LA Story 2 – Monday 26 March – Arrivals

After taking off from SF airport, I was treated to my first view of the Pacific Ocean. It’s a lot like Brighton in the season. Then as we turned inland, I saw the great chessboard of roads and fields, shades of orange and brown marking the squares. I was reminded of the song Big Country (scroll down on that page) by Talking Heads. Not much I recognised, sadly. I took photographs of distinctive shapes to compare with Google Earth or Google Maps, but looking at them now I can’t spot anything.

When we landed at LAX I was looking forward to finding a bathroom and freshening up before collecting my suitcase and emerging to meet Cassie, my friend and host. But this was not to be, because on domestic flights you don’t need to get your baggage first – people meeting you can wait with you for your bag. So no sooner had I got out of the plane I was confronted (if that’s the word) with Cassie.

I hadn’t seen her since she had to go back to the US due to her visa expiring in 2005. It was very good to see her. Very good indeed.

So we said hello, and I tried to get my brain to work in it’s lagged state. Not good. The baggage conveyor was hypnotising me. But Cassie was able to help me to her car, then we headed off to her apartment. I demanded we stop to buy Mountain Dew, so we did. A whole litre of this poison that I’ve heard so much about.

On arrival at Cassie’s, I met Gordon who was very welcoming, with his jumping, and friendly tooth action. I flopped out on the sofa. Cassie asked if I was hungry. After consulting my brain and my stomach (a matter of some seconds) I decided I was. And so it was that I had my first steak burrito.

There were several firsts that day.