California here I come

American flag. Check.
Cable car. Check.
Bay Area. Check.
Old buildings. Check.
Blue sky. Check.

The view from my room isn't too bad I suppose!

I'm trying to forget how long today has already been and the fact I need to stay up for a few more hours to at least try and get closer to local time. Alarm went off too early - a combination of me not being bothered to pack yesterday and Virgin being totally inflexible on their car pick up times. Felt bad for the fella as am sure it wasn't the ideal start to his birthday. I did make him a cup of tea though (whilst he helped me pack). Journey down went ok apart from me getting stuck behind a coach load of pensioners in the queue for coffee and having a trainee server who couldn't find any buttons on the till. But as predicted got to the airport far too early for my liking - meant I had time for a lovely breakfast (eggs Benedict and Bloody Mary) in the lounge before having a hair treatment and blow dry. Really mustn't lose sight of how lucky I am.

Plane journey was fairly uneventful though the entertainment system was broken for the first 3 hours meaning I had to read all the papers including the Mail who kindly educated me on the difference between single mothers and those who are widowed/ deserted - a huge moral one apparently. Made me stop reading in disgust. Now I just need to wean myself off their highly addictive showbiz gossip. Watched a couple of ok films and laughed out loud at Monsters University. Highlight of the flight was afternoon tea of sandwiches and scones served on a cake stand (even if it was plastic I was still impressed).

The quickest ever pass through American immigration meant I had to wait for my bag. More than happy to do that and beats the hell that is NYC and Dallas. Taxi driver then dropped me at the wrong hotel but the walk a few blocks to the right one cleared my head.

Wish me luck in staying awake - I can do it.

TS: travel exemption

Post script: it's now 9.30pm and I've been up for nearly 23hrs! Made part of a meal in Chinatown but had to leave half way through as I was seriously starting to flag. Still done ok I think. Wish me luck sleeping!