The Flights
Our flight to Los Angeles was uneventful, other than the landing. The pilot was probably trying to impress the co-pilot by landing on and traveling down the runway using only the wheels on the left side of the aircraft. Eventually, the right side of the airplane contacted the ground. The passengers all cheered and applauded the flight crew's effort. The cheering had a bit of a sarcastic tone to it if you ask me.
We decided to hang back and wait for the rest of the passengers to exit before leaving the plane. After all, our luggage had been put through to Brisbane and thanks to our helpful Alaska Airlines clerk, we were armed with boarding passes for our next flight. We had time to kill, so why hurry? Out flight to Brisbane didn't leave for another five hours. Once we left the plane, we immediately looked for our Alaskan Airline representative who was supposed to be available to answer all of our questions; however, since we had taken so long to leave the plane, she or he was nowhere to be found. We soon discovered that we had to leave the terminal and head for one next door. This meant clearing customs and security again! The main international terminal in Los Angeles is huge, and we were soon swallowed up in a sea of holiday travelers. By the time we made it to our gate, we had less than two hours until our departure. Hannah and Jodi went out for some dinner while I supervised the bags. In order to eat at LAX you must clear security, go to the food court, and then return through security again to your departure gate. Even our McDonald's dinner had to go through the x-ray machine. No weapons of mass destruction here, just some high cholesterol!
It was now 10:30 p.m. and our plane had yet to arrive. We were scheduled to depart at midnight. We were told that our plane had experienced some "technical" difficulties on its flight into Los Angeles. It seems our plane had been seen emitting sparks, but we shouldn't worry because the plane had been checked out by the boys in the maintenance hanger. Our plane eventually showed up just after 11:00, but other than the Qantas staff talking in hushed tones, nothing seemed to be happening. Midnight came and went and we were still sitting in the departure lounge. Finally the announcement came. An Air India 747 had had a hard landing and damaged the runway we needed to take off from and sat stranded between the airport's only two large runways, effectively shutting down all major jet aircraft traffic in or out of LAX. We were told that our midnight flight was now pushed back to 2:30. At 1:00 a.m. our very chipper Qantus representative informed us that we were going to be able to depart right away. They had decided to use the shorter runway, and we would be departing once they determined how much cargo and fuel to take off the aircraft so it would be able to get off the ground sooner. At this point Jodi turned to me and said, "I hope the guy doing the math knows his stuff!"
We got onto the plane and buckled in. The pilot came on and gave the usual preflight ramble as well as a fairly confident declaration that the plane SHOULD be able to get off the ground and make it to Brisbane with the weight adjustments that had been made. Hannah quite enjoys take-offs, so instead of joining Jodi and I in the crash position, she watched out the window of the plane. Apparently the plane used every inch of runway space and just cleared the highway traffic at the end. At this point, one of the flight attendants, who had also been watching out the window, cheerfully exclaimed, "It's a good thing that car (on the highway bellow at the end of the runway) was a convertible!"
The flight to Brisbane was great! It went very smoothly and the pilot was actually able to make up all but thirty minutes of lost time. Upon arrival at Brisbane Airport, Hannah's front tooth fell out.
A six year-old's perspective is always interesting. She was more excited about loosing her tooth than she was about arriving in Australia.
When we arrived at the terminal we were told that one of the passengers had been ill during the flight and we would all have to wait until Australian quarantine officers boarded the plane. Eventually the passenger was given permission to enter the country and our rather hectic day(s) of travel was over.
We had arrived in the land down under.
We decided to hang back and wait for the rest of the passengers to exit before leaving the plane. After all, our luggage had been put through to Brisbane and thanks to our helpful Alaska Airlines clerk, we were armed with boarding passes for our next flight. We had time to kill, so why hurry? Out flight to Brisbane didn't leave for another five hours. Once we left the plane, we immediately looked for our Alaskan Airline representative who was supposed to be available to answer all of our questions; however, since we had taken so long to leave the plane, she or he was nowhere to be found. We soon discovered that we had to leave the terminal and head for one next door. This meant clearing customs and security again! The main international terminal in Los Angeles is huge, and we were soon swallowed up in a sea of holiday travelers. By the time we made it to our gate, we had less than two hours until our departure. Hannah and Jodi went out for some dinner while I supervised the bags. In order to eat at LAX you must clear security, go to the food court, and then return through security again to your departure gate. Even our McDonald's dinner had to go through the x-ray machine. No weapons of mass destruction here, just some high cholesterol!
It was now 10:30 p.m. and our plane had yet to arrive. We were scheduled to depart at midnight. We were told that our plane had experienced some "technical" difficulties on its flight into Los Angeles. It seems our plane had been seen emitting sparks, but we shouldn't worry because the plane had been checked out by the boys in the maintenance hanger. Our plane eventually showed up just after 11:00, but other than the Qantas staff talking in hushed tones, nothing seemed to be happening. Midnight came and went and we were still sitting in the departure lounge. Finally the announcement came. An Air India 747 had had a hard landing and damaged the runway we needed to take off from and sat stranded between the airport's only two large runways, effectively shutting down all major jet aircraft traffic in or out of LAX. We were told that our midnight flight was now pushed back to 2:30. At 1:00 a.m. our very chipper Qantus representative informed us that we were going to be able to depart right away. They had decided to use the shorter runway, and we would be departing once they determined how much cargo and fuel to take off the aircraft so it would be able to get off the ground sooner. At this point Jodi turned to me and said, "I hope the guy doing the math knows his stuff!"
We got onto the plane and buckled in. The pilot came on and gave the usual preflight ramble as well as a fairly confident declaration that the plane SHOULD be able to get off the ground and make it to Brisbane with the weight adjustments that had been made. Hannah quite enjoys take-offs, so instead of joining Jodi and I in the crash position, she watched out the window of the plane. Apparently the plane used every inch of runway space and just cleared the highway traffic at the end. At this point, one of the flight attendants, who had also been watching out the window, cheerfully exclaimed, "It's a good thing that car (on the highway bellow at the end of the runway) was a convertible!"
The flight to Brisbane was great! It went very smoothly and the pilot was actually able to make up all but thirty minutes of lost time. Upon arrival at Brisbane Airport, Hannah's front tooth fell out.
A six year-old's perspective is always interesting. She was more excited about loosing her tooth than she was about arriving in Australia.When we arrived at the terminal we were told that one of the passengers had been ill during the flight and we would all have to wait until Australian quarantine officers boarded the plane. Eventually the passenger was given permission to enter the country and our rather hectic day(s) of travel was over.
We had arrived in the land down under.
posted by The MacQuarrie Clan at 2:45 AM
5 Comments:
Whoa - lots of excitement, Dale and family! I hope your holidaying goes a bit more smoothly! Glad to hear you arrived safe and sound.
Hello!
I love a good adventure story, and it sounds like you were living one (or perhaps a comedy?). Full marks for creativity and syntax.
Hannah, I have found a spare tooth in Shadow's food bowl and will mail it to you if you think you can make it fit.
Terri and I can relate to your experiences at Los Angeles Airport. We have both had interesting if not similar experiences there. I am just glad that the pieces of the puzzle fit and that you were able to have a worthwhile trip.
We will be eagerly anticipating our first picture of Hannah riding a croc, kissing a koala, or boxing a roo.
Have a merry Christmas and enjoy your snowman.
Wow, I now know why we don't travel far abroad! Glad to hear you have made it safe and sound - Merry Christmas to you!
It sounds as if it's been pretty exciting so far! Can't wait for more postings!
I bought a new printer on Boxing Day so I'll be able to print this all off for Mom. All our love, Candie, Lia and Robert
Happy Holidays!
Happy New Year from the Butterworths!
Here's hoping that things are going smoothly now. We are looking forward to hearing of new experiences and adventures. Keep posting the pictures!
Paul misses Hannah but is managing to carry on somehow. He sends hellos to all (as do the rest of us:) )
Take care!
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