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Well we finally made it to Juneau after about 32.5hrs travel. We had stayed at the hotel at Sydney International Airport on Thursday night so it was just a walk over to the terminal on Friday morning at around 7.30am. Checked in, through immigration (no need to fill out those departing cards anymore), and up to the Business Class lounge for some breakfast before it was time to board. We seemed to have the longest ride along the tarmac before take-off, it actually felt like we were going for a drive however, we had the most spectacular view of Sydney as we flew over it. I don't think I've ever had such an amazing view with all the flights I have taken out of Sydney.
We were wondering how American Airlines Business would stand up to Emirates and were pleasantly surprised. The seats weren't as big or as comfy but still reclined flat for a nice nap, gave you PJ's and slippers and the food was OK too. No bar to go and sit at but they did have an area where they put snacks out and you could help yourself. Movie selection was OK, only problem was the way they do the seating, you can't watch anything while taking off or landing so mum missed last 10mins of her movie. But hey, overall, can't complain.
We landed at LAX early and they have completely changed immigration since last time I was in USA. If you have an ESTA, you go to a machine, answer some questions, scan your passport, have your fingerprints scanned and they take a photo. You can then get a slip of paper which you take to a customs officer. Beats the 1-2hrs of lining up I used to do. They take your fingerprints again, take another photo and off you go. Collected our bags, through customs, dropped our bags off again, went through security once again and found our way to the American Airlines lounge for our 6.5hr wait to the next flight.
Had a nice hot shower to refresh and some snacks while waiting. I tried to get some sleep curled up on the floor and mum tried to snooze in the chair. Needless to say we were very glad when 1.30pm rolled around and it was time to board for our next flight to Seattle. 2hr flight, we both tried to get some shut eye, with some limited success. Just before the end of the flight, we started seeing snow topped mountain ranges. Very pretty.
Arrived at Seattle, found the lounge where we had a about a 3hr wait for our next flight. Had a lovely salad bar, a couple of drinks and then finally, time to board our last flight, this time with Alaskan Airlines. All the staff we encountered were very friendly and helpful which was appreciated at this stage because we were both exhausted.
This flight was 1hr59mins and we were due to land at 9pm as Alaska is one hour behind the rest of the west coast. Still light out and we got some beautiful views as we came into Juneau. Off the plane and collected our bags and out for a taxi. What a shamozzle. There were no taxis and really no queue. When a taxi arrived, people just jumped on them. They kept asking the drivers if we needed to call but they said they would just come where available. So we waited and waited, mum even asked if we could walk...unfortunately not.
A taxi pulled up and called out a name, we asked where they were going (as we had with others) and luckily, they were going to the same hotel as us which was amazing. Turns out they actually work for Uncruise and are back for their 5 week rotation, unfortunately not on the ship we are going on. Had a good chat with them and they even paid for the taxi as they get it reimbursed. Checked in and up to our room, we are right opposite the cruise terminal where our ship leaves from. We headed down to the bar to unwind and we had promised the couple a drink. By the time we got back to the room and to bed it was about 11.30pm and it wasn't long before we crashed!!
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