I have always said that I might not be the best, but at least I will have some great stories to tell on my travels. I have another great one that hopefully everyone at Runnerslife will enjoy reading.

First I will take you to last Wednesday, which saw myself and Mrs Thie having an Elvis blessing in Las Vegas. It was great fun to walk down the aisle at The Graceland chapel in Vegas, and to watch a clip of the blessing click on the link below.

http://gracevid.bannerview.com/weddings/view/?videoid=1929

The rest of the honeymoon was great fun, and I’m still not sure why we did the roller coaster ride at New York New York, as it is scary as hell!! Then on Friday Alex and I were going to the hotel lift after getting a coffee and coming out the lift was UK runner Chris Warburton, in Vegas with his training group on there way to New Mexico. How funny was that and we had a good chat, and you realise how small the world is, but that’s nothing to the next story I have…. enjoy.

Then on Sunday morning it was time to go home, so we got a cab ride to the airport and found a very busy checking desk. This was not good, as I was travelling on a BA staff ticket (cheap and great chance of upgrades) and the wife had a normal ticket, so she didn’t miss getting back for school. The plan was to fly to Dallas, and then onto London. The plane was totally over sold and they were even paying people to take the next flight, which is not the best sign when on standby! My luck was out, when no standby got on, and had to wave Mrs Thie goodbye and said ‘don’t worry I will get back some how’.

Next step was to get back to check in and see if any flights out of Vegas to any hubs in the states, and then I could get a connection out of them back to the UK. First the guys was like LA- No, then through San Francisco, Denver, Phoenix, New York and every possible airport, and all where no chance. Then he said it looks like that for the next two days, at that point I realised this was not looking good! At that moment I had a thought of panic of being stuck in Sin City for ever!. A British guy then came up and said him and his mate were stuck as well on staff tickets the same as me and needed to get to LA to fly home. Then at the same time a Danish guy came up and said he was also in the same boat and needed to get to LA to Visit his best friend in Hollywood. That’s when I came up with the great idea of hiring a car, to drive LA, around 260miles. This would be our only chance of getting out today and beats the hell out of sitting in an airport for three days!

An hour later, and $60 dollars each, I was driving (only one with paper driving license on me- yes I’m a professional traveller) a Ford Mustang out of Vegas airport with LA our destination. Not sure how, but the co-pilot on directions managed to miss direct us off a straight road and we didn’t realise (lack of road signs!) for over an hour. We stopped at a garage and asked the big fat guy with the beard and cap, who replied ‘you’re a long way from I15 (the road to LA) and he said it was 60miles straight through the desert called ‘death valley’! I had time to buy a moon pie and a coke, and jumped back in to the car (still wearing my suit- as on standby always travel its best to always look smart) so it was aviators back on, country music on the radio, and then back on the open road!

We finally got back on I15, and had another stop, this time at a Carl’s junior, for a burger and fries. One of the guys bought a chilli corn dog, which looked like dog food and was a great decision to eat in, as would have been all over the seat of the car had we not! We got to LA at 7ish and dropped the Danish guy off, who turned out to be a film camera man, and his mate works in Hollywood and filmed the Pirates of the Caribbean films- so is loaded. We then dropped the car off and made to LAX, ready for standby number 2! The two British guys from the car got on the flight as they had a higher priory than me. Then I heard them say two seats left, and started chatting to these two stunning twin girls and their father, both on stand by as well. They then get the last two seats and I’m left standing there thinking, ‘this is not good’. At that moment the girls father, a Scottish guy Walter, said ‘what you going to do now’, which I replied ‘hadn’t even thought that far’. He said he lived in Santa Monica and the girls boyfriends from the UK (Emile and Nick- both legends on the night out!), had to come back to fly the next day, so why don’t I crash at his that night. Wow, what a nice thing to do, and saved me from a night in the airport or a cheap hotel. Walter turned out to have owned almost every club in Glasgow at some point including China white.

Next thing I know we are driving back to Santa Monica, and Walter asks who I support in football, to which I replied ‘ Tottenham’. He said that’s good as you will like who’s sat on my sofa back at my house, Richard Gough former Tottenham, Rangers and Scotland captain, who is great friend of his. We get back to the house and Gough is there on the sofa looking ripped with a former Miss Argentina on the sofa. He loved the story that I was stuck and Walter had saved me and explained how he had played in Hollywood select match against a British forces team that evening. We ended up going down a British style pub straight away and the Hollywood team captain loved the story as well and also bought me a beer. This just turned out to be Vinnie Jones!! Load of other players such as Warren Barton, and one of the sex pistols all just drinking beers and having a good time! A load of beers, a club in Hollywood, and a diner burger later, I ended up waking up thinking where the hell am I! And it all came flooding back and what a night it was, crazy and totally unexpected. After some breakfast Goughy (yes Goughy by now) offered to drop me back at the airport on his way back home in San Diego.

As I get back into Lax I check my phone, and cant believe to read my brother Mike has been in LA all along and is part of the BA crew on the flight out the next day. He thinks I had slept at the airport, so is happy when I tell him the story, and says he will get me on the next day if I don’t get on in standby round 3! This time, I’m straight on and given a great seat, until I get to boarding and is changed for a middle cheap seat. But I’m just happy to be on the flight, and two seats in front (in club not cheap seats) is only the great Paul Weller! Nuts I know, and then the guy next to me tells me his brother is a James Reed who wrote Leona Lewis ‘Bleeding love’. My head is spinning by now, anything next might have been too much!

Finally landed in Britain at 10am and had to see where in this US my bag had ended up, but was just happy to be back on UK soil. Was a great few days and made some great friends just on a crazy road trip, and now need to catch up sleep before any future adventures!

Me and Vinnie- Many thanks to Kaley Jones - Vinnie's daughter for sending through the photo's

Cheers jt