The flight

7/02

P dropped us at the airport. I was expecting crowds, it being the beginning of a long weekend, but the traffic was surprisingly and refreshingly slow. We got to the gate well in advance. Our flight to LA was on a United partner airline, Mesa Airlines. Our flight attendant looked not a shade older than 18. She seemed totally disinterested in serving us. She tripped over her announcements and giggled in reaction. Totally unprofessional.

We got to LA and then the ground crew stopped us from disembarking b/c of what they said was a FAA/TSA order. My heart sank. We just had 50 minutes between flights and sitting there, I felt sure we'd miss our connection. A fellow lady passenger provided us some entertainment by repeatedly asking the flight crew if we were in danger. The captain putting on his straightest face, said no.

Some ten minutes later, all passengers going to London and Hawaii were asked to disembark. There were 5 of us and we were thoroughly searched again. W's backpack was searched meticulously. 20 minutes later we were allowed to go catch our connection. We ran upto the gate, though we need not have hurried, b/c a flight from Las Vegas was also delayed and had passengers connecting to London.

Much to our consternation, we were assigned seats in the middle row, though we had asked for window seats. Made getting up and going to the toilet an absolute misery.

We took off a half hour late but because the wind was behind us, we actually reached London a half hour early. Customs was easy, though for a moment the customs officer had a perplexed look about him, when he asked us where we were from. I replied, San Jose and added California after a few seconds delay, which was enough to crease the poor man's forehead.

We waited for my U and A, and after a half hour had passed, I worried if they had gotten our arrival date wrong. I called and left a message, and waited some more. They arrived a short while later having been caught in a traffic snarl on the M25.

W and I thought we would head back home and rest, but U and A had other plans and asked us if we were in the mood to visit Windsor Castle, since it was nearby. So we began sightseeing barely an hour after we reached London.

Windsor Castle is the Queen's weekend retreat, much like Camp David is to the President. The Queen was in the house (noted by a particular flag that is flown atop the castle to signify her presence) but she hardly ever ventures out into the public eye. We toured the castle and took a few photographs. Brilliant architecture. We went to Hearst Castle last year and Windsor Castle is any day better than Hearst.

U & A had a dinner party to attend and we tagged along. By the time we got home it was already 12 midnight, and we had been on the go for a full 24 hours.