New York 1

Well I had to choose the day United and Continental merged check in systems to fly out didn't I? Nightmare at the airport and about an hour to get through - and I was near the front of the queue. Nice bonus though to be 'upgraded' to priority boarding so in Sydney and LA I got to jump the line a bit. Mind you with all the delays (we lost about 4 hours in total but arrived in NY on time), there was no real benefit apart from sitting in my seat that much longer waitting for everyone else to board, load their too large wheel alongs into the overhead lockers and crew trying to find people who had either disappeared from the plane or from the check in list. I hate airports and sometimes air travel!

LA was pretty intense as it's the security, customs and immigration checking point. I had no hassles though and more or less waved through. Not sure about the efficiency of just four immigration staff looking after about 250 'visitors' though.

Not overly impressed with LAX I must say, looked a bit run down and tired. I did think about all the celebs who would have passed through the same doors over the years and all the TV shows and movies the airport has featured in. Also have to say that LA looks a bit dull and colorless from the air, although the hills around are gorgeous. Saw the 'Hollywood' sign as we flew over so that was exciting.

The highlight for me though was flying over the Grand Canyon, breathtaking and I had no idea it covered such a huge expanse, hundreds of kilometres. Then we passed over Aspen and Denver, lots of beautiful snow.

Bags came out pretty fast at New York and a quick walk to the taxis, fixed fare of $45 but tolls and tax on top $65. A nice ride in with a Russian born driver who, naturally, had a sister living in Melbourne. The first sight of the New York skyline was breathtaking, the Chrysler building and the Brooklyn Bridge really stood out. We crossed over 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue on the way - how cool is that? Hotel is very nice and comfortable, five minute walk from Central Park and one street from the Dakota building. Really knackered after a loooooong day.

The joys of long haul travel, the little bit sour smell from being cooped up for nearly a full day breathing and re breathing in the same air as all your fellow passengers is some kind of hell. But then how lucky are any of us who get to do it?