Yesterday in America
Yesterday morning I started the day at 6 in the morning struggling to get my wheelie through the snow to my car. DC has helpfully plowed all the snow on my street and in my parking lot into giant mini-mountains that block all access to the road or to any cars. It was still dark out. It was 23 degrees.
I got to Dulles to find that it is Caribbean Cruise season, and so there were thousands of brightly dressed, infrequent travelers, taking up all the space on the people mover and at the Starbucks. They were all headed to Miami and were trading notes on Norwegian versus Royal Caribbean, Cozumel versus Belize, etc.
United took pity on me and upgraded me to first class. The whole country outside my window was covered in snow until after we crossed the Rockies. The Shenendoah Valley looked particularly beautiful. Snow makes all the topography easier to see -- you can see the creases in the lines of mountains heading down towards Roanoke. You can see all the rivers that meander down the valley. The mountains are still covered in trees, but the ground under the trees is white with snow, like looking at a photographic negative. Imagine taking white pieces of paper and crinkling them up like an accordian -- that's what the mountains looked like.
I arrived in LA at 11:30 a.m. and it was brilliantly sunny and 65 degrees out. I rode the bus to the Avis rent-a-car place with a Weather Channel television crew who were driving to San Diego to cover the sunny weather. Seems like an awfully good job (74 and sunny!). I got in my Avis rent-a-car (a red Pontiac Grand Prix) and drove south to Redondo Beach. There was no traffic so I flew down the highway with my windows open, the wind in my ears, and my sunglasses perched
on my nose. In Redondono Beach, I found the apartment in which the associate at our local counsel lives. It looked like a 1950s motor lodge converted into an apartment complex. There was a swimming pool with apartments on three sides. The apartments were two story and dark, with a door and a high, screened window to one side. They were all painted white. The associate was home, watching a Japanese horror movie with English subtitles, in the dark with the curtains closed. I suggested she go outside since it was so beautiful and she was a block from the beach. She said, "oh."
The reason I had to go see this woman is that she had my box of deposition exhibits with her. Once I got the box, I drove clear across town to West Los Angeles, to meet with our forensic accountants. They were both there, in their office, and they had ordered me a water cress salad with parmesan cheese and artichoke hearts. So I ate that and talked about accounting for a little while. Then I went and checked into my hotel -- the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica. This hotel is across the street from the beach, and it is one block from the Third Street Promenade that careful readers will recall from my last trip (in fact, that is how I discovered this hotel). The hotel used to be a spa. Greta Garbo lived here and Betty Grable was "discovered" by a movie agent singing in the lobby.
There is a gigantic magnolia tree at the main entrance -- it must be 10 feet thick at the bottom and grows up and out in a beautiful dome.
It's so big that you feel that you are inside when you are under it.
From my room I can see the ocean and the Santa Monica mountains. Below my window is the heated outdoor pool, surrounded by bird of paradise plants, bougainvillea, sea figs, banana trees, and palm trees.
After checking in I went on a three hour walk up the beach. I watched the sun set from the Palisades Park -- the air was crystal clear and the only thing the sun had to light up in the sky were contrails from jets leaving LAX for points west.
On the way back, I hit the Third Street Promenade and found a mineral store having a 30 percent sale. So I bought some beautiful bright blue minerals (I think they are geodes). I also bought a t-shirt (at a different store) that says "Sarah Soda Soda Shop -- Sarasota Florida." I thought it was funny.
Sunday (today) will be spent taking a deposition on accounting issues. What fun.
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