Travel Hell

So we sit on the plane, ready to go when suddenly the heavens open, torrential rain. After 20 minutes the pilot tells us that all departures have been put on hold for an hour. We're allowed off the plane to get food and drink, but back on in 45 minutes and push back...and go no-where. Every 30 minutes the frustrated pilot updates us that the whole New York area and all 3 airports are gridlocked. He berates the federal government for not investing in a more modern traffic control system. We move...then stop again. Once we make the end of the runway and then are stood down. According to the pilot we were rerouted 7 times before we finally took off at 9 pm East Coast time, 4 hours late!

The flight was fine, they switched on the pay TV for free as they felt sorry for everyone. But by now the kids are tired and sleeping at any angle they can. It's nearly a 5 hour flight so we finally arrive at 11pm West Coast time (7 AM in the UK). Luckily Las Vegas is a 24 hour city so it's no problem, the airport is still heaving and the taxi queue is very organised. Finally get to the Venetian hotel, get a Strip view upgrade with my Platinum priority club card and the receptionist is from Hawaii so we have a chat about our plans. Room is great and beds very comfy, yay. Finally get into bed at nearly 1 AM local time, 27 hours after we left home. Sleeeppppp.