DAY FIVE – 22 January 2015
So, in
case you’re wondering, do all of my California
entries come out as being “Here’s where I ate in between visiting my dealer,
and maybe some small interesting thing that I might’ve seen”? Yes, as my
primary reason for being is work, the only play time I get is what I can
squeeze in between work stuff. I’ve been scoping out areas, with the idea
I’ll come back on a different time when I can explore. I’ve been spending
the time getting familiar with the lay of the land, and that should serve me
well on subsequent trips.
The
dealership I visit on my last day is located in Torrance , as that’s pretty close to
LAX. It allows me to get a half-day’s work in before scampering off to
the airport. I know I could take PCH most of the way there, but I still
program it into the GPS unit which comes with the rental. On this trip,
neither of my hotels and only some of the dealers were stored in memory, so it
was good I still had the physical addresses with me.
The route
the GPS gave me I swear took me the longest way possible, and through any road
construction it could. It took me on the 405, and then through a bunch of
side & residential streets through West Carson before dropping me in Torrance . It took
an hour longer than it should have. I don’t tell my dealers I’ll be there
at a particular time, but I like to get there as early as possible to get the
most out of the day.
The GPS
at least got me back to the airport with no issues. That’s good, because
LAX is already in a scary part of the city, and I don’t want some alternate
route to take me to even more scarier sections. Getting through security
is a breeze because I know how to do it, and I got my turkey sandwich for a
reasonable lunch. I couldn’t get a direct flight back, so I was set to
have a layover in Dallas .
Normally I can get a flight at 3 pm which gets me back by 8 pm, but this time
it was a 4 pm flight to get me back by 10 pm. Not so bad, because there’s
not much else I could be doing that night.
From my
aisle seat, I could still look out the window, and watched as the plane arced
southward around the Los Angeles
Basin
Right
nearby was a decent-looking Mexican restaurant, something which looked better
than anything at Austin
airport. Called Cantina Laredo, this had good tables for sit-down meals,
and space for to set up my laptop to get a couple things done. The cheese
enchiladas I had there were very good (not as good as my favorite haunts in Austin ), but enough to
satisfy my craving for them. I then spent a little time walking the
airport to stretch my legs. I stopped off at one of the side areas to
look at a modern art sculpture. A previous conversation said it looked
like it was going to be too late to stop by and see someone when I got in, and
that was before the delay.
When I
was out in Los Angeles , the temperature was 10
degrees warmer than normal and Austin
was 20 degrees below normal. It was warmed up a little when I arrived in Dallas , but not where it
should’ve been. Dallas Love Field was still a comfy temperature, but it
was chilly when I got back to Austin .
The fleece pull-over I hadn’t worn all week I was glad to have with me now.
I like
the trips out to the field, because it feels like a mini-vacation as it gets me
out of the office for a week. It’s nice to be able to try new
restaurants, but I’d like some time to be able to explore the area. And
it would be nice if I had someone with me to return to the hotel with.
They can do whatever they want during the day, just as long as we have some
hangout time in the evening. Whether they need their own car, and their
own flight arrangements to get there is nice, but I got room to spare.
It’s an unlikely prospect, but it would be fun. That was one of the nice
things about going on vacation with someone, the ability to enjoy the
experience. Perhaps on subsequent trips stuff at home will be less crazy
and I can smuggle someone out with me. >grin<
For more information on the places visited or mentioned:
Dallas
Love Field: http://www.dallas-lovefield.com/
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