Day 1 & 2 - June 22, 23
I suppose the THUNDERSHOWERS should have tipped us off, but we had a bumpy (understatement) beginning to our 2022 Tour. In case you missed it, let’s catch you up:
Flight Group A of 82 participants arrived to LAX like pros; the group was on-time (or super early) for the call time to LAX. BUT, as fate would have it, our early group’s flight would experience an engine failure that resulted in more than 6 hours on the tarmac while maintenance crews attempted to troubleshoot the problem (with no air conditioning on the plane and hardly any food). Eventually, the flight had to be cancelled, and everyone had to deplane, collect luggage, then check into a local hotel for the night.
Flight Group B with 40 participants was greeted at LAX with absolute gridlock, as the International Terminal was temporarily closed for a BOMB THREAT. Apparently, some genius thought it a good idea to abandon a U-Haul van at the curb… The terminal had to be evacuated for the bomb squad to inspect and clear the ultimately bogus threat. Still, it delayed us a good amount of time. Our flight was delayed again prior to boarding, but we’re grateful we were still able to get in the air.
Flight Group B eventually made it to London about an hour behind schedule. We met up with our Tour Managers (proper intro later) and six of our group members that flew out earlier, then had a casual dinner in the hotel and called it a night. We’re very much looking forward to being made WHOLE with the pending arrival of the first flight group, which can be tracked here. They’ll be a day and change late, but we’re working hard to adapt the schedule to get everyone a fantastic experience, despite losing a day. London ain’t ready for the 128 of us from LONG BEACH!
Upward and onward for our trip! Stay tuned for once-a-day posts here highlighting each day, but don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @lbpolychoir for more frequent posts.
