The main purpose of the trip is to attend the filming for a project my friend Alfred has asked me to help out with. While my task was mostly to be "menial," I thought this would be a good way to get to know the team better. This trip also gives me an opportunity to check out Walt Disney Hall, home to the LA Philharmonic soon after I left the area in 2003.
Walt Disney Hall has been the home of LA Philharmonic since 2003. It was designed by Frank Gehry.
3/3 Friday. Anne dropped me off at the airport. I was picked by CLEAR for a random ID check, which happens with some alarming regularity. So the process took inordinately long, all of 10 minutes.
UA2403 used a 787-10 plane, which I prefer if I am stuck in economy over either the 757 or (especially) the 777. For this flight there was an empty middle seat. (I get the same "treatment" on the way back, and must say for now that's all I need for a transcon flight.) My 1K status got me a free burger, the paid WiFi connection was practically useless, though.
The plane departed a little late, but still managed to land ahead of schedule, my rental car pickup time was 6:30 pm, so I wandered to Terminal 6 (United uses Terminals 7 and 8 at LAX) where there seemed to be more food choices, and ordered a "Santa Barbara Char" (broil?) from the Habit Burger Grill.
Rental Car pickup from Alamo was straightforward. While I don't like to drive on unfamiliar streets after dark, that most of it was freeway driving made the situation manageable. After check-in, I walked to the McDonald's across the street to get a few chicken nuggets for a late night snack.
I somehow set the barometer APP to the wrong reference. At this point in the flight we were at about 40,000 feet.
This is after we landed. So the difference in elevation was about 5700 feet.
The Santa Barbara Char offered at the Habit Grill at LAX Terminal 6. $10 is quite reasonable.
Accommodation: Fairfield Inn, Rosemead, CA (2 nights).
3/4 Saturday. There was some confusion as to when filming was to occur, so Gigi - who was going to conduct street interviews - and I chatted for a couple of hours at the T S Emporium parking lot in the City of Industry. At about noon we drove to a residential neighborhood where Gigi had pre-arranged several people for the interviews. KK was the cameraman.
Then we were off to do different things: Gigi to Rosemead where the afternoon filming will take place, KK back home to collect necessary equipment for filming, and I to T J Maxx Walnut to buy a couple of chairs for the studio (that's how "unready" we were).
KK wasn't finished with the studio set up yet at 6 pm. I said goodbye to the group (which included Elder Daniel and Eric) and drove to LA Philharmonic. One good value LA Phil still offers is $10 parking in the Walt Disney Hall garage. It was $7 - if I remember correctly - the last time I went in say 2003.
I heard Mahler's Third Symphony conducted by Zubin Mehta. The piece was performed without intermission, started at around 8:10 pm, and concluded at 9:50 pm.
Drive back to the hotel was quite uneventful, except an overturned car on Route 60 added about 15 minutes to the drive.
A rather lumpy New England Clam Chowder at BJ Restaurant in City of Industry. It was overall a good meal, though.
Inside of Walt Disney Hall. Capacity 2250.
3/5 Sunday. Even though I asked for a 4 pm late check-out, I decided it would be impractical to do so, especially after my Bangkok experience. The outside of the hotel looks quite new, my room was quite okay, except both the TV (not "smart") and the electrical sockets (e.g., no USB outlets) were a bit dated.
When I lived in the area I used to attend First Chinese Baptist Church in downtown LA. Today I went to Sunday School, taught by Sandra. Afterwards Kin, she and I had lunch, followed by coffee and egg tarts in that part of Chinatown. I was surprised that most of the stores were either shuttered or closed for the weekend. It was great to catch up; we said goodbye at 4 pm.
Needing to find a washroom, I programmed in the GPS a Carl's Jr in the area. Well, it may have been open when I drove by, but I certainly didn't want to stop there, even in the middle of the day. I did notice a lot of activity at this place and stopped the car to check it out. Turns out this Grand Central Market was bursting with people dining at the many eateries located there; some lines were very long.
Fairfield Rosemead is a pleasant hotel. The swimming pool looked inviting but I didn't see one single person using it. LA is suffering through an unusual cold spell - daytime temperature in the 50s.
I happened across this place in downtown LA. A bustling place amid a not-so-welcome neighborhood. It is at least a block wide.
Many eateries had long lines of customers waiting to order.
The rental car I checked out was a new Kia Soul. It had about 500 miles on it when I checked it out. I put 127 miles on it. For a "compact" SUV it was very roomy - it swallowed the two chair I bought with no issue - and once I got used to it, the wireless Apple CarPlay feature was very convenient.
UA1082 had a lot of toddlers/babies on it. There was quite a bit of crying during the flight. Since I wasn't trying to get any sleep, it didn't bother me.
Sound travels at about 650 mph at 39,000 ft. So we are faster than the speed of sound. (Don't bother telling me how that is possible, I know that's a nonsensical statement.)
Again, I had an empty seat next to me in the 787-10. The plane got in at about 4:20 am, a flight time of 3:59 hours per FlightRadar24. Too late for the 4:50 am train to South Amboy, too early for the 5:56 one. So I took an Uber home and arrived a little after 5:15 am. Anne was still asleep. I took a shower and got a few hours of sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment