I ‘m trying to scratch up some notes on day 1 of our USA trip. This is difficult when you are jetlagged. It’s currently 3:30 am here in L.A. while back at home it’s 8:30 pm and my body and mind is somewhere in between. So there’s only the one pic with this post.
The day started for us when our alarm went off at 3:45 am. Well actually I think we both beat the clock but didn’t want to ‘play’ till we had to.
We quickly put the final things in the car (our 2 big bags were thrown in the back of the ute the night before) & set off for the airport. Through the night Adrian had messaged us to call in & pick him up on the way. He would then take the car back to his place & could be tucked up back in bed by 5:00 am.
Check in went smooth with us being the only ones at the QANTAS counter. As always my knee replacement sets off the metal detectors & the security people then have to make things difficult for me. I know they are only doing their jobs but it gets annoying every single time I have to fly.
The first leg to Brisvegas went quickly & the warm bacon & tomato bagettes they issued for breakfast on the plane was not bad at all. Even the coffee was OK. (How things have changed with aeroplane food!) We had enough time in Brissie to grab a bite & some duty free Bundy for me & Lemoncello for Shane. Boarding our 747 to L.A. was no problem though we did have some extra visa check-in due to American rules.
At the 9+ hour mark into a 12.5 hour flight we are sick of this plane and can’t wait to get out. We have binge watched a heap of movies & listened to hours of music but at least the food is good and free. Our bodies are starting to ache and I think some of the other passengers are getting suspicious of me walking up & down the aisles of the aircraft stretching my muscles. I’d like to avail myself of more free Bundy & Cokes but I know that once in L.A. we head straight to Europcar to pick up our hire car & I doubt they’d be pleased to smell a boozy Aussie collecting one of their cars.
One thing I did remember about LAX is what a crappy airport it was. It still is. As with the last time here (2005) the signage is poor and we almost got lost. We eventually, with the help of several locals, found our shuttle bus to the car hire place where after being ripped off by a smooth agent who loves dealing with jetlagged clients who are befuddled, we are given the keys to a RAV4. At least we are smart enough to not hire a GPS with the vehicle. At the rates they charge after about 7 days you are better off to buy one and that’s what we’d planned. I had directions and a printed map courtesy of Trip Advisor forums to Culver City Mall which is the closest mall to LAX where we planned to buy a GPS. I had even researched the different models and so this would be a piece of cake – so we thought.
Bloody Yanks! Why did they choose to drive on the wrong side of the road? This is fun for me but Shane is on edge because I keep instinctively drifting out of my lane to the right hand side because at home I subconsciously drive with my line of sight putting me, the driver, on the right side of the lane. I am also having ‘fun’ looking for my rear vision mirror on my left instead of my right and using my right hand to change gears. Oh yeah! Some idiot has put the blinkers on the wrong side of the steering column and the wipers keep going off every time I turn a corner or change lanes.
Eventually we arrived at the Mall. Tell me again where we are? I thought Asia was the only place where life doesn’t start till 10 am! We hit Culver City Mall at 8:30 am only to see a trading hours sign on the doors saying that opening hours start at 10 am! You’re kidding me, surely? We are buggered and nothing opens for another hour and a half! We went inside anyway and fortunately Target was open and just inside the door is a Starbucks. “Give us coffee. Bloody big cups of it.” I took my first swill with gusto. Mistake! It was hot enough to melt solid steel and tasted as though it had been used for that. My tongue and throat were now burning and I had a mouthful of molten lava and nowhere to spit it out. Swallow. Aaarrrgghhhh!!! Shane just looked at me through tired eyes and didn’t even bother trying to hide her amusement at my agony.
Coffee eventually done (I threw mine out) we proceeded into Target to get our new GPS. Would you believe it, they carry 6 or 7 models but they are out of stock of every last one of them. At least the young fellow working there was kind enough to direct us down a level to Best Buys, a large electrical retailer, who also stocks GPS’s. It was now 9:15 and yep, they don’t open till 10 am. I thought Shane would fall asleep on the hard seats while we waited for opening time but she didn’t. Eventually they opened but obviously the staff here aren’t paid to sell things, only to direct customers to mythical sales folk who you can’t find or are too busy discussing the latest episode of their hot new TV series to deal with customers. Finally one woman who only minutes before said “not my department, I know nothing about GPS” is selling us a nice new Garmin 61LMT for $250 (no surprise when we are charged more because I forgot that over here they add GST after the sale). There where more surprises for us this morning like a wrong turn off (my fault not the GPS), more driving on the wrong side and freeway motoring through L.A. city but ultimately we made it to our AirBnB unit.
What a bonus. This beautiful little cottage is everything it says it was in the AirBnB catalogue. Eliter, our host, was gardening in her beautiful suburban backyard when we arrived so by the time we got out of the car she was at the gate smiling and offering a big ‘U.S. welcome’. Eliter briefly showed us to our door and acknowledging our jet lag quietly left us to settle in and catch a few zzzzz’s. Inside this newly renovated unit is lovely and has everything we need for our stay. It is a mix of older traditional cottage style with some nice modern touches. Eliter has even provided some snacks for our arrival in case we were hungry. We slept!
That’s about it for day 1 apart from a short trip to a local supermarket for some groceries. I’ll post this for your entertainment even without any pictures. Keep an eye open for more from your intrepid adventurers as I endeavour to blog as often as possible.
Cheers for now from L.A.
Garry and Shane.
Wow guys. Day 1 and you managed to get all that on record. Good to see the booze is still cheap. I bet you could not resist and purchased a 1 or 3. Enjoy