No celebrities...but big planes!

This is my second post of the day. To be fair, the last one was at 4:30 am when I had a touch of insomnia. It is now about 16 hours later. I have the need to pass some time so I may as well update my blog while it is fresh…and the internet access is free. I will apologize in advance. Even though this post is on my New Zealand educational tour blog, there isn’t much NZ or education related content. There will lots of that over the next two weeks.

Here’s a question.  If you are only in the airport, does it still count as a visit to wherever the airport is located?  If so, I am now visiting Los Angeles for the first time. Also, my first visit to Australia is tomorrow…the airport in Brisbane airport I mean.

Now I can be like one of those cool people who talk about how they were in LA.  I am a bit disappointed however.  There doesn’t seem to be any celebrities in the terminal. I sort of expected to be sitting by someone famous in the departure lounge. I imagined standing in line at Starbucks behind someone noteworthy. I thought I would get to strike up an interesting conversation with someone from the cast of some late 90’s television drama. But nothing! I got excited earlier when I thought I saw Casey from “Mr. Dressup”.  Unfortunately, for both of us, it wasn’t him.

I wanted to spend some time reading the information that I collected about New Zealand. I have had a good layover in the City of Angels, so I could easily learn some Maori greetings and words while I am waiting. But I was afraid to look down at my computer screen and miss someone famous going past me. I contemplated just sitting here on high alert with my camera phone on stand by to see what happened.  Even an old time celebrity like Bob Newhart or one of the Kardashians would work.

I previously mentioned the “terminal” here in LA.   I should correct that and say “terminals”. In fact, the multiple terminals cover an amazing 4 million square feet. I arrived at one location, hung out there for a bit, and had a fifteen minute shuttle bus ride to where I am currently. It probably only would have taken ten minutes but we had to yield a few times to some big planes crossing in front of us. And when I say big, I mean double-decker Airbus 380 big.

In terms of the rest of my day, the flight from Winnipeg to Minneapolis was uneventful. I did get to sit with a young gentleman on his way to meet a friend in Las Vegas. I guess you could say that he was on an educational tour of sorts himself…although likely not one endorsed by the Manitoba Education. I was impressed with the size of the airport in the Twin Cities, despite getting a bit winded while racing from one end to the other to make my connection.

I flew Delta all the way so far. American airlines are different than those in Canada. Everything is pay-as-you-go in economy, including food and drinks, TV and movies, and internet. I was reluctant to go the washroom because I wasn't sure if I would have to pay for toilet paper. And I did say internet previously! In the US, once you get above 10 000 feet you can access Wi-Fi. To be fair, when you fly in Canada, you have a 30% chance of seeing a Senator flying to his permanent residence in PEI.

Well, soon time to board Virgin Air for the 15 hour jaunt across the Pacific. Good night all…and love you Candace, Alex, and Winnie.