Today, I took the day off to prepare for our trip to Fiji. Got all my stuff done and put together just as Mike arrived with his friend to take us to the airport. I had worried a little bit about the timing, thinking that traffic would be a problem. Of course, when Mike and his friend arrived, there was a flat tire, and we ended up having to take the train. Since the train took quite a while, we arrived just at 6 o’clock for our 7 o’clock flight. I figured we’d be pretty close, but alas, we made it, even with enough time to get a sandwich for dinner.
After we got to the gate, we boarded the first part of our flight which was directly to Los Angeles. We arrived there and had dinner and got ready for our non-stop to Fiji. This was Mike’s first time overseas, so the big 747 was an experience. Unfortunately, it was with Air Pacific, and their entertainment and food was all but stellar. Thinking only of the long flight, we boarded with magazines, books, and things to hopefully keep us occupied during the 11+ hour flight ahead. After a couple of hours, we were zonked out, and for those of you who know me well, I do not do well with sleeping on transporation. Well, this was a first, but I slept all the way to Fiji, and awoke as we were flying over the islands, and seeing the sunrise. Talk about a wake-up call. The waters were blue, and the islands desolate. We landed safely and started our queueing for immigration. In the line, we met Markus, a german traveler who was flying alone. We befriended him and tried to figure out where to go for our first stop in Fiji.