March 31 - Australia: Sydney, New South Wales To Los Angeles, California (USA!!!)
Leaving Australia
Our flight to LA was at 10:30, so we arranged for a shuttle service at 6:30 in the morning. We woke up at 5:00, and lugged everything down to the lobby. And then we waited. And waited. At around 6:40, we called the bus company to ask where the shuttle bus was. Here's how the conversation went:
Jon: "Hi. We arranged for a bus pick up at 6:30 at #1 Grantham Place. We were wondering where the bus was."
Woman: "What time?"
Jon: "6:30"
Woman: "Well, it's not 6:30 yet."
Jon: "Ummm... My watch says it's 6:40."
Woman: "6:40? You mean 5:40. Daylight savings starts today."
Jon: "Uh. Well. OK. Thanks."
So we went back upstairs and watched the television for another hour until it was really 6:30. The funny thing is that, yesterday, we spoke to the bus company, the airline, and the hotel, and NO ONE told us about daylight savings. Not even the newspaper. But the bus driver must have known, because he showed up at the "real" 6:30 as planned.
At the airport, we ran into a bit of trouble checking in. Our box with the cooler and the wine was actually 42kg, which is 10kg over the 32kg limit. So we had to rip it open and take out ten bottles of wine (1kg each) to carry on the plane instead. A bit of a hassle, but it all worked out in the end. Each of our other bags were about 25kg each.
The flight was uneventful. We were the last row, which was OK because the back row was a two-seater and not a three-seater. We watched "K-PAX" (not so good.) and then read for a while. Jon napped for about four hours, and I got about two hours in. The flight landed at 6:35AM on March 31. Weird thing, because we left Sydney at 10:35AM on March 31. But there you have it - time zones and long flights.
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Back in the USA!!! |
At LAX - Welcome Home!
LA was sunny but chilly. Jon went to get the rental car, and I sat with our 128kg of luggage and waited for him to pick me up. We followed Ketron's directions to her house in LA, which was about 45 minutes away. As we rounded the corner onto North Beachwood Drive, we saw the "Hollywood" sign and really felt like we were in the US again. This, of course, is aside from the fact that we have to get used to driving on the right side of the road.
Hollywood!
We got to my friend Jennifer Ketron's house around 8:30AM and had to wake her up to let us in. It was so great to see her again. We hung out for a while and talked. Then went to "The 101 Coffee Shop" for brunch/lunch. For those of you who are fans of the movie "Swingers", this is the same coffee shop the movie was filmed in a few times. After lunch, we walked around the Hollywood Hills area where Ketron lives. We passed the big Scientology retreat place, which was holding an Easter Brunch. Looked like quite the party.
A little while later, we went to Griffith Park for a walk. Well, it was sort of a hike, actually. We walked past the Observatory and up a massive hill and took in a great view despite the haze of the day. To get to and from Griffith Park, we went through Beverly Hills and saw some gorgeous homes that were an arm's span apart.
Mexican Dinner!
We had warned Ketron ahead of time that we were craving Mexican food. So she brought out the LA Zagats (just can't live without a Zagats!) and Jon found a place to go. It was a cool place in Santa Monica. To get there, we drove down Sunset Blvd and Rodeo Blvd, past all the big LA sights. For example: the Chinese Theater, the Kodak Theater, the Walk of Fame, the Vipor Room. We're such tourists!
LA sights: The Capital Records Building in Hollywood
LA sights: Rauman's (sp?) Chinese Theater
Jon and I had been awake for about 30+ hours but refused to take any naps today. The only way to beat jet lag is to go cold turkey. Unfortunately, I fell asleep in the back of the car on the way to the restaurant. So Jon and Ketron turned up the Beastie Boy's "Sabotage" to wake me up. It worked.
Despite the rude awakening, dinner was great. Fajitas all around! Thank god for Mexican food.
At Dinner with Ketron
Back at Ketron's place, we got ready for bed. Jon was so knackered that he fell asleep, fully clothed on the bed. I crashed not long thereafter.