smiling face staring 

                   back at me. Collect bags and jump into Pete's pickup.  Head for the hills of 

                   Sterling. Arrive at Pete's and have a couple of well earned beers. Let the journey 

                   begin.......