First stop…Edmonton International Airport and I was delayed at Security. The metal detector beeped as I went through the portal to the dark side. Apparently my cloth belt has too much metal on it; I had to unfasten it so the security guard could ensure I wasn’t transporting anything other than myself. Then they went through my backpack and purse because they detected something out of the ordinary. It ended up being my hand lotion and lip gloss that I neglected to put in my Ziplock bag with the other liquids I had. I felt like a common criminal. 9/11 has changed travel as we once knew it. Next time, I’ll take my belt off before going through the Security portal.
Security out of the way - check. After a Cinnamon Dolcé latté at Starbucks, I can now surf the web and update my blog while I wait for boarding – hey, why can’t I get past this Airport Authority page? I need a wireless hotspot netucation. I guess I’ll have to enter everything in Word and cut and paste later. My new netbook is my favourite travel companion. Oops, was that my outside voice? I hope Janis didn’t hear that. What a way to pass the time though - using my new netbook. Oh no, I’m becoming one of THOSE people I used to smirk at because they’re joined at the hip to their computer, even on holidays. My justification is ‘how else can I keep all of you up-to-date???’ (smiles).
I’m finally on the plane and we’re delayed half an hour due to fog. The runway was closed to flights arriving or departing. Good thing I have a five hour layover in Vancouver. Now, I’ll only have to wait four and a half hours.
Next stop, Vancouver! I’m here and security was a breeze - I had it down pat so they wouldn’t have to pat me down. Didn’t even look through my bags!
I found a café/bar with a plug-in so I could re-charge my computer, as well as take advantage of the wireless, but I was soon busted. A lady came to tell me that “You can’t use the Internet here unless you buy something”. I bought a yogurt and continued charging my battery and reading/sending e-mails. Oh yeah, I found out how to get on the web. I had to accept the terms and conditions of the airport wireless – who knew? – apparently not me. Oh, look at the time…it’s time to meet Janis, my Sydney room mate, from Calgary. We met at the gate and to our surprise, we also met a group of ladies from Salmon Arm who will be playing soccer in the Games.
We’re now on the plane to LA and I can’t see anything but a sea of soft puffy clouds. They look so inviting, as if they would envelop me in their fluffiness. My head really IS in the clouds now! This is only day one, and I’m not even there yet – what will I be like by the time I get home? Hmmm…
We arrived in LA and the weather was gorgeous. We also ran into a lot of people going to Sydney for the Games as well. We checked in and went for a walk outside to get some fresh air, or at least as fresh as you can get in LA. Everyone smokes here. We had to come back into the terminal to get fresh air. Then just when I thought I had Security down to an art…
What an experience! I forgot to empty the water bottle in my backpack and that was a big production at Security. Man oh man! It was either surrender my water bottle or exit Security and empty it in the trash can and go through Security again. I opted for the latter. Good thing I have another five hours here! I had it all down pat until I forgot to do one simple thing. I’m starting to get tired now; I hope I can sleep on the plane, or I will be awake for over 45 hours before it’s time to sleep in Sydney and I’ll be too tired to enjoy the Harbour Bridge Climb we have booked.
Two more hours in this boring terminal and then on the plane to Sydney for 14.75 hours. Oh, I know, let's add some excitement to this terminal. We can walk backwards on the moving sidewalk.
It’s Wednesday morning at 3:04 am Australia time and I’m still on the plane. I can’t even keep track of how long I’ve been on the plane because of the time change. We crossed the International Date Line quite a while ago. I haven’t been able to sleep, I’m crammed in like a sardine, the guy in front of me insists he needs to recline his seat all the time, nobody in first class is willing to trade seats with me (go figure), and there are four more hours to go – oh, I guess that means I’ve been on the plane for about 11 hours because my flight is 14 hours and 45 minutes. Qantas has much better service than the flights I’ve been on so far. We were provided with socks, pillows, blankies and eye covers. The food is great too. The in-seat TV broadcasts a variety of movies; a selection of CDs; old news, and the flight pattern, which I might add is a very cool feature for my viewing enjoyment. It shows, in live time on a map, where the plane is going, the speed, temperature outside, time of arrival, local time of destination, and where we are now.
Signing off for now due to my eyelids getting too heavy to hold up. Until later…
We're Here
TOUCHDOWN!! Arrival time - 7:03 am Sydney time on Wednesday, October 7 (that’s 2:03 pm on Tuesday for those of you back home). Maan, am I glad to get off the plane. The weather isn't really warm. It's still spring here after all. The title of this post is now not accurate as I have now been in the air longer than in airports.
We’ve checked in now. I just found out that there is free Internet access downstairs in the business centre. That's a relief since it costs 55 cents a minute to use it in the hotel room. Cutting and pasting from a Word document seems to be in the cards for me on this trip. It's also cheaper to call home using my phone card than to use Skype (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's video talking via the computer to other Skype users). The future is finally here! Hopefully I will be able to find an Internet cafe with free Internet.
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