By all measure our two days in LA played out like a Hollywood movie. The morning left no doubt the fires were still out of control. The smoke camouflaged any sun at sunrise while the fires were jumping highways just miles from us.
That’s the view from LAX. It’s a bit surreal. The victims, first responders and journalists put their lives on the line during times like this. 🙏
As a career long journalist and manager I know the hard decisions those reporters, photographers and engineers and their families have to make when your job requires you to run TO the crisis while others run AWAY. Thinking about my fellow journos today, too.
Hilton LAX
It’s a bustling hotel with plenty of international clients. LAX runway is right next door! We wore ear plugs to sleep but it wasn’t as bad as you would imagine. They weren’t flying overnight that we could tell.
Trying to stay true on rating accommodations:
HILTON LAX - Los Angeles, Ca.
Not gonna spend much time on an official rating for this one. It’s an airport and convention hotel. But, it did have a gym that we used knowing we’d be stuck in a tube tomorrow crossing the international dateline. It had plenty of weight lifting equipment, jogging machines and stationary bikes that came in handy as I continue long term rehab with my 5 month old bionic knee. The in-house restaurant and bar were darned good in this old style Hilton, albeit expensive. So, using a 5 point scale:
RATING: 3⭐️
LAX
This giant portal to the eastern world and the southern hemisphere was our home for half the day. As you plot out a three month trip it’s important to determine where you splurge and where you make do. Flying 13 hours was a must splurge event.
We went with Delta One first class seating. It came with a special lounge complete with an outdoor viewing deck. Due to the smoke outside was closed but the view even exposed a fast developing wildfire north of us where the Armageddon was still underway in Pacific Palisades and points around the widening fires.
The Delta One lounge has a variety of comfortable seating arrangements. We liked this one.
Servers provide your complimentary meals and drinks. They bill the food as upscale dining.
I’m not sure I buy fine dining, but I didn’t pass on the opportunity to snag a taco…a must meal in LA. The Delta One menu was creative with offerings of lamb, sushi and a must try maple whoopie pie!
They even had relaxation pods that allowed us to chill between a couple of small meals.
It was a great idea and I was happy to recline way back to elevate my leg. But nap? Not so much. Not even Mimi, Queen of sleep nodded out as they didn’t have the silence thing down. It was very noisy. But, they kept selling the compression boot as a great way to prepare for the long trip which can notoriously make your legs swell. So, I gave it a go.
Talk about the big squeeze! From my toes to the top of my thighs I got a 50 minute dose of compression before getting in the big metal tube. Oh, and I was already wearing compression socks so the Big Squeeze is on! We’ll see how the knee and ankle do when we get to New Zealand tomorrow.
Los Angeles
Once upon a time in the 70s and 80s I was infatuated with LA and wanted to live and work there. There was so much opportunity for news and video production and LA was the second biggest media market in America. It was Hollywood! For me it was Nirvana and working briefly in Sacramento I craved a career in LA.
As I got older and our family became so east coast centric, those desires waned. We got to visit LA frequently when our daughter Suzanne and her husband Brandt and family lived in West Hollywood for eight years. I even worked eight years for a media research company based there. To this day we still have family real estate there. But, as my grand daughter Eliza would say “It’s not for me”. LA’s traffic, homelessness, vulnerability to climate crises, property costs and taxes made it untenable as a home destination. And then there’s family. If they’re living on one coast and you’re on the other, it’s a non-starter at this point in life.
You say “Potato” I say Roller Board?
Loving the comments and likes! Please keep ‘em coming. Our Florida friend Dan Barrett opened up a can of worms in the comments.
Roller Board OR Roll Aboard? I always called it a roller board. And never even knew others called it a roll aboard.
They actually did a survey about this nomenclature. The results were split with 53% of people saying they preferred Rollaboard, 31% of responders going with Rollerboard, and 15% of votes going to “I have no idea.” Bottom line: they concluded “both roller board (or rollerboard) and roll aboard (or Rollaboard®) are acceptable in everyday use, with one being the generic term and the other being the trademarked version.”
So there. You say potato… and thanks Dan for the Roller Board runaround.
We bid au revoir to America. So long, LA. We’ll miss the inauguration, Super Bowl, Mardi Gras but most of all our little ones. We’ll see you all in April. For now, Kia Ora from a smoky Los Angeles.
I’m enjoying your writing style! This is a meaningful entry with what is going on with the fires and aftermath.
I’m right. Thx! 51% is an overwhelming endorsement. Safe travels.