When you have as much going on as we always do, getting out of the office for an hour sometimes is difficult, much less going to California. My last planned vacation came from accumulated air miles that were about to expire. The plan was to go as far as they would let me go - Buenos Aires here I come. But it was not to be. Four days from leaving I cancelled the trip and did manage to save the miles for a future date. Sigh...
This time it looked doubtful as recently as a few days ago, but things finally cleared enough for me to escape. Also helping was the commitments I had made to advertisers and sponsors and having a team that can take care of the misc. stuff back in the office.
I don't fly very much anymore, and as always, I enjoy the experience. With all the security stuff at the airport, it is not as easy as it used to be. One poor guy just ahead of me must have met all the profile issues, because he was being searched, scanned, questioned, and more. Saw him having a beer later, probably needed it.
The amount of electronics everyone carries now is incredible. I am think I am virtually low tech, but my carryons didn't show it. Camera - with cords for downloading pics and charger. Ipod with headphones and charger connection. Cell phone with charger. Laptop with power cord.
It seems to me that the economy should be booming. I spent sometime watching a very professional business lady take over a space with her laptop, cellphone, and notebook. She was on the phone making things happen. You could tell this was very familiar territory for her. Actually the larger companies are making big profits, the problem is they also have fat piggy banks. Overall, the large companies have more cash on hand than ever, but they aren't spending it. They could help employ a lot of people if they spent some of it.
The trip was easy, American Airlines to Dallas then to LA. I had carefully shopped airfares and managed a round trip for $320. Not bad.
The problem started when I got to LA. Finding a shuttle was easy, but getting here was not. The driver kept circling the airport seeking enough riders to fill all the seats. One lap of the airport and it was done, but then began the task of getting to Hollywood. I was expecting the horrible LA traffic we have all heard of, but not so bad. However, the driver seemed to like shortcuts that weren't. Having not been to LA in over 20 years, I didn't say anything as the 9 passengers spent almost two hours getting to Hollywood. But two locals next to me started to get annoyed after an hour and fifteen minutes. But a two hour ride for $15 was not too terrible. Except he stopped about 6 blocks from my hotel. At that point I just wanted OUT ! So I got out and walked.
The Vibe Hotel was generous and is one of my sponsors of the trip. It is right on Hollywood Boulevard, about 10 blocks where most of the Film Festival is happening. It doesn't look like much from the street. With approximately 50 rooms it is a motor hotel with some real character. Rates are under $100 per night. NO cost to park and your car nearby, that is pretty good, but it only gets better. The Vibe Hotel attacts predominantly young people from around the world. The rooms are very clean and art deco decorated. My "suite" has a small kitchen with dining nook. The bed is round. It has a flat screen tv and plenty of room. The bath is recently redone and looks great. Real test is - the hot water arrives quickly. BUT the best about the Vibe Hotel is the vibe. This is a community. Wednesday nights feature a free cookout and free beer. A band from Mexico was setting up to play. But don't think mariachis, think rock and funk fusion. They were very good. Karaoke is the usual Wednesday night program, but the band was staying at the Vibe, so... Grilled chicken wings and beer lead to plenty of conversations. I met visitors from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Their travel experience was most impressive. Australia, Indonesia, South America, India, and plenty more countries had been on the trip lists. Americans seem to want to visit 20 countries in 5 days while most other travelers want to spend at least 3 weeks in a country to really see it. Americans sort of travel in Twitter Style while Europeans travel in novel style. I think they have that right.
The three hour time delay along with the travel should have done me in, but the conversations were too enjoyable to miss and karaoke did start later. Plus the beer had not yet run out. More to come as the days go on. Today is the first day of the TCM Classic Film Festival. I have to pick up Press Credentials and more today. Plus tonight is the opening event - AN American In Paris at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Plenty of stars to be there. Watch for more soon.
This time it looked doubtful as recently as a few days ago, but things finally cleared enough for me to escape. Also helping was the commitments I had made to advertisers and sponsors and having a team that can take care of the misc. stuff back in the office.
I don't fly very much anymore, and as always, I enjoy the experience. With all the security stuff at the airport, it is not as easy as it used to be. One poor guy just ahead of me must have met all the profile issues, because he was being searched, scanned, questioned, and more. Saw him having a beer later, probably needed it.
The amount of electronics everyone carries now is incredible. I am think I am virtually low tech, but my carryons didn't show it. Camera - with cords for downloading pics and charger. Ipod with headphones and charger connection. Cell phone with charger. Laptop with power cord.
It seems to me that the economy should be booming. I spent sometime watching a very professional business lady take over a space with her laptop, cellphone, and notebook. She was on the phone making things happen. You could tell this was very familiar territory for her. Actually the larger companies are making big profits, the problem is they also have fat piggy banks. Overall, the large companies have more cash on hand than ever, but they aren't spending it. They could help employ a lot of people if they spent some of it.
The trip was easy, American Airlines to Dallas then to LA. I had carefully shopped airfares and managed a round trip for $320. Not bad.
The problem started when I got to LA. Finding a shuttle was easy, but getting here was not. The driver kept circling the airport seeking enough riders to fill all the seats. One lap of the airport and it was done, but then began the task of getting to Hollywood. I was expecting the horrible LA traffic we have all heard of, but not so bad. However, the driver seemed to like shortcuts that weren't. Having not been to LA in over 20 years, I didn't say anything as the 9 passengers spent almost two hours getting to Hollywood. But two locals next to me started to get annoyed after an hour and fifteen minutes. But a two hour ride for $15 was not too terrible. Except he stopped about 6 blocks from my hotel. At that point I just wanted OUT ! So I got out and walked.
The Vibe Hotel was generous and is one of my sponsors of the trip. It is right on Hollywood Boulevard, about 10 blocks where most of the Film Festival is happening. It doesn't look like much from the street. With approximately 50 rooms it is a motor hotel with some real character. Rates are under $100 per night. NO cost to park and your car nearby, that is pretty good, but it only gets better. The Vibe Hotel attacts predominantly young people from around the world. The rooms are very clean and art deco decorated. My "suite" has a small kitchen with dining nook. The bed is round. It has a flat screen tv and plenty of room. The bath is recently redone and looks great. Real test is - the hot water arrives quickly. BUT the best about the Vibe Hotel is the vibe. This is a community. Wednesday nights feature a free cookout and free beer. A band from Mexico was setting up to play. But don't think mariachis, think rock and funk fusion. They were very good. Karaoke is the usual Wednesday night program, but the band was staying at the Vibe, so... Grilled chicken wings and beer lead to plenty of conversations. I met visitors from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Their travel experience was most impressive. Australia, Indonesia, South America, India, and plenty more countries had been on the trip lists. Americans seem to want to visit 20 countries in 5 days while most other travelers want to spend at least 3 weeks in a country to really see it. Americans sort of travel in Twitter Style while Europeans travel in novel style. I think they have that right.
The three hour time delay along with the travel should have done me in, but the conversations were too enjoyable to miss and karaoke did start later. Plus the beer had not yet run out. More to come as the days go on. Today is the first day of the TCM Classic Film Festival. I have to pick up Press Credentials and more today. Plus tonight is the opening event - AN American In Paris at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Plenty of stars to be there. Watch for more soon.
You can see the pics so far here
Like Classic Films ? Please take our poll on the right side of this page.
No comments:
Post a Comment