Deplaning was a relatively painless procedure and we then proceeded to hike what felt like a mile to immigration. On board the plane we were told that because we had an ESTA and had been to America since 2008 we could use the smart gates. We ask someone where we can find the smart gates only to be told we weren't allowed to use them. We join the very long queue of other foreigners waiting to gain access to the country and after ten minutes or so hear an announcement about the smart gates. We ask another officer if we are allowed to use them and after confirming that we fulfilled the requirements, told us of course we could. We leave the queue and head over to the gates only to be told they weren't working and we couldn't use them. So we begrudgingly rejoin the now even longer queue.
About fifteen minutes later, these smart gates magically start working again and we are finally allowed the express option through. I think they told us we couldn't use them to clear the American and Canadian arrivals before letting us through. They took our fingerprints, asked our intentions and took the most stunning glamour shot in history (note the sarcasm) before we had to join another line to speak to an actual human.
By the time we finally got through the luggage carousel had stopped moving! Didn't take too long to find our bags and then we lined up again, this time for customs. Nothing to declare so we were sent straight through.
The next step was to get to the car rental place. After waiting about fifteen minutes for a bus, we were on our way. There we joined yet another line to pick the car up. Mum and Dad decided to upgrade to a bigger car as they had brought body bags, I mean massive suitcases, as their luggage.
After signing all relevant paperwork, we were sent outside to pick a car. Yep, just pick any car in the area you've paid for. If there's not one there just wait, one will turn up soon. Ummmmmmm. Ok... We finally got a car, put our luggage in the trunk and were off into the scary world of driving on the left hand side of the road.
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