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Thursday, 7 November, 2013

 

Well, I’m home.  I slept great last night for over 8 hours, and today I felt good, although maybe just a bit jetlagged still.  The itching of my bug bites was much less today, I’mglad to report.

 

I was up at 6, had my brekkie, and about 9 AM, my brother, Rick, and I set out to visit some beach places I was interested in seeing.  We drove up and down the beach, from Manhattan Beach to Playa del Rey, looking at places from our youth.  A little after 11, we stopped at the In ‘N’ Out Burger in Westchester, and I had a Double Double with grilled onions and some fries and a Diet Coke.

 

Back at his house, I packed up and he dropped me at the airport at about 3:30.  I checked my two bags and then when going through security I ran into an interesting situation I haven’t encountered before.  I was directed up an express lane because I was flying first class, but when I got to the head of the line, the TSA lady scanned my boarding pass and told me I was in the Trusted Traveler Program (or something like that.  I need to look it up still).  I went back to the dedicated screening line for Trusted Travelers, whatever that means.  There was another passenger there, and when I asked the TSA guy what the Trusted Traveler Program was, the other passenger said it was something I had paid for.  I told him I certainly had not paid for it, whatever it was.  The TSA guy said that there were various criteria that got you into the program, but he was kind of cryptic about it.

 

As I said, I still need to Google it and find out exactly how I got in, but the bottom line was that I didn’t have to remove my shoes, I didn’t have to take my laptop out of my bag, and I didn’t have to take the liquids in their baggie out of the bag either.  There might have been one or two other things that were easier than the regular screening, but the best part was, there was no line there, so I moved right through.  Very mysterious, if you ask me.  Did their system make a mistake?  Do they just like me?  I really can’t imagine how I got into this program.  I think I have seen reference to it, and I thought you had to apply and pay a fee, too.  Anyway, today I was a Trusted Traveler (or whatever it is called – I’m not sure of the exact name).

 

[Well, I looked it up, and I still don’t understand what happened.  There is no way that I should have been directed to the expedited screening line, I don’t think.  I think that Alaska Airlines made a mistake, since TSA leaves it up to the participating airlines to tell them who is eligible for the expedited screening.  I think that either Alaska’s system had a glitch or the woman who checked me in entered the wrong data on me somehow.  It will be interesting to see if it happens the next time I fly.  I seriously doubt it.]

 

In the Alaska Airlines Board Room, their club for people who fly a whole lot or who pay a couple of hundred dollars a year (I was entitled to be there because I was traveling first class, even though it was an award ticket for frequent flier miles), I found the drink situation interesting.  In some airline club rooms, in some places, there are alcoholic beverages sitting out and you help yourself.  Not at Alaska or Delta, in Washington State and California, though.  In this club, there was a bar, and you had to ask the bartender for a drink.  There was a little sign that said “3 well drinks complimentary”, so I ordered a double bourbon on the rocks.  The woman behind the bar asked me how many I had already had, and I said this was my first drink.  She poured it and told me that it would count as two of my three free drinks.  The whole way it was handled was interesting to me.  Airlines are watching their bottom line closer than ever, I guess.  I could have had a better brand of bourbon if I had been willing to pay for it, but my frugal nature wouldn’t let me buy a drink if I could get one for free.

 

So, I boarded my plane on time and had a couple of free drinks that were at least doubles, and then had the pasta salad and a glass of wine.  I had started the next book in the Jack Reacher series at the LA airport, and I worked on that some more, and the flight went by fast.

 

My bags came through quickly and Christina picked me up and we fought the traffic home.  My 45 day trip was at an end, and I was home again, home again, jiggedy jig.

 

I think this was the best international trip I have had, although it is early days to be reaching that conclusion.  I should get more perspective on it before saying that for sure, but it feels like it now.  I certainly saw more birds than ever before, and that was due to three factors, at least.

 

First, I had more help.  I really appreciate all the help that Aussie birders gave me, both in person and by email ahead of time.  That help undoubtedly was the biggest factor in seeing more birds this time.  It also added hugely to the enjoyment of the trip.

 

Second, Aussie birds were much more responsive to playback of their songs and calls on my phone than I thought they would be.  I hadn’t expected it to make such a difference.  I have only had my phone for two years, so I hadn’t ever been able to try this before in Australia.  It really helped me see a number of species I never would have seen without it.

 

Third, I was better prepared this time than ever before.  I had found new internet resources to learn where to see particular species, and that helped me plan my itinerary much better, as well as give me focus each day on what birds I was looking for.  That’s one reason I was so busy on this trip – I had places to go and particular species to look for every day, and everywhere I went.

 

So, that’s it.  That was Australia 2013 for the Old Rambler.  What a life!