California Dreamin'

Having managed to get the weekend off, I flew to Los Angeles, Friday, to attend my friend's wedding.  The groom was Richard Boddie, who I met in 1991.  Back then, Richard was running for the Presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party, in America.  Although he didn't get the nomination, coming in  second at the convention that year, he did end up running for U.S. Senate, from California.  What can I say?  I have cool friends.

The reception was held in Orange County, California, near where Richard lives.  I rented a car to drive down to Orange County, which is just south of Los Angeles County, and decided to treat myself.  I reserved a Chevrolet Camaro SS from Hertz's "Fun Collection."  This is the car which featured as "Bumblebee" in the Transformers films.  It has a 6.2 litre engine, producing 400 horsepower.  0 to 60 in about 4.6 seconds.  When I picked up the car from the Hertz lot, they'd given me a red one, just like a London bus.  The Camaro SS also features a "heads-up display," which projects the digital speedometer reading onto the windscreen, right in front of the driver.  When one changes the radio station, the radio frequency is also displayed there.  This helps the driver avoid taking his eyes off of the road.  Having driven the car on the 405 Freeway and the Pacific Coast Highway(PCH), I can assure you it deserves its place in the "Fun Collection."

I got up early enough, on Saturday, to take advantage of the free, cooked to order breakfast, at my hotel.  Once I was back in my suite, I had about 3 and 1/2 hours til the wedding reception.  The hotel was about 20 minutes drive from the reception venue, which left me about 3 hours to kill.  I decided to take a nap, so I wouldn't feel sleepy during the reception.  Unfortunately, I ended up sleeping until 10 minutes past the time the reception started.  Then, I had to shower and put on my suit, before I could drive to the venue.  I ended up about an hour and 15 minutes late.  Upon arrival, I learned that I had missed my introduction.

I had planned on loading up on food, during the reception.  However, it turned out that there was only a cold buffet, so I just made myself a sandwich.  There was a top band playing, with musicians who work in Hollywood.  The reception only lasted three hours and I had missed over an hour, so all too soon, it was all over.  I was invited back to the couple's house, for an insider's after-party.  I had fun there, but no dinner.  I found myself on the streets of Orange County, on a Saturday night, hungry.  I raced back to my hotel, in the Camaro, hoping to use a $5 discount voucher I had received for doing without maid service after my first night.  Sadly, by the time I got there, all the hotel's restaurants were closed.  Cruising the neighborhood, I ended up driving down PCH, where I spotted a Jack-N-the Box Restaurant.  Although only fast food, I decided a meal there would suffice.  I used to love Jack's when I was a teen, because they stayed open late and had tacos.  I enjoyed a nostalgic meal then going back to my hotel.

Sadly, today I have to give the Camaro back to Hertz.  I'm flying back to London with Air New Zealand.  My quick, jet-setting trip went by too quickly for me to do all the shopping I wanted to do, but having lived in England as long as I have, it now feels like going back home.  I'll be back on the streets of London, behind the wheel of my big, double-decker bus, on Tuesday.  See you then!