DAY FIVE – 21 November 2014
It was
another nice morning, seeing a sunrise partially obscured by a nearby
building. After coming back from breakfast, I showered, and packed.
During every morning I’ve been here (this month and last month), I’d gotten
into a routine of watching the local television stations in the morning for the
weather and traffic, plus whatever news might be current. Last month I’d
cycled through them and come across one group which I found the most
interesting, so this week I’ve been turning them on specifically.
KTTV’s
morning show (the local FOX affiliate) has an older gentleman who tends to be a
bit more on the serious side, with two younger (30ish) ladies who provide both
the comic relief and eye candy, as well as a few others who come in for
specific segments. It’s still a professional environment, but this group
seems (to me) to have the most fun. The two ladies grew up in western New
York, so when they were talking about the recent storm which overnight dumped
six feet of snow on Buffalo, they were able to speak about winter difficulties
from personal experience. They’re not as amusing as Austin ’s Dudley & Bob morning radio show,
but they make a decent substitute for me.
As I
drove up PCH when leaving Seal Beach ,
I attempted to do some of the “dashboard camera shots” again, but really could
only get some mildly decent pictures when at a stop light. The traffic
was lighter to do that here, but as I got closer to the roundabout (near California State
University at Long Beach ) it got more difficult. I’m
driving first, taking pictures second.
When I
passed the empty tent where the Xmas trees will eventually be, it gave me some
amusing thoughts for when I’m here next month. It’ll be interesting to
see all the holiday decorations amidst the ocean views. I’ve been used to
seeing a green December since coming to Texas ,
but this would be a chance to see a new variation.
Like last
month, I’d be driving PCH up to my dealer in Torrance . It’s a nice drive, pretty
direct, and I avoid the crowded highway. There’s stores and other stuff
along the way which I hope to explore in the future. That except when I
get to the area around Wilmington ,
which isn’t the friendliest neighborhood. When I look at the houses, I
try to imagine back the 1950’s when most of these were probably built, and how
this was more “new suburbia” then, as opposed to the “hood” it’s become.
Just
because I have twisted humor, I had to take a picture of this sign. Of
all the things listed on the marquee, I know what’s the most important to me
when I’m checking into a seedy motel in a sketchy part of town. I want to
make sure the inside of the place doesn’t resemble the outside.
Again
once my meeting was done with my dealer contact, I tried to take a few pictures
of the area, to get a since of the terrain. Looking in kind of a
southwest direction, the hills I saw were of the Palos Verdes
Peninsula
I’d
mentioned to my contact (John) during our meeting that I’d stayed down in Seal Beach this
week. He let me know he was a captain at one of the premier yacht clubs
there, and they have a regular private dinner cruise. John also said
being able to see all the holiday lights from out on the ocean was really
nice. I nodded in agreement, saying that it sounded like it would
be. John then told me to contact him when I arrive for my next visit, and
we’ll spend an evening out on the boat with the rest of his club.
I
certainly thanked him for the invite, and commented that would be something to
consider. Of course when I got back to the office, I’d have to consult
with my superior to make sure anything like wasn’t frowned upon. In years
past, there were always situations of favors and other nice (but innocent)
things being done for a visiting representative or client. This was a
genuine friendly offer, and I appreciated it, but in our sue-happy modern climate
I have to make sure my company won’t have a cow with me doing something like
this. The offer being made from one person to another is fine. But
when it’s being made during a business trip, whether it’s meant to part of the
trip or not, it’s the perception of things like this are why companies get bent
out of shape about stuff like this.
Personally,
I think it would be a great idea. One of the things I’d been thinking
about this week (especially when writing down the details) of how to make this
blog still informative and not repetitive. While I’m going to the places
for business needs, and not detailing the specifics of that, I have a set
region which I’ll be revisiting for months for to come. I can’t keep
describing the same areas over and over, with the only variation of what
different restaurants I happened to go to. It’s quite possible that
future entries about subsequent trips may only have a single posting, unless I
had the opportunity to do something really interesting or have a wildly
different experience than before.
I had the
same flight out as the last trip, so I took the same route to LAX during the
same type of day. The only difference was not hitting traffic on the 405,
and I was scoping out gas stations as close to the rental agencies, so I know for
future fill-ups. Surprisingly, I got through the security check point
equally as easy as I did in Austin .
For a big airport like LAX, that’s freakin’ amazing!
Now the
line to get food at California Pizza Kitchen was still pretty long, and the
service was the speed of molasses. I get stuff there only because it’s
the least-offensive of the available offerings, and even then I get the
pre-made sandwiches. This time I could’ve waited for a personal-sized
pizza, but I wanted to try to get some work done before getting on the
plane. I can get CPK at home in a sit-down location, so I’ll actually go
there to enjoy their food.
My
counter-part Roy was taking the same flight back
as me, and he soon joined me (as his territory was north of Los
Angeles in Thousand Oaks , Santa
Clarita, and Palmdale, plus points north to Bakersfield ). He commented that he
remembered to print his boarding pass twenty-fours ahead of time, and ended
with “B-24.” I looked at him with a smile and simply stated “A
Group.” Hell, A-56 is at the ass-end of the A Group, but it’s still A
Group. Roy ’s
friendly retort was something to the effect of him hating me because I always
beat him in the Southwest lottery.
It was a
direct flight back, so there wouldn’t even be a touch-down or anything like
that. It was a nice smooth flight until about the last half-hour, when we
were approaching the Austin
corridor. There had been some rain and wind which Roy ’s region had the previous day (which
missed mine), and it’d been moving eastward. We knew we’d encounter it
one the way home, the question as to what intensity.
The
captain announced that he expected we’d be getting some choppy situations, so
he recommended everyone return to their seats and buckle up. A few
minutes later the plane was shaking side to side. Not too violently, but
enough for me to place a square in the wrong position on my Tetris game. Roy ’s knuckles started to
get white, as he again commented how much he hated flying Southwest. Hey,
I flew through Hurricane Noel out of the Caribbean
in 2007, and have never experienced a flight as nail-biting as that one.
This was cake as far as I was concerned.
It was
raining in Austin ,
but the temperature had warmed back up to the normal now, so it was comfortable
when we returned. I’d consumed things out of my snack baggie (trail mix, Cliff Bar Roy make a comment about that), and I motored
to the shuttle to take me back to my parked car.
This was
a much better trip than last month’s, because the work-fun ratio was more
balanced, the hotel experience was nicer, and I certainly ate more
properly. This was the way a work trip should be, productive and
enjoyable without being overly stressful. I know next trip I’m going to
visit the dealers I didn’t go to this time, but I hope to have some new
material and observations about the area. I write the travel blog both as
a way to share my experiences, and to make people aware of things out there
they could visit. But I don’t want people’s recreation to visit my
dealerships, unless they actually intend to purchase a vehicle. And no, I
won’t get a kick-back from them.
I write
these strictly for the love of doing it. And I thank everyone who’s read
these, and shared the experience. I’ve enjoyed travelling with you, and I
hope you’ll continue to do so.
For more information on the places visited or mentioned:
KTTV Morning Show (“Good Day
LA”): http://www.myfoxla.com/category/240698/good-day-la
Dudley & Bob (KLBJ-FM, Austin , TX
CSU Long Beach :
http://www.csulb.edu/
Palos Verdes Peninsula: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palos_Verdes
Thousand Oaks (CA):
http://www.toaks.org/
Santa Clarita (CA):
http://www.santa-clarita.com/
Palmdale
(CA): http://www.cityofpalmdale.org/
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