Thursday 13th April 2006 - One of the longest days of my life..
Yesterday we flew into Los Angeles International (known to all Angelenos as LAX .. pronounced lacks). Our first US destination, and nearly my final stop. Why? Well some criminal with the same name as me is currently wanted by the FBI..
I know that I am not wanted by the Fed's, but the Customs guy who checked me into the USA didn't. I was asked to "follow me please sir" and placed in the Secondary Inspections department at LAX. Zena followed me but was not allowed to sit with me... I had to wait an hour whilst they phoned Washington DC and confirmed it wasn't me. I was pretty nervous throughout... not because I was a criminal, but because of the Salad Bowl I bought in Fiji without a certificate and receipt.. ooops! That was the excitement of the day!
Anyway Thursday started with me and Zena leaving the Beachouse and heading back to Nadi on the Bus. Unsurprisingly the bus went nowhere near our hotel, so we waited at Nadi Airport for an hour until the free bus came to pick us up. Took us back to Nadi Bay Hotel, where we were going to shower and collect our left luggage.
We got a taxi back to the Airport later and after checking in, had a nose around Duty Free. I saw some Mount Gay Rum for F$5 for a 200ml bottle, and I also got some Kava... its semi-narcotic, so was a bit worried if I would have problems getting it into LA..
As usual our Air New Zealand flight was freezing, in a crappy 767 with no individual TV screens. Tried to sleep but woke up during Chicken Little. Must have flown in a time warp during the journey as we arrived 8 hours before we left! wtf?!? ;)
We were met by Danni and then given a quick tour of LA. Started off by heading to Santa Monica Pier, and then we went to Beverly Hills and looked around the shops on Rodeo Drive! Zee loved it! Then we headed to The Standard which is downtown.. It had wonderful views of the Skyscrapers. Had a few Vodka Tonics, and then headed back to Long Beach where Danni lives.
By the time we got home it was nearly 1 o'clock in the morning, and we had a Thursday that lasted nearly 40 hours... We were both shattered zzzz
Are you guys going to be in Boston? If so, we should meet and have dinner or something.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, you can change your link to me (summerblues.net) to point to snowboardbunny.net. I have started posting publicly again (for most entries). I still keep my livejournal account to blog about things that I cannot write about in public.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what blogging software do you use? It looks nice.
What an entrance to LA.Glad to hear you are are OK . We stayed opposite Manns Theatre and also walked the Rodeo Drive bit- how long are you staying keep in touch Lots of Love xxx
ReplyDeleteIt had to happen on 13th April.A momentous day in my life!!!! I have been retired from WMP for 10 yrs now and I am now getting a pension that I didn't contribute to!
ReplyDeleteAnyway have a great time in the US of A. As mum said we stayed opposite Manns Chinese Theatre where all the stars have their names on the footpath. We also did Santa Monica and muscle beach plus pallisades park. LA is actually not bad so long as you keep out of South central. We went for a long walk up Hollywood Boulevard to the traffic lights at the top where the rapper was shot and then right round to sunset strip and back. When we told the doorman it was like "Oh my gaaaaad" It was apparantly not a nice place for white tourists to walk. We din't find it a problem.Just ignore the smog!!
See you soon
Hi Zena, glad to hear you are both ok after your ordeal at the airport. Sounds like you’re having a fantastic time. I am so jealous, I wish I was there!! The pics look amazing. Did you get my email about me becoming a mum again?? 4th Jan 2006 a little girl, Kayleigh Louise. Anyway enjoy the rest of your time there and we can hopefully catch up when you come back. Take Care x
ReplyDeleteSup Jezmondo, I knew the feds would catch up with you one day matey!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you guys are doing well. Keep it real yo'll
Sherm