Day One: FBX to LAX to SLO

     I left Fairbanks at 10:30 pm on the 27th. I was worried about taking all my dive gear through security but there were no problems with that. The first leg of the flight was on a 737 combi, cargo in the first half of the plane and passengers in the back. We walked across the tarmac and boarded the rear of the plane.  I was worried about my suitcase fitting in the overhead as it is exactly the allowable dimensions for a carry on. It fit sideways, but it was in.
     I landed in Anchorage and watched Big Bang Theory for the three hour layover. (Thanks Sam V, next time we should fill my hard drive more as I'm almost out of movies.) When I boarded the plane the ticket agent said my bag was too big and they were short on space so it would have to be checked.  I was prepared for this and I opened my bag and transferred the important, expensive things to my backpack, dive computer, GoPros, first and second stage regulators, and my mask.
     I didn't have much time in Seattle so moved quickly to the next gate.  I took the stairs to get to the train platform. The train was there, doors already open as I turned the corner. I got on just in time. A small kid got on before his dad as the doors were closing. His dad ran ahead and stuck himself in the closing doors to keep from getting separated (sound familiar, Mom?). I was going to meet Shelby B who was in the same terminal but had already boarded when I landed.
     Seattle to LAX was uneventful. My bags came in just fine and all my gear was intact but I walked out on the street into a zoo. The arrival lanes were absolutely crazy, full of cars and vans blowing their horns and people yelling. Quite a shock having come from Fairbanks only a few hours before. I texted Tom Brake when I was on the street and waited as he was caught in all the airport traffic. I saw the cab of the out of place lifted dodge long off and made my way, threw my bags in the bed jumped in.
     We drove up the coast through Malibu and past Point Mugu, stopping once to get ice for the salmon I brought, and once to eat at In-N-Out.  Tired from the flight and staying up the night before leaving, I slept for the rest of the drive to San Luis Obispo (SLO).
     We talked and ate at Tom's that night as we cleaned the glass, wire insulator shot glasses I brought down. I sorted all my dive gear into one bag and adjusted my dive computer for the time zone change.