Queenstown airport; the start of this one very long legged journey

Qantas; not as good as Air NZ even if they do give you a complimentary miniature tooth-brush and paste, chocolates and HUGE pours of scotch which leave you still drunk as shit when you land at US Customs and Immigration at 6AM.

American Airlines; I HATE AA. Honestly THE worst service of my life. Not so much on the flight as when checking in. The staff at Miami talked to so many customers so rudely that I thought it was a joke. Turns out it wasn't a joke, but their customer service standards are.

LA from the plane. A horrible place. A grey, concreted, worn out, dated place. The sun shines but it feels like an overcast day in the Midlands.

Venice Beach. Two US Apache helicopters fly along the beach at sunset. Why? Well the freakshow that is Venice Beach/Santa Monica probably does worry the powers that be into having gunship patrols there. It's something else. Like a strolling, roller-booting, cruising, swaying montage of all the things that is 2Girls1Cup about the States.

Santa Monica pier. Ferris wheels, roller coasters, unbroken sunset and a flag...

A universal symbol which signifies Pammys bouncing boobs I'm sure you'll agree. However alot of the boobs we saw that day (and we saw ALOT) didn't jiggle much. Venice Beach is alot like plagy boobs, it's enticing and fun to looks at from a safe distance but ultimately you would get bored with its falseness.

And now at the same time. Helicopters, ferris wheels and lifeguard huts. Just out of shot to the right is a gigantic landmass of Americanisms and drought culture signifiers.