Titans USA Tour 2023

“Jetlag is for amateurs”. Dick Clark

There’s nothing more confusing than arriving at a destination before you actually departed. I feel that sentence needs to be re-read a couple of times just to fully comprehend our mindsets at the moment. Confused is an understatement.

I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you all when I say our trip to date has not been dull (nor quiet). After a 6-hour bus ride through the middle of the night, we arrived in Melbourne a little bleary eyed but still excited that our USA adventure had finally arrived. We headed to Pancake Parlour for a hearty breakfast to give us enough energy for the travel to come – we should have eaten more!

After waiting at the airport for a couple of hours, and quite a lot of floor napping, we were finally given the all clear to check in. Imagine a sea of 47 navy clad excitable Titans converging on the check in line – I think we certainly created a wave of panic amongst some passers by. After an hour of “get your passports out”, “do you have a copy of your ESTA” and “do you know the San Francisco address” questions (and some timely reminders not to crack jokes, we actually made it through. First step done. Phew. Next, off to Australian Customs. You’ll be surprised to know (as were we) that we made it through without any hiccups. Crazy.

Now comes the confusing part. We left Melbourne at 1.45pm on Saturday 25 November, flew to Fiji on a 4.5 hour trip, had a 2 hour stopover and then flew to San Francisco on a 10 hour flight, to arrive at 12.20pm on Saturday 25 November – 1 hour and 25 minutes before we left the day before. Whaaaat!

Regardless of the day (because we’re still not sure), after 31 hours of travel, we made it to San Francisco.  We cleared customs with the thousands of other visits, ventured outside to fantastic weather, and took in the sights on our way to our hotel with some excellent guide commentary by our very informed Ellie B.

After a quick sorting of the uniform, we donned our navy blues and headed out for our first official taste of the USA. We grabbed the tram down to Union Square and took the obligatory photos at the Macy’s Christmas Tree, before heading off in our small groups to grab some bona-fide all-American dinner. Some went to Lori’s Diner for a true 1950s experience (complete with car in the diner), while others opted for the Food Court.

By 8.00pm, our travels had caught up with us, and it was a unanimous decision to head home to bed. Early night tonight ready for a full day of San Francisco tourist activities tomorrow. We’re actually here!

While the Flag won’t be officially re-instated until tomorrow, there were more than a few little gems that have popped up over the last few days, to whet your whistle for what is to come.

• After 4 hours of non stop chatter (I believe it was described as listening to a personal podcast), it has been confirmed that Anthony could indeed talk under water! It has also been established that Anthony should now have a seat to himself on the bus.
• While we had some tired poppets in our midst Saturday morning (the Australian Saturday, not the USA Saturday), Jackson has set the bar early for the title of sleeping champion. Jackson managed to sleep soundly on the cold airport floor, not only with people milling around him to check in, but also with 7 water bottles stacked on top. Impressive.
• Despite repeated reminders that water bottles had to be emptied prior to checking in. A certain group of five boys, arrived ready for check in, complete with freshly acquired bottles of water, Gatorade and Red Bull. Needless to say they were shocked when advised they couldn’t take it through. Absolutely shocked. So then proceeded to skull their drinks so they didn’t waste any….. Boys, boys.
• That same group of boys enjoyed a true dining experience tonight. While eating the meal itself may have only taken 20 minutes, the comprehension, negotiation, horror that they then had to pay tax and give a tip took an additional 25 minutes. There were even cries of being “blindsided” – this trip is going to be a mathematical learning curve!

Stay tuned for tomorrow!