Day 1 - Heathrow to Long Beach

From the Renaissance Hotel we used the Hoppa bus to travel to the airport which was excellent. We arrived at terminal 5 early and completed the electronic check-in (an alternative to standing at the desk) and we were given a time to take our bags to the desk. The Tour Manager (Geoffrey Morris) was available to greet everyone before it was time to take the bags to the desk. It is worth noting that you have to make yourself known to the tour guide and ours was standing around the centre of the terminal. Passage through terminal 5 was simple and hassle-free although it was a long walk to the gate from the departure lounge and included a short train ride. There were plenty of shops and eateries. We went to the Gordon Ramsey Restaurant called Plane Food. It was relatively inexpensive and the food was lovely. I would not have overly high expectations of this restaurant though it was about right for the money. The flight from Heathrow to Los Angeles was with British Airways. This was the first long haul British Airways flight we made and it is poor in comparison to other companies. First Choice and BMI are far better. Upgrades were possible through Thomas Cook though very expensive. We travelled in economy and would not do this with BA again. The plane was pretty much full even when it had been changed from a 767 to a 747 (I can only assume the flight had been amalgamated with another or way overbooked). My husband and I were seated in the middle two seats in a row of four. The passengers at either side of us were lone travellers and slept most of the way. In order not to disturb we waited until they woke up before going to the toilet and it was a little uncomfortable. Even though the flight left at 4.00pm GMT and it was always light outside, the cabin crew asked everyone to pull down the window visors and the lights were dimmed for most of the flight. The positive aspect to the flight was the entertainment system, everyone had their own seatback TV and you could start, stop and pause your programmes/films as you liked. Customs and immigration at LAX were excellent (some people report that they can be quite strict with tourists), they joked with us and said that they needed the UK tourists money in the current financial climate. It didn’t take long to get through the airport, the tour group met at baggage claim and walked to the exit together. Geoff the Tour Manager went off to check the bus was ready and we walked to the bus. It only took about a half hour to get to our first hotel and we arrived at 9.20 pm local time. Everyone stayed on the bus and Geoff went to check everyone in and gather the keys. Once back the keys were distributed and the porters were waiting to take the cases to the rooms. It was possible to take your own case though porter service for one bag per person was included in the holiday price. Once Geoff handed the room keys over we went straight to the Oceana restaurant for dinner. This was the only meal we had at the restaurant and we enjoyed it despite being tired. Once we were finished the meal we went to see our room and had some much needed sleep.