Here we sit in Los Angeles International Airport, awaiting the opening of the Air France gate. Evidently, they just rent space a few hours a day and don't have a presence other than their flight needs dictate.

We have experienced a SNAFU with our luggage: we were unable to find a way to get our new outboard lift aboard any of our aircraft. Problem? It's 60 inches long! No kidding. So, there the forlorn things sits at Conni's dad's house until we can take it with us to Fiji on the next leg. We've paid for the lift's baggage fee to Tahiti so we're hoping to get a refund for it. If had been a surfboard, it would have been no problem!

I've been considering several way that I might fabricate a replacement for the thing and believe that I have some valid ideas, but the new outboard is simply too heavy for Conni to "woman handle" as she does the one we have now.

We still have no idea if the heat exchanger is on the engine, but we'll know in a few hours and there's not a thing that I can do, so we're just going to relax and see what happens. This heat exchanger issue is the first big problem that we've ever had, really, and we're learning that one must relax and not court problems.

The SmartCart that we have has two big Blue Boxes, my big red duffle, Conni's duffle, and a few packs: it's loaded!

Conni found a B and B on Raiatea for a reasonable price, and it comes with a rental car, to boot. The business provides shuttle service from the Raiatea airport, so when we land, they'll be waiting. We'll drop by the cabin, dump bags, and go see the boat. We'll know for sure what has and has not been accomplished! Within a few hours of arriving, our schedule will either survive or we'll have to "regroove".

We arrive in Papeete at 0545, so we have a few hours to collect bags and determine if our bond exemption letters are approved. Anyone who arrives in Tahiti must show a return ticket or post a bond equal to the value of a ticket to his/her home country. Instead, we've contracted with a local yacht agent to post a bond for us, exempting us from the bond requirement. We do have tickets home, but they're from Fiji, not Tahiti, so they won't meet the requirements. It's obvious that Tahiti is trying to deter people from just dropping in and staying.

The Air France gate doesn't cease being Turkish Airlines and begin being Air France for another few hours, so we'll just enjoy people watching in this greatest of West Coat international airports. People from all over the world drag luggage through the airport and in front of us. It's quite interesting, actually.

Our next entry will probably be from the boat, or from Tahiti, anyway.

Wish us luck.