It's strange that I'm sending a poscard from Los Angeles because I was only really passing through the airport there on my way to Fiji, however I had a good experience that I wanted to share. The flight from San Francisco was very full and I got talking to a lady who had to shuffle over to the seat next to me. Stacey was from Malibu and an incredibly nice person. It's strange because may believe that residents of LA are predominently arrogant and full of their own importance, struggling to find work on 'the big screen', or Barbie and Ken look-a-likes with plastic 'everthings' who look so fragile as if they would shatter into pieces if they fell over. It seems that every corner I turn on this trip I have one of 'those' pre-expectations quashed and Stacey was one of them. Anyway, moving on, we were chatting all sorts of rubbish no doubt, but the important thing is that we were getting along very well, laughing, joking, interesting stories - you know the kind of banter. Anyway, to my astonishment, Stacey invited me to dinner to In-N-Out Burger for a meal after we landed in LA. I was starving so took her up on the offer as it was quite rare to have company while eating. So my first adventure to In-N-Out burger began, where we rode out of the airport in Stacy's new convertible car with the music balsting!! We had a great meal and chat, and I learned all about the 'secret menu' that they had in the restaurant. An absolute treat for a starviing traveller and Stacy wouldn't even let me pay. All I can say is that the whole experience really changed my outlook for that day and I left LA absolutely beaming and warm inside. I know it sounds like I'm going over the top about this, but it's actually very rare that a complete stranger, especially in a big city, will reach out and help someone else and expect nothing in return. When checking in to my flight for Fiji, I had a huge smile on my face and a chirpy disposition that the lady behind the counter told me that I had brightened up her evening. With that, I thought I would try my chances to get one of those seats with all the leg room. She disappeared for a while to 'see what she could do' and low and behold came back with exactly what I had asked for. So I guess the moral to this story is that every time you do something good for someone else, somehow and in some way, the good deed gets passed around to other too. Thank you Stacey. Fiji here I come!! Miss you all, Stephen xxx