>> >Ah! WAY too much adventure.....
>>
>> That's only the first installment
>>
>> >And BOO LAX.
>> >Turds.
>>
>> I really do think they could have found a way for mothers to take
>> little children to the bathroom without considering it a breach of
>> national security
>
>you'd think; but I have a pretty low opinion of most airports and
>airlines right now....
>
I have a higher opinion of Vancouver International and Manukau (Auckland
International) than I do of LAX. I have a high opinion of Air New Zealand
and its pilots and Flight Attendants.  I have a low opinion of long flights
>
>clearly therein lies more Tale! tygress
>
We left LA for the second time at 4 in the morning. We were so tired the
little children weren't even crying, they were hanging limp and numb. We
settled into our seats, watched dawn in LA as we left, fervently hoping to
never see the place again, and everyone tried to get some sleep. We had been
refueled and more food had been taken on board, so we were offered
refreshments. Getting back into the westerly flowing air stream was
turbulent - we weren't tossed around much, just enough for people to say,
"That'd be the turbulance he warned us about" but not enough to
discombobulate anyone (either that or we were all too tired to notice) It
was the most like being in a big truck going over a bumpy road than anything
else.
Each time a Flight Attendant went into or out of their cubicle I took a peek
at the screen to reassure myself we really were heading south at long last.
Which we were until just before I dropped off to sleep, then I noticed we
were heading west.
What the? *Now* what?!!
A Flight Attendant came down the aisle whispering so as not to wake anyone
sleeping, or alarm others unduly, "Is any of you a doctor or a registered
nurse or a paramedic?" I'm thinking someone has had a heart attack, or is
giving birth or something. I'm wondering what on earth is west of us.
Hawaii!!  We're headed to Hawaii!! We're *never* going to get to New
Zealand!!
Richard had the aisle seat and he could now and then hear the whispers of
the flight attendants. The figured one of the men was having a heart attack,
but there was a rugby team on board complete with team doctor, and he
identified himself as a doctor, showed his credentials, and attended the
passenger. It turned out a man had somehow twisted in his seat during the
turbulance and had dislocated his hip.  The doctor treated him for shock and
for pain, and stabilized him so that there was no need to put down in
Hawaii. We got to 87klicks from Hawaii - we could see it! when we turned
south.
You'd think we were finally on our way to our destination, but nooooooooo
With all the different emergencies and delays the flight crew had been
flying too long and couldn't take us to New Zealand, so we went to Fiji.
We had been told in LA that if we were held for 4 hours or more we would all
be put up in hotels at the airline expense, and the airline did give all
passengers calling cards (though LAX security would only allow the four
phones that could be seen from the door to be used, they wouldn't allow any
of the passengers access to any other phones, so some people weren't able to
make their calls until we were just about to leave) but we were only in LA
for 3 hours the second time and 2 hours the first time (I guess combining
the two times would have been some kind of crime)
We were told the same thing on the way to Fiji, except that we were told
that Fijian authorities were issuing emergency visas for all passengers so
that we could roam around and do some shopping and sight seeing if we were
going to be there any length of time.
As it happened, they had managed to pull together a flight crew while we
were on our way from Hawaii to Fiji, so when we landed they gave us the
option of getting off or not. They said it would be faster if we stayed on
board, and we all decided to stay on board so that we could get it over with
as soon as possible.
It was actually kind of neat. They cleaned the plane, took out all of the
garbage, and brought on more food while we were there. You normally don't
get to see that part. They opened all doors, even emergency doors, to give
us fresh air, which was hot and flower scented. We cheered our captain when
he handed over to the new captain (the poor man looked done in). They dogged
and double checked all doors, then we were off again.
They'd put on a new movie, (they'd played all of the ones we'd started with)
and when we got level enough the new flight attendants served yet another
meal. Incredible food! The Fijian skycooks had not expected a plane and
didn't have sufficient meals prepared, and the airline didn't want to wait,
so we had non-airline food on disposable plates covered in saran wrap.
Fresh, delicious, fragrant, wonderful!!
We finally got into Auckland at 4:30pm, instead of 4am. We only had 11 days,
and the first one was shot. We didn't see my sister's ex husband, we drove
straight to my ex's sister and crashed there. We spent the next day
recovering, and then drove down to see my mother.
LJ


--- Rachel's Little NET2FIDO Gate v 0.9.9.8 Alpha