This was the last trip for me and the card. 😟 We've seen so many places together, that parting is such sweet sorrow. 🤡 At least we had an eventful trip across the Pacific and across the States:
We left Melbourne on a Boeing 747-400, bound for Sydney (QF 10). After a short wait at Sydney, we boarded another Boeing 747-400, bound for Los Angeles (QF 149). We were hoping to use some frequent flyer points for an upgrade to Business Class, but it didn't eventuate. 😟
The first trouble started at LAX. The baggage handlers there sent one container of luggage over to the cargo area. This meant that I had one bag, but not the other. The missing one was the one with the jocks and socks and sponge bag in it (of course). By the time they realised their mistake, I was through customs and Immigration, and speaking to the baggage claim people. At least they knew where the bag was. They said they would ship it to Orlando, FL for me. "Check at Orlando. Have a nice day!" Hmmmmm.
The next leg was with American Airlines on a Boeing MD-80, bound Dallas/Fort Worth on the way to Orlando (AA 2430). There was another longish wait at DFW that turned out to be longer than intended. I had forgotten to set my watch to Central Time, so my watch was still on California time. 🎱 My flight was due to leave at 1500, but my watch still said that it was almost two hours away. I passed a bank of clocks in the Admirals Club lounge and noticed that the [i]local[/i] time was 1515! Doh! My flight had left 15 minutes ago. They don't announce flights in US airline lounges. Of course, my bag had gone on the flight without me. Now I was down [i]two[/i] bags! 🤕 I was able to book a seat on the next flight, which was a further 2¼ hours later.
We boarded our last flight together for the final leg to Orlando. We had another Boeing MD-80 (AA 1074). We arrived at MCO at around 2130 on the Sunday night. I went straight to Baggage Claim; at least I didn't have hang around the baggage carousel. My DFW bag was sitting there waiting for me, but the LAX bag had still not turned up. I arranged the necessary paperwork and went in search of my hire car. (The missing bag turned up at my hotel two days later.)
I finally got to my hotel just after 2300. All up, the trip took 30 hours!
(Is that too much detail? 😉)