Day 21 - The Final Countdown (Part 2)

We weren't waiting long before the shuttle arrived. As it turned out there were only about 6 people getting on it, so we were easily accommodated. The check-in desks at the airport were fairly empty, so we were quickly sorted out and made our way outside and in another door (?) to proceed to security.

A woman asked to see our passports and boarding cards. Fine. We then followed the marked out zigzag about 40 feet, to a guy, standing about 10 feet away from the woman. Yes, you guessed it, he also wanted to check our boarding passes!  Security was no less painful, with everything having to come off (well not everything, but you know what I mean) before we entered the body scanner. There were no alarms for Catherine this time round, so we grabbed our stuff and made our way towards the gate.

We had a couple of hours to kill at the gate, so I did some of my blog, whilst Catherine went off to see what she could spend the last of our dollars on. The battery on the laptop is useless, so it wasn't long before I had to shut down. Catherine came back without a purchase, so we've brought back about $15. Sure I know a couple of people who might take them off our hands.

We were seated at the rear of the aircraft, a brand spanking new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, so were able to board first. First of the plebs, that is. We had two seats of the middle three, so Catherine (I don't do strangers!) had a guy next to her. Turned out he was something to do with film making and he and his colleague had been rushed out on business. Catherine didn't get any further info though, so no scoop for you.

Boeing 787

Slightly later than published we were up in the air, heading out over the bay, a 9 hour something flight ahead of us. We were told we'd arrive earlier than scheduled, either because of the jet stream or maybe the new aircraft was faster, I'm not sure. The data readout for the flight did show us travelling in excess of 600mph, which is bloomin' fast.

We had dinner (not all that nice, to be honest) and I settled down to watch the Hobbit trilogy. I managed to get through two of the three, before my eyes cried enough. after little over an hour, I was awake again and they were serving breakfast. We had about 90 minutes to go till touchdown.

When it came, at dull and cloudy Heathrow, touchdown was a rather bumpy affair and the aircraft was squirming left and right for a while before the pilot got it under control. I'm not going to say my life flashed before my eyes but I think there may have been a slight tightening down below!

As usual it took ages to disembark but security was painless with the new passport scanners. Even collecting the bags went smoothly enough and we were soon outside at the collection point for the car park. There was a bus already at the stop, so I had to wave to get his attention, else we'd have had a wait for the next one. Not something I wanted, as I was still in my T-shirt and this wasn't t-shirt weather. It never ceases to amaze me, that a few hours flight away, everything can be so different. 38 degrees different, in this case!

Back at the car, the fun AND the rain began. 3 weeks in an automatic had me pressing the brake pedal and wondering why it wouldn't go into gear. Aah, yes you have a left foot and another pedal Neill. DOH! By the time we got onto the M4 motorway, it was lashing down, a distraction in itself. Add to that, jet lag, lack off sleep and it's easy (I think) to explain how I totally missed (forgot even) the turn off to the M25. It was only when I saw a sign saying Wokingham, that my brain started to work properly. By this time though, the next junction off the M4 was Reading, making it about a fifty mile detour, back to the M25. Double DOH!

There was no letup in the rain, in fact it was getting harder and visibility was very poor. Clearly my concentration levels weren't that great anyway, so I decided to pull off at the service station with about a third of our journey (excluding detour) to go. After a quick toilet visit, we both reclined the seats and went to sleep. We awoke about 75 minutes later, not exactly feeling refreshed but at least feeling awake enough to continue the journey.

We arrived home at my place about 30 minutes or so later, without further misadventure. Baggage unloaded, Catherine picked up some bits she'd left at mine and I ran her home. I got back to mine, sorted though a mountain of post, then flopped down in front of the TV, cursing, as I discovered my expected recordings hadn't happened. Still lots to catch up on though.

And that my friends, is the end of our Route 66 adventure. I'm back at work tomorrow, though working from home, so I don't have to get up too early.

Soon as I get time, I'll sort through my photos, some 2000 and add some to Flickr. You'll then be able to access them from the blog, by clicking on the shield. I'll let you know when, so keep watching.

Till then.