LAX

LAX is possibly the worst airport in the world.

Last night, we finally got off the plane at LAX at 8:42. At any other airport, there might be a slight chance one could still make a tight connection. But, at LAX, to get from one terminal to the next, you must go outside, across the parking lot, and back through security. What a load of crap. There wasn't appropriate signage to help us get to where we needed to go, it was dark, we were tired, and did I mention we had to go across a parking lot to get to the Air New Zealand terminal?

When we got there, after several minutes of walking around lost, we saw no one at the Air New Zealand counter. A native kiwi was close behind us, and he started mumbling obscenities about the "good for nothig piece of shit United Airlines," apparently the cause of his delay; I couldn't help but laugh because his accent was so cute.

Our night ended with about a 2 hour wait in the Delta "special services" line with all the other poor folks who'd gone through Atlanta yesterday and missed connections, most of which seemed to be to Hawaii. Frustrated and tired, I entertained myself by looking at a cute little puppy belonging to another traveller, overhearing conversations, and making "friends" with a couple from Indiana standing in front of us. We were rebooked on the 7:30 pm flight for tonight, and given meal and hotel vouchers. At least we got to stay in a really nice hotel, the airport Hilton. I tore into their breakfast buffet a little bit ago, waking up and realizing that dinner for me last night was almonds, craisins and pretzels.

I'd love to take today and sightsee, but something tells me I need to conserve energy. So, I'll probably go wander around he hotel, hope to find a hairbrush (knew I should've thrown that in my carryon) and try one more time to get to Auckland.

Oh, and let's pray that our luggage gets there, too. We don't exactly know where it is... :)