Day 1 or 21, depending on how you look at it.
I actually went to bed early, which means I'll get up early, but it is what it is. I get up early,
but surprisingly, not to early. No coffee this morning, as I've got some milk to drink, because
there's no milk I know that's going to last 4 weeks in the fridge. The plan is to take a Lyft to
Danforth Go station, and catch the first Go train to Union, and catch the UP express. This is
when I find out that they are upgrading the Go east Lakeshore line all weekend. Since I've
got up early, I'll be taking the night bus to Union Station and then the Up express. It's raining rather
heavy, so I'll have to take an umbrella. I guess about to find out if you can bring one on a
plane as a carry on? No worries though, it's a nice umbrella, but nothing I cannot afford to
throw away. I also got the bad news on those Jimmy Kimmel tickets, which I was on the wait list
for, still full, but it was worth a try. Thanks for the email though. It's better knowing that its
not going to happen and make plans, then to string you along. There is a standby line the
day of taping, so get there early and you might get in.
Actually the Eglinton night bus at 5 am on a Sunday morning was quite.
I only had to wait 5 minutes for the Yonge night bus connection. Though I would miss the Bloor
night bus to the airport, and with the next one coming 54 minutes later,
It's the UP express for me.
The Yonge night bus drops you right off at Union Station, which I didn't know, so no more umbrella
for me.
Just follow the signs.
Union Station is so peaceful at 6 am. One of these days I'll take the transcontinental to Vancouver out
of this beautiful station.
Thanks for reminding me!
I tried, but my bank is down, so I guess I have to wait till I get to Pearson for a withdraw.
Next train leaves in 6 minutes, this is how it's supposed work.
Not too busy, but it is 6 am.
That's what I love about the UP express, it gets you there fast. From there I'm on the inter terminal
train to terminal 3. Since I've got my boarding pass and I've only got a carry on, (yes, the umbrella
made it through). I head to US Customs. No problems there, and then you get the free trip
through Duty free. From there I hit up the cafe for some breakfast pizza, which actually was
really good, and I finally update last trips last day blog.
So after finishing that great breakfast pizza and finally finishing last trips blog (yeah), I head down
to my gate to wait. I get my passport checked. It's a Westjet thing, where you can check in online and
bypass the check in counters. I like it, as it works for me. About 15 minutes later we start to board.
Still raining
Westjet has at least 3 planes that leave at 10 am, which makes for a busy gate area. Also some
ladies behind me said US Customs became hell, with a hour and half wait. So now I'm glad that I
came early. But it's also the reason I hate flying from Pearson. You just don't know how long the
the Customs line will be, hence you really have to come 3 hours early, just in case. Most of the time,
it's Buffalo airport for me!
It's a rather full flight today, with just some odd empty seats, so no moving to a empty seat for some
more room this time.
What I didn't figure is my poor squashed seat mate would move up a row to a aisle seat. So win,
win. I get a empty middle seat, and he gets a aisle seat. We leave the gate late, and with the long ride
to the furthest away runway, we end up leaving 1 hour late. My day is light so no problems for me,
but for those waiting on the return?
The desert, my favorite place to ride my bike, well, as long as the wind keeps down.
One of the fun parts of this flight is that I'm flying over places that I've been to. Thanks to the phone
GPS, while on the flight, I can know where I am. Above is Kingman, AZ. Which is on Route 66
which I did 5 years ago.
Oatman, AZ, home to the donkeys, if your ever in the area, visit.
Lake Havasu, AZ, and London Bridge. If you look real closely you can see the bridge.
Zoom on the airport at Kingman, AZ, it's one of those places where they store surplus planes.
We land a hour late and the mad rush begins to get off. I just stay in my seat and wait. Since I'm at
the back of the plane, 10 minutes later and I'm off. Now to go see if the bike is still there.
Just as I left it. Though I have to run back to the terminal, as all those morning drinks have caught
up with me. The funny thing is as I left the plane and walked by the washrooms, thinking that I could
hold out till I got to the motel. Well, that didn't happen. It's a perfect 70 degrees outside, a bit
cloudy, but since we came in on the way I have to ride, I know 20 miles down the road it's sunny.
Plus traffic actually looked ok, we shall see.
This really is the iconic part of LAX that everyone knows. To bad my terminal is as old as this
iconic structure. The only saving grace is they are actually renovating the terminals, so some day
soon it might be a great airport, again.
Actually, not my bike, but it's nice to see someone with the same at the airport.
I hook up the battery, check the voltage (11.5V). Which should start the bike, which it does, and
let it warm up. I get the bike ready and off to Palm Springs I go. The nice lady at the gate where you
pay just waved me through, nice, and thanks LAX for the free parking. LA traffic wasn't too bad, at
least no stop and go, but you have to bring your A game here. 2 hours later I make it to Palm
Springs and my first stop. Summer is back!!!
 |
| Me enjoying the ride. |
I do the usual, check in to the motel. head over to the grocery store and stock up on supplies. Gas
prices here have gone up. $20 only gets me 3/4 of a tank of gas. Though it's more then enough for
tomorrows ride. I have some dinner, update the blog a bit, watch a bit of YouTube and fall asleep.
It's been a long day, even though you don't actually do much, traveling still takes a lot out of you.
Goodnight!
Today's Mileage 120 miles or 193 km, though 100 miles of LA driving should be worth 200 every
where else!
Just in case you are wondering on what I am doing on this part of the trip. Part 2 is where (hopefully)
I ride from LA to Key West, along the Gulf Coast. For this part of the trip I have 4 weeks off and will
be flying back from Tampa.
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