California delivered as we stepped off the plane. It was hot, alien and alive.
Long haul flights suck. That’s not news. But if they have anything going for them it’s an appreciation for life when they’re over. They’re hard work, no matter where you sitting (Unless you’re the couple next to us who paid for four seats so they could lie down), though the movies and food are better these days and I’ll remember the steward who responded to my request for a whisky with a glass full to the brim.
But when they’re over you’re somewhere. That somewhere could be home – the depressing end of a holiday or maybe the welcoming comfort of your own bed after weeks in hotel rooms – or it could be the excitement of somewhere new.
And today it’s new. California. Los Angeles, a city that we are, for the first time ever, not leaving straight away.
We got straight through customs and baggage without a problem and walked into another World. I’ve spent a long time in this Country and we come back here a lot but the accents, flags and people get me every time.
Exhaustion and another longish car trip left us zombies when we arrived at “ROLLING THUNDER” (the place we’re staying at this weekend is a ranch called Rolling Thunder, complete with a pool, two spas and a living room with a fireplace that’s flanked by two fish ponds indoors) into the arms of family and friends by the pool.
Chips and salsa were heaped on tables and the Coronas were cold.
We stayed awake as long as possible and collapsed in bed and woke to a glorious hot morning sun.
So with a breakfast of chips and salsa and a day that I will definitely spend next to a pool with beer ahead, it’s time to finish. But this weekend we’re attending the Southern Califnornian wedding of the year so I’m sure there’ll be more to add later.
