Venice Beach, Los Angeles
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Honolulu International Airport Transit Lounge. Joy oh joy. Fun oh fun! One can't even get a photogenic view of Oahu's mountains from the airport.
Had a great idea - call Gecko-Boy over at UH (University of Hawaii). Only problem - I don't have his number. I'll have to tell him I was here by e-mail.
I wish this stupid cough would go away!!
The surface density of Americans is increasing noticeably...
Interesting airport. I'll have to see the rest of the islands one day.
The LAX people should well and truly be prepared for tonight's dinner. I can hardly wait!
Boarding...
[The following comments were written into my diary by several online friends who met me at Los Angeles Airport, where I had a layover of several hours. They took me around the city while I waited for my onward flight.]
Where's Penfold? Crikey, DM!
Booga Booga Booga! - say the natives
"Waiter, we want another waiter!" - AbnerI don't know what to say... o well... (Ben & Jerry's is a Good Thing!) - Bruce/skeeve
I'm about to clobber Abner - one more pun... I thought for sure you were going to miss that enormous banner - bet a high C would have caught your attention!
Quotes for the evening:
"I like earthquakes!" - Bruce
"So do I!" - Abner
"I DON'T!!" - Lydia"Where's my koala? *sniff*:
"You know, we have colour television here in America..." - AbnerBut you didn't ask for a koala! Anyway, you got a platypus...
As in "is that a platypus in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?" - Bruce
"Bruce, you better sign that, to make sure that neither Abner nor I is blamed for that. And I mean blamed for that." - yes, I did say that! (sayeth Lydia) Sayeth?! - L
"Here, tie the banner with a piece of my backpack." - Abner, to DM
Seriously(?), thanks for the excuse to come out here for the evening - it's great to have a face and voice to go with the writings. Hope you have a good time here in the States, and if you end up here in AL again, I want to know about it - L
"New victims!!!" - Abner
[a grinning face] - Bruce
"That doesn't look like Bruce... He has glasses for one thing!" - A
I don't think I know these people!
Oh yes - don't forget the irradiated Cherry Garcia ice cream! - L"Hulk eat!" - A
[unhappy face] - B
"Do you think this captures the spirit of the evening?" - Abner
Helpless nod - DM
(ROTFL) - all four of us!
(Did you count all our personalities? - A, A, A, and ASomeone should document for the record: The meet DM at LAX and pig-out gathering was attended by: DM, Abner, Bruce/Skeeve, Lydia/Soprano, Jerry/Polymath, and Debbie Levine; a good time was had by all (at least, I think so!)
Yes - thank you Lydia!
BTW - this is after a few "Can I get a word in edgewise"s..."No!" ("Oh no. Gilbert and Sullivan meet Cthulhu!")
("Do not call up that you cannot put on hold.")Um...?? non-sequitur alert!
(At least, I don't think that followed from the actual conversation... Just shows the twisted pathways of Abner's mind...)"Some of my friends at Penn State thought I was an alien, come to study Earth culture. Others thought I was a time traveller. Finally they decided I was a time travelling alien." - A
"I can do three!" - B
"I can do four!" - DM
"I can't do five... five is difficult!" - B"You sure you have all the spoons you want?" - Lydia
Are we warped our what?
"So, Lydia gets the last word!" - Abner
"Hey, you've got your travelogue already written." - Abner"Oh no!!" - Lydia
On board CO201 from LAX to Newark.
Wow. That was definitely the best transit layover I've ever been on. Much fun and Mexican food and Marina Del Rey and Ben & Jerry's and total chaos as the boarding gate.
Oops - forgot to give Abner something to pass on to StM. I guess he can see the platypus...
So... what really happened?
Well, I got off the plane, exited the boarding tube and began scanning the crowd for someone matching Lydia's description (as e-mailed to me). A quick and cursory scan from left to right revealed no obvious candidates, but as I scanned back to the left I noticed the previously hidden ginormous banner being held by three clearly Callahanian people... (I'm still a bit puzzled as to why they thought I missed the sign the first time... if I'd actually seen it through the obstructing crowd I would have noticed it okay!)
Anyway, it turned out to be Lydia/Soprano, Abner/Abner, and Bruce/Skeeve holding the banner. Meetings made, we proceeded to the car park, where Lydia's car was. This was no easy feat, since we were on the upper level of the terminal and the only two escalators within sight were both running upwards. With no stairs to be found, we tried a lift - giving up on that when we couldn't squeeze into the car. Abner and Bruce decided to run down the up escalator, abandoning me and Lydia. Soon after, under the mistaken impression that Lydia would follow (I hadn't seen her boot heels!!) I ran down too. What followed was a frantic five minutes while Abner, Bruce, and I raced all over the place desperately trying to find Lydia. Eventually we spotted her... near the foot of the well hidden stairs.
With our driver reacquired, we crossed the road to the car park where, after specifically priming myself not to do so, I headed for the driver's side of the car by sheer misguided instinct. (Hey, I did it on purpose so they could get a laugh out of it... That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)
Lydia proceeded to drive us to La Cabana Mexican Restaurant, which was about 15 minutes away. We settled into a table to wait for Jerry/Polymath and Debbie, eating corn chips and salsa. I dragged out my gift stuff... Abner got his Footrot Flats and also claimed the platypus and some coins, Lydia grabbed the giant map of Australia, Bruce took some coins. When Jerry arrived, he also took some coins. We ate some appetiser nachos and guacamole. The Debbie arrived and we ordered dinner proper. She got the big satellite photo of Sydney as her gift.
Towards the end of the meal, Jerry took some photos of the rest of us. I wanted pics with my camera including all of us, so we tried to get a waiter to take one for us. The first one we tried was busy... hence the "Waiter, we want another waiter" line.
Dinner over, we drove over to Venice Beach, by the ocean outlet of Marina Del Rey. It's one wide beach! Sand everywhere! We walked out to the point of the pier-thingy which flanked the beach and marked one side of the marina entrance. I took another group photo and one of the mountains and sea.
Venice Beach, Los Angeles |
With the brisk wind chilling Lydia, we headed back to the cars. Said bye to Jerry and Debbie, who had to head home. The rest of us drove over to a Vons store where we parked and entered.
As we entered the doors, Abner, Bruce, and I chanted, "Mummy, mummy, we want ice cream!!"
Lydia told us to, "Be quiet kids, or you won't get any."
After settling on a Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, we decided we needed eating implements. Disposable chopsticks were found and taken before Lydia decided to take the plunge and buy a small packet of plastic spoons. Essential provisions purchased, we headed back to the airport, where Lydia gave us a scenic tour before finding the right ramp leading to the parking area.
We had no trouble getting back upstairs, what with all those up escalators everywhere! We went through the security check, passing the ice cream through the x-ray machine to prove it didn't contain any concealed weapons. Then followed the bizarreness while waiting for the flight to board which preceded this account of the evening. It was much fun. Way cool people.
Time for some shuteye - if only this stupid nasal passage would equalise and let me get some peace!
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