Manhattan Beach Revisited

On Thursday, I started a 3-day trip. We had an Omaha turn and a Los Angeles overnight. Unlike my most recent trips, this one has late shows - sleeping in (ahhhh) and storm delays (boooo). I actually got my butt out of bed yesterday morning so that I could take the trolley to Manhattan Beach for a couple hours before it was time to head back to the airport. Here are a few of the sights that I saw...

A kid dragging her sibling through the sand...

Beach bikes!

The bath house (watch out for old guys in Speedos...).

The pier.

The shoreline.

Fish tacos at Wahoo's - Delicious!!!

A sign of the times.

Lovely colors.

Cactus garden.

I'd move in today if they'd let me.

Another sign of the times?!?

Fish pond at the home of the witches.

Front door.

Just in case you couldn't see/hear the ocean.

As usual, the overnight was too short. Next time I might explore the shops in Manhattan Beach (all very high-end), or maybe go to one of the malls that have trolley stops. Or maybe I'll just stay at the hotel pool and read a good book - a much cheaper option!

On the way back from Los Angeles, we encountered bad weather in Denver (of course) which delayed us about 20 minutes or so. Right after we landed as we are taxiing to the gate, a passenger rings their call button. I made the announcement to ring the call button again if there was an emergency... "Ding!" So I jump up from my seat, run to the row with the lit call button and ask "what is your emergency?" The guy in the aisle seat pointed to the girl in the window seat and said "She's got another flight to catch!" as the girl is holding up her next ticket. I looked at the two of them and calmly said "I'm sorry, but that is not an emergency!" I was incredulous. I got up at a time when I was supposed to be seated, just to find out that the girl had a connecting flight - as did 81 other passengers, too! I calmly told her that if we were late, chances are her next flight was delayed, too. Sheesh.

Also, a passenger had to check his guitar and it was put in the belly of the plane - it was in a semi-soft case. He asked the "C" flight attendant if he could have the guitar brought up to the jetway so that he could hand carry it to his next flight...unfortunately, that is against TSA rules. My question is "if the guitar is so important to this gentleman, why didn't he put it in a hard case?" Arrive at the airport...check brains along with luggage. Ka-ching!"

Our next flight was from DEN to Oklahoma City, where I am now (I am listening to the tornado warning siren, but don't see anything out my window...should I be worried?). This flight should have been a breeze...but we left an hour late due to weather delays in Denver. I did not get to meet the CPT or FO before the flight, because they were the last to arrive on the plane. I am now learning that early-morning show trips are better in the summer - you get to where you're going before the bad weather hits Denver! Live and learn.

These guys are hanging outside my hotel window serenading me!

But I had a very nice evening planned at my hotel - one of my former classmates, Janel, from my flight attendant training now lives in Oklahoma City as she attends training to become an Air Traffic Controller! Her boyfriend, Jared, happened to be in town too, so the two of them came to my Crowne Plaza (it sounds so nice to say it) hotel room with a few beers in hand, and we spent a couple hours catching up! It was SO GOOD to chat with Janel - she was one of my buddies in class, and I was devastated to see her leave several months ago. It was also good to chat with Jared - I had never really spoken with him. Really nice guy!

Now it's back to Denver for us - on a Lynx flight! Then we'll have a couple hour sit in Denver and then fly a turn to Las Vegas. If everything stays on schedule (which I doubt because of the afternoon storms), we'll be flying back to Denver during the time that fireworks are going off across the country...it could be an interesting thing to see!

Happy 4th of July!