Night Drive Around LA
A day after we arrived in Cebu (from Shanghai), we were packing again for another trip to a different continent. Wanderers much? This time, I was to meet up with my parents and brother in the USA. Jerry was on official trip.
Pa and Ma were flying in from Canada after staying there with my brother and his family for 2 months. I thought it would be great to meet up with them even for just a week. What was I hoarding the mileage for if not for trips like this one, right? Thanks to HSBC/Mabuhay miles I didn't have to break the bank to make the trip. ;)
PAL's flight from Manila to LA last Nov. 4 landed on time, but I guess there was some confusion about our ETA when my brother Junnie and friend Jerome took a while to meet us. LOL. Junnie made up for it by taking us around LA for a night tour. Sweet!
After getting lost in LA's maze of freeways, we got to our first stop, the Griffith Observatory, minutes before it closed. We were not able to enter the observatory itself but stayed instead at the viewing deck. The lights were awesome, pretty much like a million stars or flickering tivoli lights right beneath you. It reminded me of Cebu's Tops but on a grander scale.
We promptly took pictures before leaving in a hurry, giving a whole new meaning to the words photo finish. :)
After the observatory, we were driven around LA, Santa Monica, Wilshire Blvd. and we even dropped by Wild Card in the hope of catching Manny Pacquiao on training (no luck here, place was closed).
The Wildcard Boxing Club above the laundromat, quite obscure huh.
This is the rear entrance of Wildcard where we sometimes see on tv, Dyan Castillejo trying to interview Pacman for an upcoming fight
No Manny Pacquiao that night but got to shoot this pic near the training facility
And because it was late and the last meal Jerry and I had was from the plane, we drove to IHOP for a (huge) late night meal.
with Junnie
Jerome and Jerry
huge meal for my standards
A little after midnight, Junnie and Jerome dropped us off at Ayres Hotel where Jerry and I stayed for two nights.
Zzzz...
According to Junnie, this was the actual itinerary that night:
Griffith, then went down to LA Downtown then Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood and Vine, then Vine to Wildcard, then to Sunset Boulevard again, then to Wilshire, Beverly Hills, then to Sta Monica Blvd., 3rd St Promenade, Sta Monica Pier, leading to Marina del Rey, beaches at night before proceding to Ayres at 220am.
Pa and Ma were flying in from Canada after staying there with my brother and his family for 2 months. I thought it would be great to meet up with them even for just a week. What was I hoarding the mileage for if not for trips like this one, right? Thanks to HSBC/Mabuhay miles I didn't have to break the bank to make the trip. ;)
PAL's flight from Manila to LA last Nov. 4 landed on time, but I guess there was some confusion about our ETA when my brother Junnie and friend Jerome took a while to meet us. LOL. Junnie made up for it by taking us around LA for a night tour. Sweet!
After getting lost in LA's maze of freeways, we got to our first stop, the Griffith Observatory, minutes before it closed. We were not able to enter the observatory itself but stayed instead at the viewing deck. The lights were awesome, pretty much like a million stars or flickering tivoli lights right beneath you. It reminded me of Cebu's Tops but on a grander scale.
We promptly took pictures before leaving in a hurry, giving a whole new meaning to the words photo finish. :)
After the observatory, we were driven around LA, Santa Monica, Wilshire Blvd. and we even dropped by Wild Card in the hope of catching Manny Pacquiao on training (no luck here, place was closed).
The Wildcard Boxing Club above the laundromat, quite obscure huh.
This is the rear entrance of Wildcard where we sometimes see on tv, Dyan Castillejo trying to interview Pacman for an upcoming fight
No Manny Pacquiao that night but got to shoot this pic near the training facility
And because it was late and the last meal Jerry and I had was from the plane, we drove to IHOP for a (huge) late night meal.
with Junnie
Jerome and Jerry
huge meal for my standards
A little after midnight, Junnie and Jerome dropped us off at Ayres Hotel where Jerry and I stayed for two nights.
Zzzz...
According to Junnie, this was the actual itinerary that night:
Griffith, then went down to LA Downtown then Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood and Vine, then Vine to Wildcard, then to Sunset Boulevard again, then to Wilshire, Beverly Hills, then to Sta Monica Blvd., 3rd St Promenade, Sta Monica Pier, leading to Marina del Rey, beaches at night before proceding to Ayres at 220am.
Lost Angeles? harharhar. I was trying to put on a gran turismo show to the turistas. Was it a great experience to get lost with people you can trust your night's enjoyment with?
ReplyDeleteIt was a great ride. Something I may not be able to do. Well I also said the same thing when I drove you and Jerry in 2005 when my contact lens popped out of my left eye and I had to drive with it at the tip of my tonque.
Let's do it - every 5 years? Yes?
hello junnie,
ReplyDeletei can always count on you to lose your way driving in the usa. hahaha...
oh wait, there's one more time you missed the exit in new jersey too.
gps should really be your friend. :D