Month: July 2015

Me and United and a meltdown

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So all in all, my encounter with the United meltdown yesterday was not as bad as it could’ve been, maybe because I was already checked in and at the gate when it hit. My 5:45 AM flight from SFO to IAD left almost two hours late, but I made my connection and had an entire exit row to myself (always a nice thing). And contrary to what the article states, the gate crew was pretty much as forthcoming with information as the could be (much more forthcoming than United itself at that point). The IAD to CLT leg was less pleasant; it left more than an hour late and then spent almost an hour on the tarmac after landing in Charlotte as we waited for a gate. Not sure how much of that was related to fallout from the outage

From start to finish, it was a 17-hour process for me, including the drives to and from the airports. I have to say the United people on the front lines were all really nice on what must have been a really rotten day for them.

Days 11-13: Los Angeles

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Pardon the delayed update.

Thursday brought a change of venue as my great and wonderful hotel was booked for the weekend, forcing me to move to a lesser hostelry closer to Hollywood, but also very close to the Metro. The place wasn’t as nice, but I coped.

More of Thursday:

  • Drove around the south side of town, along parts of Figueroa, Slauson, and Crenshaw among others.
  • I don’t remember lunch, which probably means I just opted for quickie fast food.
  • In the evening, I did a pretty hefty hike up Hollywood Boulevard, had dinner at an Indian place somewhere along the way, and shot lots of neon.

Friday:

  • Fourth of July holiday (observed) so it was a good, traffic-free day to drive so I headed for San Pedro and Long Beach before coming back north, stopping at the former Johnie’s Broiler in Downey, and ventured north to the Valley, where I had pie at Du-Par’s and pretended I was in Valley Girl.
  • I also hit the Wilshire corridor and visited the neglected carcass of the Brown Derby.
  • I hit a record store on Venice Boulevard for a late-afternoon show by the Insect Surfers, but the place had a weird vibe and was hot, and claustrophobic so I didn’t stay long.
  • Went for another walk in the neighborhood in the early evening and ended up eating at Zankou Chicken again.

Saturday:

Days 9-10: Los Angeles

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I spent way too much of Tuesday in the car, first following the old route of US 101 (Whittier and Harbor Boulevards) and then circling over to Long Beach. After a very long day of driving, I walked up to Echo Park for dinner. This morning I sent off on foot to Echo Park again for a nice Mexican breakfast and stroll around the lake before driving around a bit more in order to spend more time on foot along Fairfax near Beverly and Wilshire near Fairfax. For dinner I want to down to Silver Lake.

And then, this happened. I was walking down the section of sunsets that’s cut through a hill, so there are no houses or businesses, and I couldn’t figure out why the street lights weren’t working. It was a little creepy. Then I got back in a populated block, and I realized nothing was working.

Assorted observations:

  • Why is it that Los Angeles seems more like “home” to me than San Francisco does, even though I never lived here? Toronto is like that too. I think it’s a “fantasy vs. reality” thing
  • The idea that “nobody walks in LA” is preposterous and just plain wrong. LA has some incredibly pedestrian friendly neighborhoods, all of which in fact contain many pedestrians.
  • LA is in fact a very densely populated city. And it’s getting much denser.
  • How did I never before know just how much I love Long Beach, particularly the downtown area?
  • it’s actually going to be cheaper for me to check a second bag them to ship back some of the things I’ve obtained here (the stuff from Safeway HQ in particular).
  • in a world with the wonder that is Fatburger, why would anyone ever eat that lackluster and overrated stuff from In-N-Out…with or without Bible verses?