{"id":4002,"date":"2023-04-15T01:42:06","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T05:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/romeyn.me\/?p=4002"},"modified":"2023-04-15T01:47:52","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T05:47:52","slug":"spring-vacation-2023-day-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/romeyn.me\/?p=4002","title":{"rendered":"Spring Vacation 2023 – Day 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Yesterday we landed at LAX, got our rental car, and headed to our hotel in Glendale: Embassy Suites by Hilton. \u00a0It\u2019s surprisingly reasonably priced, considering the location and the amenities which include made to order breakfast every morning and a late afternoon reception in the lobby with an open bar! \u00a0After getting settled, Amanda\u2019s Dad Kevin joined us and we walked a few blocks to the All India Caf\u00e9. \u00a0I ordered lamb vindaloo which is a favorite of mine. \u00a0Halfway through I saw what looked to be a green bean. \u00a0I shrugged and popped it in my mouth, biting down on it, chewing, and swallowing. \u00a0About a minute later I realized that it must not have been a green bean, because my mouth felt like I had taken the hottest chicken wing I had ever eaten and then poured some acid on it and then ate it. \u00a0I started gluing my beer just as the waitress walked by. \u00a0I pointed furiously at my mouth while waving my hand in a fanning motion. \u00a0She quickly went to the kitchen and came back with a bowl of rice pudding, followed by some yogurt. \u00a0The fire eventually went out, but I may not taste anything on that side of my mouth for days! \u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

After walking back to the hotel we finished unpacking and went to bed. \u00a0This morning we met Kevin for breakfast at a place called Bea Bea\u2019s where I had the most delicious egg Benedict I think I have ever had. \u00a0Amanda and I walked back to the hotel, then left to pick up Kevin and we drove north to Santa Clarita and visited the Vasquez Rocks. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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This was something of a pilgrimage\/bucket list item for me, as the Vasquez Rocks are rather iconic and have been used as the backdrop for many movies and TV show episodes, not the least of which is the original Star Trek series of which I am a huge fan.<\/p>\n

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After visiting the interpretive center, we went to Maginn\u2019s Irish Pub for lunch. \u00a0Maginn\u2019s is owned by my cousin Chris Rowlson\u2019s sister in-law and I thought it would be fun to stop in. \u00a0Sadly, the server we got did not know Chris, but the food and the beer were delicious! \u00a0I had bangers and champs with Smithwick red ale.<\/p>\n

We made our way back to Glendale for an afternoon rest. \u00a0As a follow up to Wednesday, you\u2019ll recall that we re-booked our flights out of Syracuse. \u00a0There were two return flights for Monday: one at about 12:30am and one at around 12:30pm. \u00a0I did not notice that we got booked on the 12:30am return flight! \u00a0I called the airline to see about getting switched to the 12:30pm flight. \u00a0The nice lady who answered tried to help me, but the system was not cooperating with her and the best she could do was to make the switch, but it would cost us $1400!! \u00a0I thanked her for trying and have decided that tomorrow morning I will get up early and drive to the Burbank airport where JetBlue has a presence and talk to someone in person to see if we can get the flight switched. \u00a0It won\u2019t be the end of the world if we can\u2019t, but we are spending all day Sunday at Disney Land, and having to fly at 12:30am probably will mean cutting that day shorter than we otherwise might have, which would be too bad.<\/p>\n

So after that we picked up Kevin again and headed to Hollywood where we saw the original Van Gogh Immersive Exhibit. <\/a>\u00a0It was amazing! \u00a0I took a few 360 photos and got 360 video of the whole thing. \u00a0I can\u2019t wait to see how it came out. \u00a0After Van Gogh we went to Ovation Hollywood, a new-ish shopping complex on Hollywood Boulevard. \u00a0This whole area is L.A.\u2019s answer to New York\u2019s Times Square. \u00a0There are all manner of shops and restaurants and street food and street performers. \u00a0And tourists\u2014lots of tourists! \u00a0Kevin had bought tickets for the Icons of Darkness<\/a> exhibit which is a fascinating curation of original production-used costumes. \u00a0It is a guided tour with some jump scares. \u00a0We took lots of photos! \u00a0After Icons, we had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and then returned to Glendale for the night.<\/p>\n

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