Good Morning Arizona...

Flagstaff looked so different first thing this morning when I woke up at a silly hour (for America or England) but I had finally got my eight hours rest after one mega trip. Three planes, which got smaller in size as I went along and I don't know how many hours in total, but I made it.

I missed my flight to Phoenix, although I knew it would happen and I even said so to the check-in clerk back in Heathrow: "I've only got an hour to catch that flight from LA, are you sure I'm going to make it?" to which her response was: "We don't make up the rules," which clearly meant that she had about three automated replies to any question at the desk and wouldn't even break down the inquiry to work out what I was asking. And so, despite a lovely lady from New Zealand getting immigration to push me through the queue, my flight to Phoenix left without me. My tiredness and stress soon dissolved when the charming young check-in clerk at US airways booked me onto the next one and didn't even charge me. He even put me in a seat at the front so I could "get off and run" as he put it.

Do you remember that sketch in The Fast Show where that family are just running and running but you never actually see them get anywhere? The dad screaming "come on!" to the kids, out of breath and bags flailing. Well that's what I felt like trying to make my connecting flights. Clips of British comedy got me through disconcerting moments as I had to make myself laugh somehow. Even more funny when I got to my Flagstaff plane which was more like a people carrier with wings. That Michael McIntyre skit came to mind when he describes those flimsy little planes where the pilot turns around in his seat and says: "everybody ready?"

Unfortunately, these jokes couldn't be shared. But I was lucky enough to have two very chatty Americans who managed to distract me from the rattling and whizzing of the aircraft. They said that my accent was charming and that everyone here would love it - I found myself getting a little bit more posh after this.

And so, I alighted into pitch-black mountain darkness and noticed that the taxi bay was empty. But thanks to the generosity of one of the passengers, I got a ride to my hotel with him and his family.

It's a shame that I couldn't see straight or stand up anymore by this point because downstairs in the hotel club, a party was happening and according to my plane buddy, this was a University town and the "kids get wild". But bed was calling...

I opened my curtains to a beautiful sunny day, wide clean streets and I even saw two Harley Davidsons, three locals drinking coffee and reading the paper and the American flag was waving proudly at me from the across the street.