Let The Memories Live Again! -Day 1

It’s the time of year again! We lined up our luggage in the living room as we ran around, making sure that everything was in place, and we didn’t forget anything important. We awoke early, and prepared ourselves for the long flight ahead. We waited for our booked Maxi Cab below our flat, which ran about 5 minutes late. Soon, however, we loaded the baggage into the taxi, and we were on our way to the airport.

This time, we booked a Singapore Airlines flight, and we were plenty excited as it was the first time we were going to fly on an Airbus A380, one of the biggest commercial planes in existence today. We had a small surprise, as the queue for check-in was very long, and not moving along quickly. That was soon resolved as we found out that Singapore Airlines had started using a self check-in system, and we were checked in relatively problem free.

Before heading into the Departure area, we strolled around Terminal 3 for our early breakfast at Ya Kun. This was a good decision, as this was going to be the last time we could enjoy a local breakfast in a long time. We savoured the Kaya Toast and Ashley enjoyed her Butter Sugar Toast. We then checked out our local X-Wing at Terminal 3 (What a shame that the wings are folded…) and headed off into the departure area.

After we got into the departure area, Ashley wanted to check out the playground that she has been visiting for three years in a row. We headed over there, and realised that there was a charging spot for phones, which was convenient as I forgot to charge mine the previous night. Ashley had a fun time jumping around the playground, while I caught some rest at a sofa nearby. Soon, it was time to head towards our gate. We caught a glimpse of the majestic A380 while we walked by the glass covered walkways. Soon, we boarded the plane and found our seats. We sat 4 in a row, and in the middle. The time to takeoff arrived, and we were in the air.

The first leg of the flight was to Narita International Airport (NRT), and it took about 6 hours of flight. We were served our first meal, which was lunch. Surprisingly, it was quite decent as we remembered SQ food to be much worse than their competitors. We weren’t supposed to sleep for this leg of the flight, but I slept almost the whole way through anyway.

We arrived at Narita International Airport, and we didn’t have much time to waste. We only had about an hour and a half before our connecting flight to LAX was due for boarding. We hurried down the walkways of the airport, looking for some refreshments as we were very thirsty. Fortunately, there was a small store at the very end of the walkway selling some drinks and souvenirs. We picked up some drinks and a small souvenir for Ashley, before awaiting our flight to LAX, with only about 20 minutes to spare.

Soon, we boarded the A380 again, this time, towards the United States. We were soon back in our seats, continuing the journey towards America. We were served another 2 meals, which were both pretty decent again (Surprise!). I slept through this flight again, and not much happened throughout the flight. We were soon landing in LAX, and we were well prepared for the long lines that awaited us at the immigration lines.

Surprisingly, after we exited the plane, the queues weren’t long, and we were able to cut through several minutes of queuing due to us being a family together. We collected our luggage, and took the shuttle towards the National Car Rental Depot.

There, we opted for what they called the “Emerald Isle”, where we could pick any car that was in the specified lots. We originally only paid for a mid-size sedan, but we were able to “upgrade” ourselves to a SUV, a Ford Escape, and drove off to San Diego!

It was a long drive, lasting about 3 hours, but soon, we arrived and checked into Island Palms Resort, a hotel right at the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The view from the room was stunning. We had a clear view of the marina, where many boats were parked.

We took many pictures of the view, before we headed out to Phil’s BBQ, where we ordered the Baby Back Ribs, Beef Ribs and the Enormous Onion Rings. Although my parents weren’t fans, I enjoyed the experience, and we soon headed in to call it a day.