LAyover

It is oh-so good to be in Hong Kong, as always. But my journey back the other day was quite a nice little adventure in and of itself. I flew via Los Angeles to spend a day with Rusty and get a little taste of his West Coast life. I've been meaning to fit in a layover in Los Angeles for literally years now, so I'm delighted to have finally managed to pull it off. 

On the ride to Rusty's apartment

I landed around 1pm last Tuesday and departed LAX the following afternoon at 12:45. I hadn't been to the city since the summer of 2004, so obviously it was nice to go back. Rusty picked me up at LAX and we drove to his awesome Manhattan Beach apartment where he and Britney live. In their guest room, Britney had created an elephant out of towels, a la Thailand! Leave it to Brit to make me feel right at home! It was such a nice touch.

Towel elephant

Rusty and I enjoyed a few drinks, as he toured me around the apartment and showed me their great little outdoor patio. It was a perfect spot to enjoy a drink and catch up while we tried to make plans for the night.

Our good friend Sean also lives in LA, and before long, he was at Rusty's too. They took me to their old neighborhood, Hermosa Beach, and we picked a spot at a beachfront bar, Hennessey's Tavern. Sipping cocktails on the roof deck, as we looked out over the waves, volleyball games in progress on the sand, I was glad I had decided to finally return to LA. 

Since Rusty and Sean used to live in Hermosa, they know the area very well, and still have friends who live there. So we then went to a nearby apartment, where Britney finally arrived and, as a special surprise, even my old pal Mara showed up! I hadn't seen her since my Chicago layover en route to the Minnesota wedding in 2012, an equally unexpected reunion! 

With Sean and Mara

The next morning, Brit whipped up some banana pancakes and we all just savored the time together. In the end, like my San Francisco layover earlier this year, we eschewed sightseeing in favor of basking in the glorious company of old friends, and it was surely a blast! 

I couldn't believe how quickly the time had flown, but before I knew it, it was time to head back to LAX. I flew All Nippon Airways, with a short connection in Tokyo. Although I didn't leave the airport in Japan, I did squeeze in a delicious sushi session before continuing on to Hong Kong. 

I would love to go back to LA in the future and spend some significant time there, but until then, at least I have some great memories to keep me going! Thanks Rusty, Brit, Sean, Mara and everybody else I met during my LAyover! I hope I get to see you all again soon.