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Los Angeles, Day 1 of 5
Jul. 6th, 2022 11:59 pmWEDNESDAY
I woke up before the alarm about quarter to seven, took care of a few things in the bathroom and went to my desk to tie up the final loose end from work before leaving. I managed to get that done after phoning the person who originally sent me the email and having my account reset. With that out of the way, I packed my bags, ate breakfast, called Colleen, showered and dressed.
Around 11 AM, we caught Uber to Everett Station and arrived just in time to catch the next bus to Northgate. As we waited for a young dude in a wheelchair to get the ramp deployed to board, a tall young fellow in black was jogging to meet the bus and waited with us. Once the dude in the wheelchair had boarded, we stowed our luggage and sat facing the fellow in black. He told us he was from Caracas, Venezuela and had family there. Because of the engine and exhaust fans going full-tilt behind me, I probably only understood every third to fifth word he said, but he told a story about running to or from something and acted out much of the story with gestures as he spoke, so I got the gist. We arrived at Northgate Station around ten to twelve. On the platform the Venezuelan fellow showed me an application for asylum and said he was heading to the immigration office at Tukwila Station.
We arrived at Sea-Tac rail station about one and quickly walked over to the terminal. We printed bag tags and dropped off our bags, then hit the bathroom and used the premium queue for security. My bin got an extra once-over from the security agent so it was taken off the belt and delivered to me at a table, giving me plenty of time to get recombobulated. We made our way to the North Satellite and had lunch at Skillet right beside our gate. Very few people are masking but it's probably as well we do since I'm getting a scratchy throat and running nose. The chief flight attendant was a tall and thin young dude with a ginger mustache (no beard and a shaved head) named Ben. The other three flight attendants were all blonde ladies of various ages and sizes.
I had not been expecting a meal on the flight because I'd missed the opportunity to pre-order, but there were meals available so Gary had the last cheese plate and I had the salad with chicken, blood orange slices, dried cranberries and diced apples. After we finished our lunch, Ben served us each a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie. We didn't bother putting masks back on after that. I also drank a lot of ginger ale and was lucky to make it to the lavatory before the seat belt sign came on for final descent into LAX. After landing we had to wait on the taxiway for our gate to open up as we were a bit early.
We used the restroom in the terminal, then retrieved our bags and waited for the LAX Flyaway bus to Union Station. On the way we experienced LA rush-hour traffic and passed several local landmarks including the soccer stadium, USC campus, and the arena. The bus terminal at Union Station is elevated and we descended a short staircase and slightly longer ramp to reach the Metro station. Gary purchased passes for us as my debit card wasn't reading in the machine. The trains appear to be older and more worn than I expected, but still serviceable. We traveled three stops on the B (Red) line to 7th Street/Metro Center Station then walked about three blocks to the hotel.
Once we got checked in, we settled down in our room and watched the local news. Gary made a reservation for the Rooftop restaurant at 9 PM. When we arrived I noticed the rap music and the cute cubby dude with a ball cap on backwards who was apparently waiting for some friends to arrive. We were escorted to a high table next to the glass wall at the edge of the roof. I had an apple cider and Thai noodles in peanut sauce with shrimp; Gary had a soft drink and a Caesar salad. The bar was lively, with a younger, mixed crowd including several more cute Hispanic cubs; also there was a large bear and his similarly sized lady who were seated at the next table. Having eaten so much on the plane, I couldn't finish the meal and had them box it for later. We returned to the room and I fell asleep before eleven because of nasal congestion.
I woke up before the alarm about quarter to seven, took care of a few things in the bathroom and went to my desk to tie up the final loose end from work before leaving. I managed to get that done after phoning the person who originally sent me the email and having my account reset. With that out of the way, I packed my bags, ate breakfast, called Colleen, showered and dressed.
Around 11 AM, we caught Uber to Everett Station and arrived just in time to catch the next bus to Northgate. As we waited for a young dude in a wheelchair to get the ramp deployed to board, a tall young fellow in black was jogging to meet the bus and waited with us. Once the dude in the wheelchair had boarded, we stowed our luggage and sat facing the fellow in black. He told us he was from Caracas, Venezuela and had family there. Because of the engine and exhaust fans going full-tilt behind me, I probably only understood every third to fifth word he said, but he told a story about running to or from something and acted out much of the story with gestures as he spoke, so I got the gist. We arrived at Northgate Station around ten to twelve. On the platform the Venezuelan fellow showed me an application for asylum and said he was heading to the immigration office at Tukwila Station.
We arrived at Sea-Tac rail station about one and quickly walked over to the terminal. We printed bag tags and dropped off our bags, then hit the bathroom and used the premium queue for security. My bin got an extra once-over from the security agent so it was taken off the belt and delivered to me at a table, giving me plenty of time to get recombobulated. We made our way to the North Satellite and had lunch at Skillet right beside our gate. Very few people are masking but it's probably as well we do since I'm getting a scratchy throat and running nose. The chief flight attendant was a tall and thin young dude with a ginger mustache (no beard and a shaved head) named Ben. The other three flight attendants were all blonde ladies of various ages and sizes.
I had not been expecting a meal on the flight because I'd missed the opportunity to pre-order, but there were meals available so Gary had the last cheese plate and I had the salad with chicken, blood orange slices, dried cranberries and diced apples. After we finished our lunch, Ben served us each a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie. We didn't bother putting masks back on after that. I also drank a lot of ginger ale and was lucky to make it to the lavatory before the seat belt sign came on for final descent into LAX. After landing we had to wait on the taxiway for our gate to open up as we were a bit early.
We used the restroom in the terminal, then retrieved our bags and waited for the LAX Flyaway bus to Union Station. On the way we experienced LA rush-hour traffic and passed several local landmarks including the soccer stadium, USC campus, and the arena. The bus terminal at Union Station is elevated and we descended a short staircase and slightly longer ramp to reach the Metro station. Gary purchased passes for us as my debit card wasn't reading in the machine. The trains appear to be older and more worn than I expected, but still serviceable. We traveled three stops on the B (Red) line to 7th Street/Metro Center Station then walked about three blocks to the hotel.
Once we got checked in, we settled down in our room and watched the local news. Gary made a reservation for the Rooftop restaurant at 9 PM. When we arrived I noticed the rap music and the cute cubby dude with a ball cap on backwards who was apparently waiting for some friends to arrive. We were escorted to a high table next to the glass wall at the edge of the roof. I had an apple cider and Thai noodles in peanut sauce with shrimp; Gary had a soft drink and a Caesar salad. The bar was lively, with a younger, mixed crowd including several more cute Hispanic cubs; also there was a large bear and his similarly sized lady who were seated at the next table. Having eaten so much on the plane, I couldn't finish the meal and had them box it for later. We returned to the room and I fell asleep before eleven because of nasal congestion.