Since our plane doesn’t leave until 5:15 and we have extra luggage, I scheduled the taxi for 1:15 for arrival at 2:15. That gave us the whole morning to repack, rethink, grab for stuff we didn’t need, put it all back, eat, debate certain items (umbrella yes, extra jackets, no), pack everything again, with just enough time for John to read the newspaper and me to just paint and play clarinet.
The taxi driver was great. He showed up early, then easily packed our two large golf bags and suitcases into his little Prius. I volunteered to sit in the back with my elbows resting on one of the golf bags, and was quite cozy. This year, we sprang for new travel bags, super sturdy Sun Mountain Cubes in bright colors that fold up when not in use. We’ll see how well the genius design works tomorrow when we get our rental car. (John2 arrives Saturday night.)
Our taxi had a Fast Pass (or the equivalent) so we took the high bridge of the 105 over all the traffic. I just love that. At LAX, we whisked right around to Terminal 7, where a United employee met our taxi (do I look like Helen Mirren in her Queen Elizabeth role?). Apparently, because he loaded all our bags on his trolley and took us right to the Oversized counter. Two minutes later, we were checked in and looking for TSA pre check. Tuesday is the day to fly, apparently, if that’s all it was. LAX is empty and the service is outstanding.
A big change for this trip is that John decided not to bring his biggest and best camera. Instead, he brought his second best Nikon. That change may or not be significant, but I’m delighted that with this camera, John is trusting of the world around him. During our rather long wait in the airport, he has wandered away from his camera backpack, ipad and phone. Just one look around and anyone can see a fairly chill and trusting group. A French family with 3 children (fun to listen to), a very talkative “signer” with arms and hands flailing S he signs to his friend, old people playing pocket chess, and other people just sleeping in place. That assessment and the very obvious camera over our heads are big assurance that our stuff is safe.
Boarding was a breeze. We seem to be on the same plane just forward of where we sat going to Buenos Aires. Lots of room and goodies, and British accents all around. Gotta turns this off…We’ll be in the air soon.