He Said: So the kids were very excited about flying. I have to admit, it felt a bit like poor man's teleportation. 3 hours, and I'm in LA? All I have to do is watch a bad movie and a couple reruns? Almost feels like a cheat. The weather's about the same and with the freeways you never see anything "real". For all I know I sat on the tarmac with the plane shaking while they changed the set. Some sort of next gen Truman Show. Although to be fair, I remember feeling that way as a kid too. "I just saw the same guy walk by again. Totally an extra".
The flight was uneventful. Thankfully, given what happened in SFO. When I did the seat selection, they had seats in the first two rows for $45. I balked at the price but we learned, just as the plane was landing, that Billy Bob Thornton was in the front row. Why the flight attendants felt compelled to tell everyone, I don't know. But the buzz through the plane was electrifying. I've never "got" that. Thankfully my kids don't either. It's just some dude at the front. Still, there goes my shot to spend 3 hours pitching a new book/movie/website to him. Wonder if he'll be on the flight back. Maybe he's moonlighting as a sky marshal.
Our premium Crown Vic was neither premium nor Crown Vic, so I might call Thrifty to complain about the price. The driving itself - awesome. I was made to drive in California. Love it. Fast, efficient, requires a bit of forwardness. Our first stop was Ripley's Believe it or Not; right next to Zombie Ghandi. Some man in a sheet, whacking himself in the face with a knotted up cloth and screaming. Y'know how you tell your kids to be respectful and not point or stare? Good luck with that. Saw some of the costumed street performers Jimmy Kimmel has on. Superman, in particular. And some cool street performers. The kids enjoyed Ripley's. There's a sitting replica of an 8-9 foot tall man that none of us knew also stood up. Startled all of us I think. Then it was Guinness World Records, then the Wax museum. Have some pics of the kiddies that we'll throw up on Facebook. Then it was hotel, dinner (sushi/crab/etc buffet). Not sure the plan for tomorrow, Ocean or Sea World. Shannon was too wiped to discuss it.
She Said: I'll speak on her behalf for now and write: Zzzzzz, <hack up a lung> zzzzzz
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I'm up now. The was museum was OK. Most figures were not quite as good as you wanted them to be. But it's a strange experience walking up close to them and staring them in the eyes. It's real enough to expect them to breathe and react, but they don't, so it's spooky. Weird.
Ripley's and Guiness Book were good for the kids, but you don't really see anything more than you would on a website, or in a book. A few things were interactive, like this one about curling your tongue. There's a video playing showing a few people being able to actually flip their tongues right over and the statistic that only 1 in a 1000 people can do it. There's a large mirror and everyone tries to do it. Well, I am that 1 in a 1000 so I had to show off to my family that I can. (Imagine trying to lick your bottom-right teeth with the top-left side of your tongue). When you walk through the rest of the exhibits you see that the mirror is glass on the other side (like in interrogation rooms on TV) and that everyone watches the goofballs on the other side. I remember thinking I saw some flashes when I was showing off. Weird.
Brad loves the freeway system and how you can get anywhere quickly (except for traffic) by going on the freeway. I feel like I have no idea where I am. All I've seen is concrete and taillights. Weird.