Maybe I just need to learn not to sweat the little things I have no control over, but I was mere minutes from turning around the car, driving back to LAX, and catching the late Lufthansa flight back to Munich. Why? It took me four hours to get from the aircraft to my destination in Los Angeles–just 25 miles away!
After a rather uneventful, but pleasant, 13hr flight from Istanbul to Los Angeles on Turkish Airlines, I simply wanted to breeze through immigration, grab my bags, and be on my way home.
Nope. After a 15 minute taxi down runway 24R, the pilot overshot the jetway and we had to be towed back a bit. A number of flights from Asia had arrived just before mine so the immigration lines in the Tom Bradley International Terminal zigzagged for hundreds of feet. But I picked the right line and got through in about 20 minutes–the agent was not playing 20 questions with anyone, for which I was thankful.
I walked over to carousel one where a number of bags from my flight were already on the belt, though none with Star Alliance Priority tags on them…
This is where I got aggravated–it took exactly one hour for my bags to come off. One hour! Now it was after 4pm, meaning rush hour traffic on the ride back.
Sure enough, I-405 was stacked and it took me two hours to make the 20 mile journey. The torrential rain did not help.
I finally made it to my destination, the sun having set more than an hour earlier.
Why the complaining today? I don’t know, I just felt the need to vent. I appreciate your understanding.
It’s good to be home…I guess.
Hi I was reading your blog and was wondering how you were taking law school in Germany? Also I thought you have to now move to Philidelphia so I was wondering why it said you live in Los Angeles on this article?
I suppose all that can be said is “Welcome Home”….
@mike: I took a break from school and worked in Germany for a year. While my law school is in Philadelphia, my home remains in LA!
@Kevincm: Thanks… 🙂
The 405 missed you.
@Darren: The feeling is not mutual… 😉