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| Our neighbor, Mr Rico, generously offered to take us to the MARTA train station at 7 am on the Sunday before Memorial Day Photo album for this post All photo albums |
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| Riding to the airport |
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| Gathering ourselves after passing through the security gauntlet |
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| Our gate was in the nearest terminal so we took the moving sidewalk |
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| We actually made it to the gate this time with almost an hour to spare before our 9:40 flight |
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| Derek and I had some Krystal burgers. It worked out, but, in retrospect, it was probably not the best decision before a long flight. |
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| I booked the flight several months earlier and made sure we had seats together, but for some reason when I checked in they had moved me a few rows back. This has happened to us more than once. It's irritating when you make the effort to plan ahead and then somebody comes in later with a special request and screws it all up. It should be first come first serve. You get the seat you get and no special requests. |
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| At LAX a little before noon Pacific Time |
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| Waiting for the Hertz rental car shuttle |
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| When we arrived at the Hertz rental car office there were a bunch of workers helping and then suddenly they all disappeared. Maybe it was break time. Anyway, the process took longer than it should have. |
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| We all laughed when we saw they gave us the boxy looking Nissan Quest |
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| We passed by an In-N-Out Burger and decided to stop for lunch. It seems In-N-Out Burger has a big cult following. Things I read and people that I talked to before the trip said we just had to eat at In-N-Out. Derek even read about it beforehand and told us that we had to eat there, so it was good to check it off right away. |
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| There was a big crowd inside and at the drive-thru. They have a very simple menu and were very efficient. You could tell that the employees were a notch above normal fast food employees. They were getting the food out and keeping the place clean and orderly. It was irritating, though, that they don't take American Express. I was hoping this wasn't going to be like our trip to Alaska last year where it seemed nobody took American Express. |
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| Derek and I ordered double burgers and thought they were very good. Helen and Adam had singles and weren't as impressed. Maybe it was the meat to bun ratio. We ate at In-N-Out one other time later in our trip. Their burgers and shakes are good, but their fries are very plain and almost cardboard-like. Overall, they seem well-run and much better than the average fast food establishment, but we think Wendy's is the best fast food burger place. |
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| After lunch we went across the street to a little park and watched the planes coming in to LAX |
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| We drove south along the coast to Palos Verdes. We saw lots of cute houses and Helen declared on numerous occasions that she could live there or there or there... |
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| Wayfarer's Chapel designed by Frank Loyd Wright's son. I love to go to pretty places and just be. |
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| Derek taking pictures with his tablet |
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| I don't know why all these people were checking out the tidepools |
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| There was a wedding going on so we couldn't go into the chapel. What a great place to get married. |
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| We drove back up the coast through all the various beach towns. We had planned to stop and check out Venice Beach and the Santa Monica Pier, but it was crazy crowded. In planning the trip, I was thinking that Sunday would be a good time to drive around LA to avoid the usual traffic, but everyone was at the beaches for the Memorial Day weekend. |
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| It was fun to see Santa Monica Boulevard and all the other famous streets in LA that you hear about |
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| UCLA campus near Beverly Hills |
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| Bel Air neighborhood |
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| Beverly Hills |
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| It's always neat to see different architecture, plants, and trees |
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| There were plenty of "star" tours. We all agreed that we had no interest in "star" chasing. |
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| Resting in our room at the Magic Castle Hotel. We loved the Magic Castle. It was conveniently located in Hollywood near a transit station. It was older, but the rooms were huge with full kitchens, the staff was great, and the place always had a nice vibrant energy. We also loved the heated pool and free unlimited snacks, sodas, and movies. |
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| We walked a couple blocks to Hollywood Blvd and the Walk of Fame |
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| The place felt like a smaller version of New York's Times Square. Lots of lights and crowds and always something going on. |
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| There were always famous look a like's posing with groups of eager picture takers |
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| Chinese Theater |
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| Roosevelt Hotel |
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| Playing music on the piano stairs at Hollywood and Highland Mall |
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| El Capitan theater |
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| Disney Studio Store |
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| I prefer to eat at local restaurant favorites, but Johnny Rocket's was about the only place open and it's always good. |
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| Our Magic Castle Hotel is next door to the Magic Castle magic club and dinner theater |
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