We both breathed a sigh of relief when we returned the hire car at Portland Airport. After having three different cars in three different countries on this trip, all driving on the right-hand side of the road (opposite to what we’re used to), my concentration skills had been tested. And weirdly, the most challenges came in the USA. They have large roads for their very large cars, so that was great, but some of the rules for stopping at corners were different. For example, you can turn right against a red light if there is nothing coming from the left. I learnt that after only one horn-tooting episode. Another corner rule – at some, all cars stop and then you take it in turns. Or that’s what I thought. Parking areas in Oregon were not as well marked as in France where big blue-coloured ‘P’ signs are universally used. Only challenge is to check if there is a time limit. I got caught once in Italy on this trip when I hadn’t seen the sign, and it cost us €30.

We stayed at a hotel near Portland airport that had a shuttle service. That worked extra well, and had dinner in the restaurant. We bought a bottle of wine we had not tasted for months, just for something different.

Our room was comfortable but unfortunately the steaming hot bath I was looking forward to was out of the question. The water was only tepid. We were offered to change rooms but couldn’t be bothered with that, so endured a quick cool shower instead.

We had two flights in store to get us to Los Angeles (LAX), both booked with Alaska Air – deliberately. If one flight was late or delayed hopefully the airline would sort it for us.

Our first flight left at 6.25 am heading for San Francisco. We then had four hours wait until the next flight. Yes, I had allowed more transit time than had been allowed by our agent who had booked our Turkish Airlines flights.

We bought a lounge pass for the few hours in San Francisco after getting a discount entry because of the fares I had bought with Alaska Air – they cost us $30 USD each and it was a very pleasant wait and worth every penny. The sun was shining in San Francisco. Much brighter than Portland was when we left.

The next flight was delayed an hour but that wasn’t an issue as we had plenty of time to get to LA.

We had front row seats on the second flight and could even hear the pilots’ conversations. Eventually the door was closed, and locked, before takeoff.

The saying “saved the best to last” was not true in the case of our last hotel in LA.

I don’t know how I booked this place but it was too late to change. Yes, it was close to the airport and had a shuttle, but it was pretty woeful.

On the positive side – there was loads of hot water and a bath.

As I went to unpack my bag I noticed the zippers were not where I’d left them – in the locking mechanism.

After an okay night’s sleep at “Dodgy LAX Airport Hotel”, Mick and I headed off on foot to explore the Manhattan Beach surroundings.

That possibly wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had. After about an hour we arrived at a large shopping complex where normally I’d be happy to spend a few hours, but both of us had lost interest.

Luckily we were able to catch a local bus back to the hotel – the bus driver kindly overlooked the fact we did not have the right change or transport card.

We had decided we’d be happier spending a few extra hours at Tom Bradley LAX knowing we were ready for our final flight, and caught the very next shuttle from our hotel.

That ends the story of this trip, with the exception of an added bonus post to follow shortly.