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North America » United States » Louisiana » Lake Charles
September 17th 2011
Published: September 17th 2011
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Journey from hell for Mike leaving UK for the US.

A 4.30am check-in time at Heathrow meant it wasn't worth staying with friends nearby or checking into a hotel, so spent a few hours sleeping on the floor of Terminal 1, along with a few other lost souls - thank goodness I had my sleeping bag with me.

LHR to Frankfurt OK, but the Frankfurt to Houston flight left late because of mechanical problems (with the gate, not the plane), so it was always going to be a rush to make the connection to Lake Charles. US immigration was the usual laborious process, though I did manage to get a single smile from the officer - be thankful for small mercies. After traversing the airport on the shuttle train, I arrived just minutes after the (last) American Airlines flight had closed - grrr.

Back across the airport to the Lufthansa desk, because they would have to re-book the flight on another airline. No-one was there and no-one available on the airline courtesy phone, but an angel in the form of a black mamma at the airport shuttle desk came to my rescue and got me on the phone to Lufhansa. After 25 minutes all was sorted, so back across the airport to the Continental Airlines check-in.

No joy getting a ticket there though, so back on the phone to Lufthansa. This time they denied responsibility for re-booking me, so there was no other option but to reach for the credit card and buy a new ticket. Maybe we can get the $300 back on the insurance.

I was so pleased to see Patricia, Katrina, Jackson (& Whitney) waiting for me at the new airport in Lake Charles (the old one was blown away by Hurricane Rita a few years ago). The Thompsons are back together!

This from Whitney's very comfortable house at the retreat centre in Westlake. Good to catch up with him after saying goodbye to him a couple of months ago in Italy. This is a gorgeous place: 17 acres of tranquility next to the river, with boardwalks across the swamps, bayoux, moss hanging off the trees and, yes, occasionally aligators.

While I've been spending 3 weeks catching up with folk in the UK, PK&J have been enjoying the very best of Southern hospitality with family & friends in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Mississippi, then Lake Charles. Katrina & Jackson spent a whole week at Darrel's school in Grant Coteau and made lots of new friends there. Along with 90+ thousand others they all went to see a LSU football game in Baton Rouge.

From here we pick up a hire car, drive east across Louisiana to New Orleans, then start our journey all the way up the east coast of the US to the Canadian border...


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