The Travel - Chronologically

Monday, August 29, 2005.
Getting up at 3:50 am. Have a coffee, try to squeeze the last remaining things squeeze into the suitcases. I put them one by one in the rental car.
At 4:35 am I leave the house, leave Thousand Oaks, heading on the 101 freeway towards LA. It is still dark, the road is empty, as to be expected. Slowly, the sky gets brighter.
Fill up the rental car with gasoline, then return it.
Now I am on my own - 4 big heavy suitcases + two carry-on bags. One by one I lift them otno the shuttle bus to the terminals.

Then, when checking in, a problem: two of the suitcases weigh each 95 pounds, one is 75 pounds. The permitted limit is 70 pounds. Any overweight causes the excess luggage (only two pieces are for free, the rest wold cost a fee - I already had checked that a few days ago on the phone with the airline) to be charged at tripple rate. This would make my luggage almost more expensive than my flight ticket: $375 per bag! The airline attendent offers me a cartboard box, so I could have a 5th luggage piece, but each of them would then weigh less than 70 pounds. I agree, move to the side of the ticket counters, and start unpacking my cramped suitcases. Now I have 3 additional luggage pieces, but each costs then "only" $125. Well, moving to another continent is not cheap.

When standing in line of the personal X-ray scan, I meet two of my colleagues from work. What a surprise - they are on a business trip to the US East coast. A bit chatting, I grab something to drink, then we board the plane. Despite my "Frequent Flyer" Gold status, I did not get a First Class upgrade. Oh well...

Three hours stop-over in Detroit. I did not see my colleagues at the airport, as I had to make a phone call right after landing - greetings to you, guys! -, and I walk around through the airport shops. As I did not buy the lunch package that was available on the plane, I decide that for the last time for a long time, I would eat Mexican, a Fajita-Burrito. Of course, this here is not Southern California Mexican, but Detroit-style Mexican...

A one hour delay of the boarding - maintenance problem with the oxygen in the main cabin. I buy a noise-cancelling headset, a book about Great Britain, and a currency converter. Might need that to track the expenses.

Nice entertainment system on the plane! The movies can be stopped and continued individually for each passenger. I watch "The interpreter", "Monsters, Inc.", and "The Kingdom of Heaven", as we fly through the night. Do not feel sleepy at all - I had slept on the 4h flight to Detroit.

The night is short, and day breaks soon. Then a medical emergency - one passenger gets sick. We make an unscheduled stop in Shannon, Ireland, around 7:00 am local time. The passenger gets carried off the plane where he received medical emergency attention. After one hour stop, with refueling, we take off again. A brief look at Ireland during this stop, from the small windows of the plane. Deeply green landscape, natural fences out of bushes and trees parcel the land into segments. Several layers of thick clouds ly over the island, as we climb up again.

One hour later the plane arrives in Amsterdam. Since I have plenty of time, the delay does not matter. I enjoy one of those excellent Holland herring rolls and stroll around in the airport shops. No purchases - I have now to begin saving money.

The flight to Leeds is delayed too: we are already on the bus that should bring us to the plane on the tarmac, but then we are called back into the terminal. A stewardess had called in sick, and the airline could not quickly find a replacement. With 1/2 hour delay we take off.

Finally the jet lag catches up with me, and I doze off a couple of times during the short flight to Leeds. Sunny weather at the arrival at Leeds airport - a friendly welcome for me at this new place. Catherine and Graham are here to pick me up and show me to my new place to stay - a very nice welcoming gesture. I pick up my rental car, and Graham drives ahead to show me the directions. They help me with my luggage, carrying it up the stairs to my new residence. Later we have dinner together at a nice restaurant, and after that we have a beer at a local pub nearby in Headingley: with a hand-pumped "Tetley Bitter".

My first day here in the UK is over, and after I unpacked all my suitcases - surprisingly none of them was missing when I picked them up at the baggage claim - I have a good night sleep.