Tuesday 25th - LA

I'm writing this from an internet cafe on Hollywood Boulevard. Yesterday I drove from the Grand Canyon through western Arizona and the Mojave Desert, then on to San Bernadino and Pasadena and to my hotel at the eastern end of Sunset Boulevard. I had a hard time getting to the hotel; the route I had planned was working perfectly until I got to Echo Park, which is a right turn away from my destination. At that point the road I wanted was closed and there was a diversion. Typically, however, there were no further signs, so I found myself flailing about totally lost and with impatient drivers behind me ! Eventually I had to go back to the Freeway I came in on (through all the evening traffic) and try another route in, which worked. I have found finding my way around the US quite easy, but when you do make a mistake it's very difficult to correct it. That diversion cost me an hour at the end of a 450 mile drive.

I had a real stroke of luck. I was originally planning to arrive in LA on Wed 26th, and had pre-paid for the nights of the 26th and 27th through the travel agent prior to my flight on the 28th. However I ended up ahead of schedule, so rang the hotel yesterday lunchtime to (so I was expecting) make an additional booking for last night and tonight (the 25th). However I discovered that the travel agent had wrongly made my booking for the 24th and the 25th - fortunately they had a room for the 26th and the 27th, so no harm done. But had I not got ahead of schedule and decided to spend more time in LA, I would have turned up on Wed 26th with no room for my last two nights !

There was another twist to this when I arrived last night. The pre-booked reservation for the 24th and the 25th was paid for by the travel agent via a third party - however the hotel informed me that their credit card had been rejected ! So I had to pay for the 24th and 25th on my own card (in addition to the 26th and 27th which I had booked myself at lunchtime over the 'phone). This morning I contacted the travel agent and they are sorting out my refund for the 24th and the 25th. So my travel agent not only reserved the wrong dates but also failed to check that the payment (made through a third party) had worked ! The joys of outsourcing...wonder if they're using Aspire under the covers ? (N.B. For the benefit of non-VOA people reading this, Aspire are the main outsourcers we work with).

After that little hiccup I checked in and read in my room. This morning I sorted out the hiccup (hopefully) and caught the bus to Hollywood and Vine. There I saw the Capitol Records Tower, which is where the careers of the Beach Boys and the Beatles (in America) were launched. I am currently walking along the Walk of Fame and will be heading for Sunset Strip.

So my drive across the US is complete ! I have been very lucky with the weather; it has been hot and sunny throughout apart from a violent thunderstorm (it was raining cats and dogs out there) when I first arrived at Memphis. Here in LA it rained overnight, and it is cloudy today. It is refreshing to be in milder weather after the heat of Texas and New Mexico. I am looking forward to getting to know LA a bit better. Then it's back to the UK just in time for the clocks to go back for the English winter !