Our second bite of Aug 31st.
We arrived on time into LAX at 6am to a cool 18c murky day probably due to the fires still burning to the north of the city and the usual LA smog.
The flight was far from awesome, we didn't manage to get our usual seats with nobody in front of us and the ignorant couple in front of us fully reclined their seats the whole way from just after lunch. We slept little if at all but watched a few films and I checked out a few new TV shows too.
The car pick up went smoothly, we had a few cars to choose from and opted to again get a Nissan Altima, the one we had last year was pretty good on fuel economy and drove well. One of those available even had SUE as part of its rego so it seemed it was meant to be.
First thing we set off for a Walmart to get a new SIM for the phone so we have data access when on the road. After a couple of false starts at smaller stores we found a bigger one that got us set up. I also bought a cover for the new iPad and we grabbed a slab of water.
We took a long shot at taking advantage of our upgraded platinum status by being able to check into our hotel early. It actually worked and by ten we were in our room and able to take a much needed shower and grab a change of clothes. We decided on a change this year and are staying in Torrance, it's closer to the airport and means we are a little on the way tomorrow when we set off. It's been a good choice, friendly staff, the room is great and has everything we need.
Braving the crazy LA traffic we headed off to Unique Corals to retrieve the gear we left last year when it didn't fit in our luggage. On the way back to our hotel we stopped at the local Vons to stock up on some chicken pieces for lunch and fresh food for the next few days.
Deciding a nana nap was in order we crashed out about 3.30. The plan was a couple of hours sleep before going for a walk along the beach which is a couple of blocks away. It didn't work out that way due to not waking til after 8, oopsie lol
We got in touch with Lee and despite being stressed we are confident he's doing ok.
Some still awesome Vons soup and toast made for an easy dinner followed by some reorganisation of the esky, dry goods etc so we are ready to go in the morning.
A little tv pretty much rounded out the first day.
Day one has never been much more than a day of setting ourselves up for the trip and this year was no different.