Cook Strait – Day One – 9 March 2013
Current Time:
8:05AM – LOS ANGELES, USA
2:05AM – SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Speed:
558 M/H (898 K/H)
Altitude:
36,000 FEET (10,973 METERS)
Time to Destination:
5 HOURS 55 MINUTES
Having an interactive flight path on the back of the headrest in front of you is always a treat; seeing how far you have gone, what areas you are traveling over and how much further you have to go. Quantas even has a ‘flight camera’ which is mounted to the wing on top of the plane –such an awesome view! On one computer screen, I could see Tokyo, Japan, Honolulu, Hawaii, Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, California; a blessing to be able to have seen all of these areas of the world pursuing the Team Forever mission – all in the mighty Pacific Ocean!
I began my day flying out (almost didn’t get on due to being overbooked!) of Pittsburgh on a Southwest flight to Las Vegas. I had about an hour layover (Viva!) then boarded another plane into Los Angeles (LAX) to meet up with Craig Lenning, and his lovely wife, May. We met in the Tom Bradley International Terminal, booked our luggage through to Wellington on Quantas and grabbed some lunch/early dinner at the Daily Grill in the terminal. I opted for the large garden salad and spaghetti and meatballs (“Meatballs for the meatball!” – Craig) while Craig and May went for the chicken quesadillas and a sandwich. We touched base with Jen Schumacher, who was one of the 4-way Strait of Gibraltar members with Jamie, Oliver and I last May! She was awesome enough to meet us out at Venice Beach pier along with her boyfriend on their way to the LA Kings hockey game.
We took a cab from the terminal to the Venice Beach pier (the original mecca for American bodybuilding in the 1970s; think Arnold and ‘Pumping Iron’) where we located a lifeguard who was kind enough to direct us to the best place to swim – considering ‘CAUTION’ was written quite large on the board outside of his stand, I thought we should consult with the expert. The 54-degree Pacific Ocean was a wake-up call, as the cold quickly reminded me to ‘keep moving’ to stay warm! It was beautiful, as the sun was setting just over-top of the crashing waves onto the beach. Unfortunately, we could not see Catalina Island (Craig had swum the channel in 2009, myself 2011) but knew her beauty was out there in the distance!
After a 45-minute romp through the waves, wet met Jen over by the beach showers where she gave us some body wash and fresh, warm towels (I chose the Gibraltar towel we picked up over in Spain; “That one’s for you Darren!”) to dry off with after a quick, cool shower. Craig is amazing at handling the cold. He also reminded me the water was ‘hot’ compared to the North Channel – I could only smile and imagine the water being even colder than that for 12-15 hours; just incredible how people navigate such a brutally difficult waterway! I will be finding out soon enough!
We stopped for coffee at a small, ‘mom and pop’ shop. They served up some great coffee called the ‘Hair Raiser’! We got a quick second dinner at a local sandwich shop (their three cheese grilled cheese = heaven!) then we were dropped off at LAX in order to get ready to fly again. Special THANK YOU again to Jen and Scott; you guys were so kind, and we really appreciate it!
Quantas is an awesome airline to fly with. Everyone has Australian accents, very friendly and has the most updated plane I have ever flown on – everything is brand new! While the food wasn’t anything out of the ordinary (I did manage to eat the ‘decorative’ piece of cabbage which sat below the side of noodles; oh well, I’m sure it had some nutrients) it was very tasty. I watched ‘The Master’, then took a several hour (I think; still a little tired) nap. When you get used to domestic travel, with your bag of peanuts and pretzels (don’t worry Southwest, you rock) it is so nice to have several full-course meals.
A little over 5-hours until we land ‘DOWN UNDER’!
I cannot stop thinking about Crocodile Dundee and Foster’s beer…
CHEERS TO ADVENTURE!