July 25, 2022
Getting to LA
Other than leaving my water bottle at Sydney airport, my two flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles via Sydney worked fine, particularly the bus transfer connection in Sydney which was smooth.
Because I have crossed the International Date Line, I land on time in Los Angeles 3 hours before I left Sydney. However it takes more than 45 minutes to get off the plane, due to an issue with the plane getting a gate we could get off at. While its an even longer wait, in a long line to clear immigration.
Once it's my turn, the immigration officer is confused about my last time in the USA. It seems to be because the last time I enter the USA, was at a land border into Maine in September 2015. I try to explain that back then I had a tourist visa for a 6 month visit and that I flew home to Australia in October 2015 and I haven't been back. I show him an email copy of my flight to Australia in 2015 and also my return flight on October 21 to show that I plan on leaving the country in 89 days.
Still he's confused. It also doesn't help that he doesn't really understand what bicycle touring is. So he sends me into a room for a second interview.
As I wait, in a mostly empty room, I wonderer if I will be deported.
Thankfully I'm able to explain my cycle route to the second officer, who clearly understands me more and so he quickly clears me through.
Since it's taken a while, the baggage carousal are empty but since all my gear is in a cardboard bike box, I'm searching for the oversize baggage area.
As I find the oversize baggage area, there is nothing here. Straight away my mind goes back to the start of my last tour in 2019, where one of my bags didn't make it to Madrid Airport. Therefore, for this flight, all my gear is together in the now missing cardboard bike box.
I'm beginning to panic but thankfully, I'm soon directed to another oversize luggage area. where my box is waiting.
I'm expecting to have to then clear customs with my bike box but I'm able to exit the airport straight away to a now dark evening.
While waiting for the bus to Union Station, I see that a bottom corner of my box is about to fall apart. So I turn it upside down.
I have done this bus ride twice before and so I know my bike box fits.
It all works fine and soon I'm at Union Station. However it takes a while for me to find the east parking spot, where my Warmshower host Thuan, said he would meet me. It doesn't help that my bike box is heavy and is falling apart, so it takes a while to get there.
Soon Thuan arrives and we load the bike box into his car. It's strange both sitting on the right passenger side and then driving on the right side of the road.
Once at Thuan's house, I spent some time reassembling my bike, with just one pedal being difficult with fitting into its spot correctly.
I'm trying to go to sleep at LA time but I keep waking up as local time back home is 7 hours behind. So 2am Los Angeles time is only 5pm at home, all be it the next day.
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