Time to go – 17 October 2023


 

It was an early start to catch our plane from Toronto to Los Angeles for the first part of the long haul back to Wellington.  Our departure was going well  until I could not find my watch.  We looked in all the places it could be but without success..  The only other place it could have been was my suitcase and as that was packed I decided to wait until I got home.

 

After checking in and leaving our bags hoping that they would arrive with us in Auckland we encountered US Customs.  There was a long queue and we were grateful that we had allowed plenty of time.  Fortunately, the queue quickly disappeared and we were able to have a bite to eat in the Maple Lounge before boarding our flight.  The food on Air Canada leaves much to be desired. 

 

We arrived in Los Angeles about half an early and had to wait on the tarmac until our gate became free.  Worried that we might have to pick up our bags and take them to the international terminal we hung around waiting to see if they would arrive on the carousel but they didn’t.  We hoped therefore that the transfer had gone smoothly and that they would arrive in Auckland.

 

Our flight did not depart until 9pm that evening so we had a whole afternoon to fill in.  I had thought we might go to Santa Monica having been therebefore but I found another beach  nearby we hadn’t been to called Manhattan Beach. 

 

 

Manhattan beach was a cute place and given it was lunchtime we had a pleasant lunch of tacos and a cocktail for Bev at a cute Latin American place.  The food was quite good. 

We didn't eat here but it was typical of the cafés at Manhattan Beach

 

We then found a reasonable coffee place before then venturing down to the beach and the pier (which is the oldest in LA so the information said) although it had been destroyed by a storm a few decades ago.  It was nice to sit in the warm sun and watch the activity around us.  There was beach volleyball being played by some teenagers having a coaching session and on the water there were a number of surfers.  In addition a guitarist set himself up close by and we enjoyed some pleasant background music.  The warm air was such a contrast to Canada and the light was different.  It was more like Australian light.  Whereas in many ways the light in Canada is not dissimilar to New Zealand. 

 

Our Uber back to the airport was a Chevrolet Suburban like the ones  used for the Roys in TV series Succession. They seem to be the standard SUV for the rich and wealthy in the US.  It was interesting to be in one which was not that comfortable and from what I could see it used a frightening amount of fuel.  Of course, petrol is very cheap in the US.

 

Our flight departed on time and Bev and I ate a nice meal together again as we had Business Class seats.  This might be the last time we have that pleasure. 

 

Our bags arrived in Auckland although they seemed to be one of the last to come out.  We were through Biosecurity in a jiffy and the long queues we thought we might encounter did not eventuate despite the number of flights arriving around the same time as us. 

 

It was a great trip and I will write a brief post about my impressions of Canada later to finish off the this blog. 




 

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