There.
That should keep you busy
for a minute or two.
Ya’ Think?
And when the alarm
screeched in my ear
at 4:30am...
I was really unhappy.
Hopefully you didn’t throw the alarm through the walls of the next five rooms on the floor.
I’d have been tempted to do so at that ungodly hour.
But it didn't last long because...
We were off to La La Land!
But you just woke up. If you go back to sleep, you’ll miss your flight.
(and , that’s not a Disney film, so no pointless images for that one)
There were a few things
I wouldn't mind seeing.
But... I could live without it.
I maintain a similar stance in regards to LA, but if we could ever work out the transportation…
I ain’t against it neither.
while I waited
for Kay, I snapped
a few crappy photos.
I rather like your crappy photos…
Within moments of us arriving,
a gentleman came up offering
curb side check in.
Well, yeah…
Sometimes you win.
It’s a rare occurrence at an airport ever more, but sometimes…
"What if that was just some
random guy who just stole
our suitcases?"
"Nope." Kay replied.
"He had a nice hat. So he's legit."
So that’s the secret to trusting people.
Apparently I’ve been doin’ this wrong for decades.
We toodled off to security,
Savin’ the sashaying for latter on in the trip.
We now had time to kill,
so I purchased a cheap watch
and ground it under foot
until the glass shattered
and its nervous little tick ceased.
So…
Swat one mosquito; cure Malaria for all time.
Who knew it was just that simple…
Soon enough, we boarded our craft.
It was my first time on a Boeing 717.
I did like the 2-3 seating.
Certainly has its advantages.
We flew on a commuter jet once that had 2-1 seating.
That was interesting.
So I greatly enjoyed
poking fun at her pain.
Parent of the year nomination noted.
She, of course, is not allowed
to mock me when I throw out my back.
Not being allowed is rarely an impediment to a teen.
And who wants to think about
grounding.... in an airplane????
Yeah, that would be a bit more serious than a fifteen yard penalty and loss of down.
"You have to sit down.
The plane can't take off if you're standing."
Some people are too stupid to fly.
But it is still possible to launch ‘em.
Socially acceptable?
No…
but possible.
Actually the notion of standing on a moving plane reminded me of a commercial campaign from way back in my youth highlighting the difference between first class and “not first class”
Here’s the whol spot, if any one’s interested…
I'd advised many a pilot of EDCTs,
(Expect Departure Clearance Times)
but this was the first time
I was a victim of one.
I didn't like it.
Another one of those shots of mysterious, inexorable, official justice.
The taste of Lifebuoy lingers long.
I love not having to play the
"We got one bag, so the other
is lost" game.
It’s always best not to play that game.
We played it once at the
DCL terminal.
That was fun…
If memory serves
(it seldom does. It lobs occasionally.
More of a baseline memory then…
No. Wait. Not lobs... lobotomy. that's it!)
I’d rather have a bottle in front of me…
uh..... now I lost my train of thought.
Yup... there goes the caboose.
Fly! Be free, little Nimno…
And I was right!
It's open Sundays.
But not on Mondays.
Excuse me while I bash my head against this concert pillar a couple dozen times…
Free beats nine buck.
And is a vast improvement
over twenty.
It's like $20 cheaper!
Whoa…
That’s some seriously advanced calculus for someone that’s been up since 4:30.
I parked right beside
this nice little path
that led back to the beach.
Oeptar Edadzar?
Is that a direction, a warning, or a proclamation?
Maybe it the taxonomy related to Banana Slugs…
When she was born, she wasn't like that.
But when she became a teenager,
she had corrective surgery
to attach her phone to her hand.
Just wait…
They’ll be attaching ‘em directly to their skull soon enough.
We peered over at the pier
that appears in one of the
above photos that some of
my peers had apparently
possibly perused.
Peter Piper picked a peck of Woodchucks that could chuck wood…
Precisely
We decided to check it out.
No reason, other than it was there.
A mission statement that has oddly worked well for a number of folks over the years.
Kay was very impressed
to see real-life California
surfer dudes.
Those simulated Midwestern ones just don’t live up to expectations.
I was disappointed to not see
Jaws appear and devour one.
Wrong coast…
But then again (movies and books not withstanding)
the chances would have been better at Bondi rather than Venice.
Next stop...
Rodeo Drive, baby.
Yep…
But now-a-days the gal on the other end of that phone call would have needed the entire $3300 bucks just to get a fraction of the wardrobe.
We found a shop that was advertising
50% off, so we popped in.
Kay found a top she didn't mind.
And hey! It was on sale, so...
$1,560.00
Case in point….
I must admit, I enjoyed reading
the names as we went.
I recognized almost all of them
(if not all of them,)
but Kay didn't know many of them.
The schools need to do a better job of teaching ancient history…
Kay has been in love with Wolverine for a while now.
Not even the littlest bit surprised by that.
I should say, and they’re all thinking the same thing…
Good Lord, who in their right mind would let that thing loose without proper supervision?
Doesn't he remind you of the
Cameron Frye character
from Ferris Bueller's Day Off?
Pretty close…
It’s probably his stunt double.
It was better than most
fast food chains.
But over all... I've had much better.
And all the west coast folks just rolled their eyes at you…
But not rubbed down?
I dunno....
I saw this picture in her phone
and it looks like she's pretty taken with him.
Tell me more…
"Okay, Tiger. Visualize. See the hole?
Now... be the ball. Be the ball, Tiger."
Right in the lumber yard…
Changing the subject a mite…
I’ve not heard of this place.
Is it part of the theater or something separate?
That one rather suits Bogarts persona.
I kinda like how this next one
is shared over two blocks.
Aad I’m a bit surprised Jane let that slide.
"The Hollywood sign!"
I glanced up just in time
to see it disappear behind
another building.
Elusive creatures those mountain signs. In fact, I’m pretty sure that one of the “L”s an “A”, an “N” and another of the “D”s haven’t been spotted in years.
Kind’a relatable to Sasquatch sightings…
Folks are all the time swearing on their Grannie’s grave that they’ve done seen em’
but are just never quite able to prove it.
But aren't you excited about seeing
yet another photo of a couple of beds
and a bathtub?
Say yes.
Bonus points....
Well, yes…
It proves that you actually got the room that you booked.
Which is more than I can say about the room we booked for this past weekend.
And wandered down Universal CityWalk.
I wasn't really sure what to expect,
but we really enjoyed it.
Rodeo Drive for the masses.
Rather like that one.
Was the sign related to one of the shops on the walk or just there for entertainment value?
I mean, those paintbrushes!
Just perfect!
Disney caliber theming
I ordered a mango smoothie.
Wow! Was that good!
Something about mangos makes them particularly good in frozen applications.
We then each had wonton soup.
Yum!
And they didn’t skimp on the wontons
That’s a win.
The scallops and Kay's side of broccoli
came fairly quickly.
(What is wrong with her?
That child ain't right!)
Yeah, I mean, really!
Scallops?
Blech…
I'd never had this before
although I'd heard about it
since Peking (now Beijing) was founded.
Founded way back when we were in grade school I think that was…
Never actually had the stuff either.
Have had “duck” on a couple of different Chinese buffets but that don’t count.
There must be some kind of
weird water hierarchy thing going on there.
I think it was more of a wait-staff hierarchy thing
Completely stuffed, we waddled
back out into CityWalk.
There will be no sashaying this evening.
Ooooo… That one’s right purty
We popped back into the Potter store
where Kay bought some Pottery.
What a crock!
She bought the complete set
of books.
Enough paper to reassemble the tree that it had come from.
And about as heavy.
I only purchased a wheelbarrow
Why didn’t you list that among our assets?
so that Kay could push my
over-full bulk back to the hotel.
That's why you have kids you know.
Smart thinking on your part, there
And, I can’t think of any other valid reason beyond insanity.
Free labour.
And when I say free,
I mean not including
the roughly quarter million dollars
that you'll spend raising them.
Don’t remind me…
Hummmm…
My random dart throwing method seems to have worked better than it ought.
Wonder much how longer that will be goin’ on?
Well, this batch should put an end to it.
Blindfold please…
OK, here goes…
1. c. Or both
2. b. Forbidden Journey
3. d. Lose my hat. (but you don’t wear hats much, do you?)
4. a. Studio Tour,
d. Animal Actors,
e. Walking Dead Attraction
Deductions for every wrong answer, eh?
(another test of the emergency “just who’s paying attention” system)
5. I do believe the girl needs a wand to go along with those books.
6. a. Flight of the Hippogriff
7. c. Revenge of the Mummy - The Ride
(no idea, what she likes, But I enjoyed that one)
8. a. Frozen
89 b. The Simpsons Ride
(Question 89? And again, no idea, but I know I’ll never get Tam back on that one. No way)
10. and the dart board says… c. Plaza Grill
11. d. No. But I lie a lot.
Well, it’s more like exaggerate a lot, but either way it’s a no.
Actually I’m not taking it very seriously this time around as sooner or later, I’ll miss two chapters and be out of the running anyway.
Bonus: Did you see it?
Of course you did.
But did you see the other one?
PMs on the way in a bit.