...we drive on to LA to pick up my laptop from our original motel, weather is still great
...on the highway I see that people frequently pass over the speed limit by 10-15 miles and police cars driving by with us don’t seem to mind. Oh well, maybe that’s California
...I also notice drivers are not as disciplined here as in Europe in that they lag slowly in the left lane instead of opening it to those who want to pass. That kind behavior earns you honking and dazzling with high beams in many places in Europe!
...we arrive at the hotel and there is a police car blocking the access road. Apparently there is some kind of a mahunt going down the „sheriff is gonna bust a door down in that motel“. Come back in 15 minutes folks!
...after 15 minutes it’s worse because now there are 4 cop cars. We try to approach from the other side of the freeway but it’s worse because the blocking car is placed directly on the exit ramp and when we try to stop there we get yelled at by a cop.
...so we continue to central LA to show Lucy and dad the Hollywood sign from the Griffith Observatory hill
.
..turns out the place is far more crowded than January and it takes me some cruising to find a parking spot. So I drop them off and we meet later. Not an easy feat because...no cell reception! I mean it’s a hill. And it‘s in the middle of LA! C’mon!
...we drive back to the motel and pick up the laptop. Then we make our way painstakingly through LA to its outskirts to where the my destination shopping mall is. It takes us 3 hours to pass LA! In some places even the HOV (high occupancy vehicles) lane we’re using gets very very slow. Of course it’s also because some people are cheating (these lanes are only open to vehicles with at least one passenger in addition to the driver) but still, how many?
...the mall is beautifully located against snowy mountain backdrop. Immaculate mild weather and palm trees make me almost not wanna go inside stores!
...I notice there are Portuguese announcements on the PA in the mall. So many Brazilian shoppers now!
...also phones don’t work in some stores
...but they have neat chargers for different phones in the CK store!!!
...I shop till I drop and am the last customer to use the bathroom, which the attendants are kind enough to open for me again!
...we drive to our motel and Internet is not working again. And I have dreamt of downloading the drone app to my new phone, which is not restored and set up properly yet, to avoid using my dad’s phone again. Ugh! So we get into a fight with the Indian guy at the reception cause he says we have to call and report internet problems ourselves. Duh! Then he calls but it only comes back in the morning...
2025-02-11