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2012-10-21 - 5:34 p.m. I got a good night's sleep -- maybe too good. I hopped up at six in the morning. No one is up at 6 A.M. in California, not even the sun. And, anyway, it was raining. I found out from the young man at the front desk that I, as a humble Platinum, qualified for an automatic 2 P.M. check-out time. I strolled around until it got reasonably warm and then I decided that I had dragged my swimsuit all the way from New Orleans so...I went back and changed into my swimsuit and tried to take a swim. Tried, is the operative word. The Mexican families were all swimming fully clothed, and I don't think it's because they can't afford swimsuits. I think it's because it's frickin' cold. On top of that, it started raining again. Yes, once again, Peachfront brings the rain. I took mercy on Southern California and went back to the hotel room and threw away my swimsuit. (It was old, and I never intended to haul a wet swimsuit around the world anyway.) So I tossed it, got dressed, packed my camera away, and voil�, the sun came out. I couldn't believe my eyes. I'm afraid that I did eat lunch at the place with the handmade sign that said, NO DOGS no birds either, but it had cheap ahi ahi tacos, and I could sit in the outdoor patio and enjoy the bit of sun. I didn't know how long it would take to catch the bus back to the airport. In the event, as I strolled up to the corner, the bus was waiting. Then we got to the LAX Bus Center, and the free shuttle was waiting. So...yeah. 35 minutes and $1 from Muscle Beach, I was back at LAX. Fortunately, I have ignored the wisdom of trickit in re my cheap fare, and I have availed myself of my free lounge privileges. Skyteam is too harassed right now with the people who have just spent the last six months raping Alitalia, which apparently culminated yesterday afternoon in everybody in the whole world booking supposedly free flights on their Japanese web site...said free Alitalia flights were promptly canceled this morning. Sorta glad I didn't get involved. I did get a notice from Delta that I had to check in with a real person, not a kiosk, but it wasn't a hassle. Now I'll tell you who IS nasty. Santa Monica bus drivers. At first, I was completely baffled about the hostility I was getting from these fine folks but, after some observation, I have figured it out. The only people who walk around with backpacks and luggage in Santa Monica are the homeless. So...snotty bus drivers see me with my backpack and they instantly think BUM. No one whatsoever came from the airport to Santa Monica with me and, in the other direction, there was only a German couple with no luggage...and I noticed the bus driver was polite to them. C'mon, peeps, you have $1 ground transportation to/from the airport but if you don't use it, you'll lose it. The weird thing is I'm not exactly carrying big bags. I can't lift big bags. Just the Barnes & Noble pink bird bookbag and the computer bag...but that's enough for them to write me off as homeless. Hello? How many homeless bums wear a Movado watch? Oh well, I'm over it.
All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2002-2017 by Elaine Radford
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