For those of you who don’t know, I am currently on a four day trip to Los Angeles, where I am visiting my friend Lindsay. The most significant detail of this trip is that I am here without Brad or Benjamin. This is the first vacation I have gone on without Brad since we got married, and it is also the first time I have been away from Benjamin overnight. I am having a lovely, rejuvenating time so far on this girls’ weekend. Last month, I did a daily travel blog about our family vacation to L.A., so I will now do the same thing for my current adventures in sunny California.
To start things off, here is how the first day went:
- 1:00 p.m. – Brad and Benjamin dropped me off at the airport. Benjamin didn’t reach his arms out to me as I walked away from him; instead, he just waved and nonchalantly said “bye bye” as I rolled my luggage into the terminal. Hugging him goodbye was bittersweet for me, but once I saw that he wasn’t concerned about my departure, I contentedly strolled to security check, reveling in the realization that I wasn’t responsible for anyone other than myself for the next four days! (Color me giddy!!!) I think the woman who checked my driver’s license and ID wondered why I had a strange, jubilant expression on my face as I went through security. Let me just say that I have never been so excited to be hanging out at the airport, to have a layover, and to be flying for five hours!
- 1:30 p.m. – As I sat down at my gate with a book and a smile, I overheard the CNN report that Farrah Fawcett had died, which made me sad.
- 2:25 p.m. central time – 4:00 p.m. mountain time – The first leg of my journey took me from DFW to Salt Lake City. I sat next to a friendly grandfather type, and we chatted a bit about the state of women’s college basketball and other random subjects, and I listened to a few songs on Regina Spektor’s new album, but mostly I read. Oh, what a joy it was to sit and read, uninterrupted by a bored or mischievous toddler, for over two hours! I finished reading Dexter by Design, and then started The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby.
- 4:10-5:10 p.m. – When I entered the terminal at Salt Lake City (after an uncomfortably bumpy descent and landing due to a storm in the area), I immediately noticed that everyone was glued to CNN, which was playing on all the tv monitors. It is a strange feeling to deboard an airplane and wonder what major world event you have missed while flying through the sky. I soon learned that the event in this case was the shocking death of Michael Jackson. How weird, that at DFW the news was all about Farrah Fawcett, and in Salt Lake City, it was all about the King of Pop. So far, my visit to L.A. has included an almost constant soundtrack of MJ tunes, whether in the car, in Barnes and Noble, or on the local news. It is sad when anyone dies, but Jackson leaves behind quite an impressive musical legacy!
- 5:10 mountain time to 6:00 p.m. pacific – The last leg of the journey, from Salt Lake to L.A., was a shorter flight, just under two hours. I took advantage of the time to make a bigger dent in The Polysyllabic Spree. I am loving this book, which is a one year, month by month account of the books Hornby has bought and read. The style is very easy to read, as well as amusing and clever, and it makes me want to read everything from Charles Dickens to 20th century poetry to non-fiction books about the business of baseball. Hornby is a prolific and varied reader, and he inspires me to aspire to do the same. Easier said than done when I have a 16 month old waiting to hang out with me at home. I’d better get a head start on the flight back home!
- 6:10-6:30 p.m. – When I arrived at LAX and got off the plane, it’s as if I stepped into an abandoned airport (it really was reminiscent of Stephen King’s The Langoliers.) Other than an occasional lone security guard, it was just me and one other guy (seriously!) trying to follow ridiculously cryptic signs to the baggage claim area. I don’t know where all the other people went! Apparently, this other guy and I both made a wrong turn, because we ended up at what appeared to be the end of the world, also known as the United Airlines baggage claim area. I guess we missed the one tiny sign that would have pointed us toward the more direct route to the Delta area. Oh, well. The long way around provided me with a chance to stretch my legs after the cramped flights, and like a scene right out of a movie, Lindsay and I had to find each other on a loud, congested sidewalk, amidst a symphony of airplanes, shuttle buses, rolling luggage, cigarette smoke, and – no doubt – Michael Jackson tunes.
- 7:30 p.m.- After a quick stop at Lindsay and Sean’s apartment, we made our way to nearby Venice Beach, for dinner at The Terrace, a restaurant that is adjacent to the boardwalk and has ocean views. We sat on the patio and enjoyed our meal (I had an excellent sesame crusted Ahi tuna steak). Let me just say that the temperature was amazing. When I left Dallas it was in the upper 90s, and while we dined outdoors in Venice Beach, it was breezy with temps in the upper 60s.
- 9:00 p.m. – Back at the apartment, we watched the So You Think You Can Dance results show. Lindsay and I both blog about the show, so we sat on the sofa together, each typing away feverishly on our Macs. It was nice to be able to chat about the show live and in person, since the two hour time difference that usually separates us prevents timely discussion of any tv programming.
- 10:45 p.m. – It was somewhere around this time that I went to bed. I had a wonderful first day of my brief respite from the daily grind. I didn’t miss Benjamin and Brad too much, but instead enjoyed some peace and quiet, and hanging out with a friend without the hindrance of having to get home by a certain time.
I’ll leave you with the few pictures I took on Day One. I promise there will be more than this from Day Two!
Lindsay enjoys the view on the patio of The Terrace.
My delicious meal, which featured a sesame crusted Ahi tuna steak
Another view of The Terrace, this time after the sun went down. I liked the pretty paper lanterns.
