Departure and flights to Los Angeles

As we have a wedding near Paris on our return and the opportunity to leave our car well protected in a garage, we quickly take the decision to do Brest Paris by car.

Final preparations

We take our 4 favourite dive bags instead of suitcases, because as more flexible, they are more "malleable" and fall more in the various boxes (car, plane). They are filled gradually. In one bag, the mattress on loan from Sylvie and Jean-René and that hosts in its middle a bottle of Sancerre; in a second one, it's a fuzz that protects a bottle of rum and in another, the foie gras. Clothes for hot and cold fill the others, as well as toiletries, coffee, milk and cocoa powder, ... .

On the other hand, all that is fragile and/or essential will go in the cabin, British Airways having the reputation of losing luggage. Prevention is better ... .

We leave Caramelle, our cat, at Isabelle's mother's house and go finish our baggage, check being for the next day. The luggage is weighed (slightly less than 20 kg each for a maximum of 23 allowed) and the heaviest detected, it is by this that we begin at the airport, we never know what can happen! In total, over 100 kg in the suitcases and bags. It seems that we travel heavy!

Friday 15 and Saturday, May 16

After a night a little feverish (stress of departure ), Isabelle loads the car and we go to Paris.

Josette and Michel, of the family of Isabelle, welcomed us and after a good night, Michel takes us to Roissy, but his car is a bit small for the size (and number) of our luggage. Finally, everything ends up going and less than an hour later we're at the counter of BA.

Very warm welcome, weighing luggage (ugh, everything is OK, no overload) and set off for boarding. And there, dump of my cabin bag, customs officers never seen this: a suitcase full of cameras, camcorders, external disk, inverter, various batteries, in short, everything that we did not want to risk as fragile and because of the BA reputation.

Takeoff to London with a gray sky and already late; what a beginning!

Arriving in London, re search of my suitcase; we are beginning to be lapped! What an airport! Roissy seems dwarfed; simply to change the "hall", not terminal, we must take a "metro".

After a little wait, we board, a little sun helps us to wait. After 24 minutes late (this is becoming a habit), the plane moves, but the take-off takes place only 16 minutes later.

We have finally moved on to the land of Uncle Sam, the goal of our journey. Isabelle is close to the porthole and we have the camcorder handy (its small size is perfect here).

After a few hours, we fly over Greenland:

then the beginning of Canada:

the western USA:

and approach to Salt Lake City:

Overview of some desert areas and "red" areas between SLC and Las Vegas

and we land in Los Angeles (it is 6:33 p.m. local time).

On the advice of JP, we get in early to immigration. Despite the obligation of the ESTA, it is always necessary to fill the green form in the aircraft.. Aside from the fact that he seems not to understand my explanation on our canned "foie gras", the immigration officer seemed pretty nice. Baggage claim (a little apprehensive, but every thing are finally here) and we go to customs (ok) then exit where we should expect JP (a meeting place outside is provided in case). JP is finally a bit late (he has just picked up a fine) and en route to Thousand Oaks, West LA, resort to our friends and haven during our stay, when we will not be on the road.

Although it is quite late, traffic is intense and this first contact with the traffic in the U.S. is impressive: Freeways 4, 5 or 6 lanes in each direction, and here, unlike us, is overtaken on any which line, which requires increased attention.

We arrive at 8:48 p.m. in Thousand Oaks.

After a few moments of reunion with Laurence and Noé their little boy of 4 and a half years, we sit down to eat, but fatigue begins to be felt seriously, for us, it is about 6 a.m.