Wednesday morning it was time to leave our desert hotel behind. We headed to the airport at the ungodly hour of 4:30am PST. (of course, my mother gets up this early to go to work every day)
My journey was just beginning when I got on the plane though. At our LAX gate we had to wait because the previous flight hadn’t even left yet. I was supposed to ride the FlyAway bus back to Van Nuys, where a coworker who lives nearby could pick me up. I chased a flyaway bus to its stop. The stop was labeled “flyaway and transportation” (or something like that). The bus was unmistakable as it was painted blue and white with a big “flyaway” on the side. The LED sign at the front said nothing. There were a few of us standing outside that hesitated for a moment not knowing if this was the right one or if we had to pay now or what – and the bus driver (loading bags under the bus) just motioned to us and said “get on!” After we got moving I noticed the bus wasn’t taking the same route I would have. first we headed towards the 105. I thought “well, okay, the 405 crosses the 105, maybe he’s just taking that way.” Then when we stayed in the left lane and let the 405 ramps pass us I by I knew I was in trouble.
Half an hour later I got off the bus at Union Station to wait in the rain in a line to pay for a bus ride to the wrong location. I knew, though, that Union Station was the last/first stop on the Red Line subway track that runs all the way to North Hollywood on the other end. So, I hopped on the next Red Line. I’d convinced my friend to drive to North Hollywood from Van Nuys before I hopped on the Red Line. However, I’d still have to wait for his arrival for half an hour once I got to NoHo. Anyone familiar with the NoHo metro stop knows there are few places to hide from the rain, and nowhere “indoors” where one might put down their 50 pound rucksack on their back (there was standing water in many places).
Going back downstairs into the underground metro facility won’t work as cell coverage is completely blocked down there, so I would have no idea when my friend was there. At first I waited at the bus stop – then a woman started smoking. Second, I stood under a tree with a bunch of birds (see photo above). Then a guy walked over to our group and started asking if he could bum a cigarette from someone. Of course, someone obliged, so I decided it would be better to stand out directly in the rain for another twenty minutes until my friend arrived.
After he arrived we went back to my place and ate pumpkin pie. (thanks, mom)
