The day with two sunrises and sunsets. Usual Sunday in Sydney, followed by an 8PM departure for Los Angeles. Then the sun rose again, it was still Sunday, and an early afternoon arrival in Los Angeles. There was a two hour layover before the Alaska flight to Seattle. The VAustralia flight over was quite full, but the Alaska flight was not. By luck, I managed to arrive on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, so there were fewer people travelling.
After clearing customs and immigration, a quick walk to the next terminal,
T 3 at LAX allowed me to check in at Alaska Airlines. I did not receive
a boarding pass in Sydney - Qantas can do this, but it seems at present
(at least) that VAustralia cannot. A friendly Alaska staff member
guided me through the self checkin kiosk, and I was good to go.
Clearing security (ugh) allowed entrance to the departure area. Being a
quiet travel day, it was not too crowded. I spent the time walking around
(good to do so after the long flight) and noticed the smoke on the horizon
from the fires north of Los Angeles. This plume was not a good sign;
however, by the time we took off, it was gone, and just the rest of the
smoke layer was there.
It's about a two and a half hour flight from Los Angeles to Seattle, meaning
that the sun set during the flight. The second sunset experienced on this
particular Sunday. While flying near Medford (most likely) in southern
Oregon, the moon appeared over the eastern horizon. Medford is the
pattern of lights to the left of centre in this photo.
The flight arrived in Seattle a little early, and the luggage was much faster coming out than I remembered - no complaints from me. After collecting the car (and having a conversation about cricket with the man at the rental car counter), it was off on the familar roads to Bill and Judy's home. Arrived about 10:30PM, and was asleep not long after.
A Quiet Monday
Reunions