USA

[brrm]

Hello!

I landed last night. Fairly uneventful flight. In-flight entertainment has come a long way since I last flew transatlantically - now with newfangled screens in every seat - watched Run, Fatboy Run; Control; Atonement and another film whose name escapes me.

Security theatre at heathrow was surprisingly absent - didn't get asked to remove my shoes, and didn't get my multiple eletronic gadgets checked.

Immigration into the US was a right pain - took an hour just to get to the baggage carousels.

We have rented something called a Chevrolet Impala LT - seems to have a reasonable amount of go, but the engine is quite unsettlingly soundproofed, so I am aware of a vague noise somewhere up front, and the car surges forward. I can also start the car from the keyfob outside the car, which is very exciting(!)

It's raining, which is putting a bit of a damper on sightseeing so far, though will probably pop along to the aquarium here in Long Beach in a bit. We're staying two nights (last night and this) in the Hilton, which is in the worryingly-named World Trade Center.

Then tomorrow it's off back to LA, to meet up with family friends, and stay in an unused house of theirs in Westwood.

ETA: I will of course be producing photos for this trip. You will be able to find them at my flickr account - including a photo of the crash-landed BA 777 we could see from the departure lounge. Not a good advert. ;-)

Comments

[chrisvenus]

I can also start the car from the keyfob outside the car, which is very exciting

Presumably this is becasue it makes it very much more like knight rider with a car that you can pretend is intelligently starting up on its own as it sees you approaching. Or at least you can persuade other people that this is what is happening with a bit of sleight of hand to hide the fact you are pressing some remote control...

[brrm.livejournal.com]

I shall try this and let you know how amazed my unsuspecting passengers are. It could also be amusing to convince them that I trained it to my voice, so when I say "Car, start!" it will respond, but only to me.