We left Phoenix the Saturday after Thanksgiving, driving to Los Angeles to catch a direct flight to Dubai on Monday. I had bought the tickets months earlier, not thinking about Thanksgiving weekend traffic. Once the reality hit, we decided to drive as far as San Bernardino on Saturday, then continue into LA early Sunday morning. It worked — mostly. The first few hundred miles went smoothly, but the last 100 miles took three hours. Still, by leaving before dawn, we avoided the worst of the Sunday holiday traffic, and our hotel graciously allowed an early check-in.
Monday’s check-in at Emirates was a different story. We waited in line for over an hour before we could check our bags. After the long drive, the traffic, and that check-in process, we both agreed: next time, we’ll fly directly from Phoenix to London and then to Dubai. It’s easier, and we get to spend a few days in a city we love.
After that, everything went smoothly — until the cab ride from the Dubai airport. Since we arrived during peak traffic (and COP28 was happening), Julianna arranged for a meet-and-assist service at the airport. They met us at the gate, whisked us through passport control and customs, collected our luggage, and delivered us and our baggage straight to a waiting cab. The driver then promptly got lost on the way to Julianna’s villa — but even that didn’t ruin the magic of being escorted through the airport by golf cart, skipping every line, and having someone else retrieve all our bags. Honestly, it’s a wonderful way to travel, and the older we get, the more we prefer the easiest method.
Photos below: Leaving LA (left), arriving in Dubai (center), and Lizzie (right) — Lizzie is Lottie and Louis’s sister. The three are the litter from Camille, the pregnant stray Julianna adopted.

Lizzie