We both really enjoyed this flight, including the breakfast which consisted of a main course of scrambled eggs with cream cheese and chives served with apple smoked bacon, diced potato hash and Boursin sauce together with a seasonal fruit appetizer and bagel. The light refreshment that followed was a freshly baked cookie. Of course the odd Terlato Pinot Grigio and the service from the cabin staff all added to the enjoyable experience.
Hmmm.... Must do this again.
We arrived at LAX on time IIRC and called LAX Luggage to retrive the bag that we left 23 days ago. We had to wait about 15 mins for them to arrive, handed over $196 (told it must be cash) in exchange for our suitcase and then positioned ourselves for our pickup with Prime Time Shuttle. Unfortunately, we decided to save the $$$ and get a shared shuttle - big mistake! I guess if your heading into Hollywood, it may be good if you want to see around the town before you get to your destination hotel, but we were heading about an hour out of LA and it took two hours, we being the last to be dropped off. I must have seen the freeway sign to our destination at least 4 times and asked Jnr the same amount of times "how far away are we?" and got the reply, "12 miles" each time. For the $65 we saved, it was not worth it.
We eventually got to the hire place and picked up the car.
We were apparently about a half an hour late to the car hire place and therefore had to wait about another half hour for them to locate a vehicle for us. It was all good though, because we ended up with a Mazda 6 which was larger than I requested. Based on what I had read on this forum, my travel insurance would not be sufficient in the case of an accident, so I pretty much ticked all the boxes on the rental agreement. I think it ended up costing about $50 a day.
So after we stuffed 4 suitcases (2 ridiculously stuffed by Jnr with half a dozen trackie dacks, 8 hoodies, a winter coat, 25 t-shirts, 10 dresses, 10 pairs of shoes, 35 pairs of undies, 15 bras etc. etc.) - did I mention it's + or - around the 40 degree mark? - we head off to our final destination. Jnr got an AT&T sim in Las Vegas for her IPhone 4 with data, so she was navigating using google maps, as I was driving. Based on our last experience in February 2011, I was pretty stressed about driving. We really only did freeway driving last time and just "going with the flow" last year, mean't driving at like 85 MPH just to keep up with the traffic (although the speed limit was maybe 65 MPH). Shortly after leaving the car rental place, the petrol light flashes on because they have handed over the car empty (this means I don't have to return the car full either). We manage to find a gas station and continue on our way without any drama.
To me, driving on the "opposite", really feels like learning to drive all over again. Putting on the seatbelt, checking mirrors and certainly turning right on red signals is not natural (don't turn on a red arrow), but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. I guess it is alot easier having a someone telling you where to turn though, because my concentration was taken up by "staying on the right" rather than where we were going and therefore, even when we had been down the same road 3 times or more, I was still asking "which way?" to the chagrin of Jnr who kept saying, "we've been down here 3 times, why don't you know which way?" She understood the difficulty eventually when I let her drive the car by herself!
So google maps (or Jnr) made a couple of wrong turns, but we eventually ended up at Kellogg West Conference Center & Hotel which is associated with Cal Poly Pomona (California State Polytechnic University Pomona) which is where Jnr will complete her degree, all being well. The 4 subjects required are all electives, so they are quite obscure - for example, spanish.
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The University and apartment village is huge. Jnr opted for a co-ed apartment which has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Her biggest fear was being grouped with "nerds". On the morning after we arrived, she had to go and get her room assignment. The building we attended had a long queue, but was buzzing with loud music and a welcoming group of current students.
Jnr collects the key, and we're off to see her "home" for the next 3 months. All smiles to see the welcoming sign.
Then, we meet one of her housemates -
Ring any bells for anyone?
