In Los Angeles...

The beginning of a five-hour relationship with Detroit airport.

Can you believe that it took me over 12 hours to reach Los Angeles from Knoxville? It did. My Denver flight cancelled, I was re-routed to Detroit and had over a five-hour wait at the airport. Then, to my surprise, the flight time to Los Angeles was four hours. FOUR HOURS! That's like going to Greece from the UK.

I don't like night flights at the best of times – I like to see what's going on out there – but that was the deal and besides, I did have my window seat, 28A, so all was well with the world.

Room 502, Holiday Inn, Los Angeles Airport

The flight itself was a little tiresome (I wasn't expecting four hours) but I had One Man & His Bike with me so I read that, transporting myself back to the United Kingdom as author Mike Carter travelled through one of my favourite UK towns, Berwick-upon-Tweed, and on through North Berwick towards Inverness. All good stuff and it made me long for being home. I really do want to come home now. A trip of this magnitude is not going to happen again, that, I can assure you.

So on my clock – Knoxville time – by the time I reached the hotel it was nearing 1am. The Holiday Inn was by the airport and not downtown, which was annoying. It even annoyed the taxi driver who told me I should have taken the hotel shuttle. I would have done had I known it existed.

The awe-inspiring view from Room 502.

The clocks here have gone back or forth, I can't recall, but as I write this it's something like a quarter to eight and I need a shower and then breakfast. I've got to make my way to Foothills Ranch, which is near Irvine –'Er-Vine' – and I have to check out of here. It's almost pointless being here as now I've got to go. Had the United flight to Denver yesterday not been cancelled, I'd have been in LA mid-afternoon and I might have been able to go downtown, but now that's not the case, although I do have tomorrow afternoon as my flight home – my flight home! – isn't until 8.30pm (another night flight) although I'm planning on checking my seat online. I need the leg room and then I'm thinking of just stretching out and sleeping.

Not much else to say right now other than I am including the obligatory shot of my room – room 502, see above – and an uninspiring 'view from my hotel window' shot (also now above) when the system allows me to; right now it's very slow so I've cancelled the request.

The day started out fine: sunrise in Knoxville.

With all the trouble yesterday involving cancelled flights, I'm amazed that my luggage was on the baggage reclaim conveyor – that would have made the perfect end to the perfect day.