Arriving in LA
Night view from Hotel Angelena restaurant
Flew into LA this morning after taking off twice from Boston Logan. The pilot aborted the first attempt three quarters of the way into the takeoff roll, apparently because we had been directed to the wrong runway. Or did the controller spill hot coffee on his lap. As the pilot stood on the brakes all I could think about was the photo of the airliner that went off the runway into the water at Logan a few years ago! No worries, we got stopped in plenty of time. But when the pilot turned onto an active runway heading the wrong way, I really started to wonder who was in control up there on the flight deck. We made it back to the other end of the runway, parked out of the way and let the brakes cool down. I kept an eye out for the flashing lights of a dozen police cars I expected to see come flying after us, but it wasn’t to happen. We just got back into line and soon were again clambering down the runway again, this time with enough speed and authority to get airborne and fly west. We were only an hour behind schedule and would still arrive in LA before noon. And yes, the brakes worked fine when we touched down six hours later at LAX.
Whew, thank god I had arranged for Express Service at the Dollar rental car agency so we don’t have to wait on line—“your contract is already in the car, sir.” So we dump our suitcases into the cavernous trunk of the pasty white Crown Vic. they hooked me up with. Are you kidding me! This is LA and I don’t remember requesting any AARP discount. They definitely based that choice on somebody else’s profile. Shhhhhit! The first two cars I see after drivng out of the lot are a sleek black Jaguar SJ and a Porsche Cayenne. And I come on like unmarked Highway Patrol, and not the ones in the low slung Mustangs and Dodge Chargers either.
But Hotel Angeleno is nice—a 17-story cylindrical edifice just inches off the 405 on Sunset, below the Getty Museum. Hey, it has a pool, fitness center, and free wireless and I remembered to bring my acoustic noise cancelling Bose headphones. Can’t wait to see the room.
