Heather's Excellent Adventure

This is a super long post - get comfy! :)

Although I like to think of myself as level-headed and good at making decisions, sometimes I just do things on a whim. Yesterday was a day full of whims.

One of my besties Sjauna flew out yesterday morning to spend a few days in California for her brother's wedding. The only time she could spend with me was yesterday afternoon/ evening. She mentioned that I may want to come out & meet her in LA so that we could maximize that time, and then we could come back here to OC together because she's staying at a hotel in Costa Mesa. I told her probably not because I didn't want to use all that gas driving out there and back, especially since she would have a car too, so I was just going to wait for her to make her way out here. So, yesterday morning I have some free time at work because it was very slow...a random slow day in the middle of the week. I hop online and just "investigate" to see if I could take a train into LAX or something. I fell in love with Google all over again because on their maps & directions there's an option to choose local transit and it helps you figure out what bus/train, etc... It even tells you how much you save compared to gas/wear & tear on your car! The trip would only be like $4.00 versus $15 if I drove, one way. So I see that there is a bus leaving at 10 am that will take me to Long Beach where I can take the metro to LAX. I found this at 9:20. So, after consulting with my co-worker Geoff who would have to take up the slack if I went, I decided to do it! I wrapped things up at work, got a few things out of my car, and Geoff dropped me off at the bus station right near our office. I got there with a few minutes to spare. I was so excited and looking forward to this adventure. I mean, I relied on local transit everyday in Ukraine, but it's just different here, especially since I have been so spoiled having a car and everything. So, the bus is pulling in and I'm getting ready to get on when it dawns on me...I have no cash! What a freaking genius! So I ask this lady next to me if there is an ATM anywhere close, and she tells me no, and she just gives me the $1.25 I need to get on the bus! I was overwhelmed by her generosity and offered her my magazine or a movie voucher I had in return, but she refused and said that she knew it would come back to her somehow. That was amazing to me because even though it was only $1.25, she looked like she could use it. So, thank you angelic lady at the bus stop! You helped me on the first leg of my journey!

View from my bus in Huntington Beach
The bus ride was interesting. It was pretty much just on PCH north the whole way, so it was a pretty drive and I was so excited to not have to drive and to be able to read and text or just gaze out the window. I know that I am a spoiled brat and I shouldn't be saying this, but the only thing that marred the experience was the other passengers. I was exposed to many people that I would ordinarily never come into contact with, and all the sights and smells that go along with that. But I smiled at everyone and was very nice, because although they might be homeless or less fortunate, they are still fine people, especially my angelic bus fare donater! After an hour we got to Long Beach and I had to switch buses. I ran to a gas station to get some cash and then tried to find the right bus stop. Luckily my first bus driver was taking a break and saw me and helped me cross the street to the correct stop. :) Thank you! So I waited for the bus and when it came I went to pay and the change receiver was broken, so the ride was free! That was 2 free bus rides, saving me $2.50! Wow! It was a short ride to the metro station where I purchased a pass for the blue line with a "muni" add on so I could transfer to another bus if needed. It was only $.35 more, so I did it just in case. At this point it's coming on 11:30, and my Sjauna's flight was supposed to have gotten in at 10:30, and she hadn't called me. I didn't have her cell phone number because she rarely uses it and I hadn't gotten the number to put it in my new phone yet - genius move #2. When we had last spoken I had said that I probably wouldn't drive to LA, and why would she think that I had decided to ride the bus that morning?I was worried because if she didn't call for some reason, how would I find her? It was at this point that I decided to just take the metro into Downtown LA and transfer to another line to Wilshire/Western, the closest stop to the LA Temple. I knew that was one place she was going to stop in LA, so I figured that I should just head there and we could meet up. So I hop on the metro, and at this point the novelty of public transport has worn off and I realize that I am traveling through Compton & Watts with some, *ahem*, interesting people. This part of the metro is above ground, and I just stared out the windows at the "scenery." It was so depressing to see so many homeless people and their make-shift tents, tons of dilapidated buildings, and so many small homes with bars and barbed wire across every inch possible. It makes me feel so helpless, because I really do wish I could help. Sad.

Luckily on the way, before the metro went underground & I still had reception, Sjauna called. Her flight had been delayed and she still had to get her rental car which would be a long process. I told her that I would end up on Wilshire (she was very surprised that I was on a metro in the ghetto) and I found out that her first desired destination was on Wilshire in Santa Monica, so it was perfect! We decided to meet at Vanilla Bake Shop, and I continued on my "merry" way.

The metro
The rest of the metro ride was pretty unadventurous...we descended into the depths of the underground tunnels and there wasn't much to look at anymore. I got to the end of the blue line and had to transfer to the purple line. I ended up on the red line, which was going in the same direction thankfully, but I had to hop of and switch trains before it turned and took me to the Valley. This station was not as busy as every other one I had been to, so it was kinda spooky being alone underground. Then when someone did come it was two thuggish looking guys, so they were of no comfort. :) I finally got on the purple line and rode it until the end, Wilshire & Western. Being new to this thing, I didn't realize that you needed to buy a new metro ticket for every line you ride on...I thought that you just paid once and could ride any of them until you got to your destination, like they do in Ukraine. Well, an informative poster in front of my seat told me otherwise, but I was already on the train! There is a $250 fine for those without the proper fare. There was nothing I could do, and luckily no one came along to check, so I thought I was in the clear. I exited the train and was making my way up to the street when we had to go through 5 transit authority cops checking fare stubs. I gulped, showed her my ticket, and she waved me through...phew! Thank goodness she didn't make a big deal about it being for another line! Lesson learned.

I emerged in Los Angeles...luckily I had paid the extra $.35 and was able to hop on a bus using my metro ticket. We had to wait awhile for the bus and it was so crowded. I was really annoyed at how men or younger people wouldn't give up their seats for the older men & women. I held on for dear life and tried not to have any full body contact as we bumped down Wilshire. A seat opened up, and I held everyone off and gestured for an old lady to come sit down, trying to show everyone how it should be done. When the seat next to her opened up, there were no more old people so I felt okay sitting down. At this point a crazy man gets on the bus. Now, when I say crazy, I mean Kah-RAZY! He was wearing pants and a jacket, but no shirt, and he was ranting and raving about who knows what. I have heard my share of foul language, but even I was shocked by the words coming out of his mouth! I was about 10 feet away from him with a lot of people in between, so there was not much I could do. No one else did anything either...he just kept yelling offensive things really loudly. I figured that they must just leave these people alone here in LA, so I tried to block it out. Then he started talking about Jesus. In a very rude way. I was getting pretty upset, but thought that I couldn't do anything about it. My heart started racing, and I thought to myself, "This is one of those moments. The kind you read about, where you have a chance to defend the Savior or let people think that you won't stand up for him." I don't ever want to have any regrets or to think that I denied the Savior in any way. So I said, very loudly, "SIR!" He ignored me and kept yelling. So I yelled louder, "SIR! STOP USING THAT LANGUAGE!" People around me looked at me in surprise, but no one helped me. The guy was crazy, and kept going. So I screamed one more time, "SIR! PLEASE STOP SAYING SUCH OFFENSIVE THINGS!" Finally a guy, I'll call him Suit Man, stood up to Crazy Guy and told him to be quiet. They got in a screaming match and I felt a little bad for starting it, but Suit Man held his ground and threatened Crazy Guy that he wasn't going to let him say one more word. Miraculously Crazy Guy stopped yelling and just sat there. I smiled at Suit Man gratefully, and we enjoyed the next few moments in peace. At one point Crazy Guy started mumbling something, so Suit man said, "You were doing so well...do you really want to start up again?" and Crazy Guy shut up and then got off on the next stop. Suit Man got off shortly after, and unfortunately I wasn't able to thank him. My heart was pumping the whole time, and I had decided that if Crazy Guy got feisty again that I would push my way over to him and help Suit Man kick him off the bus. Luckily it didn't come to that. :) The situation obviously endeared me to another old man who struck up a conversation with me. He was from South Dakota and was trying to make it to the VA Hospital. He told me a little about his struggles and asked if I could give him a little money. I felt good about it and was able to give him the cash in my pocket...I make a rule about never opening my wallet in situations like this in public. The reason I mention this is because I had gotten 2 free bus fares and therefore had more cash, and I felt like I was paying forward the kindness that the lady in Newport Beach had shown me. It gave me some warm fuzzies.

Thankfully shortly after this I arrived at the Bakery, only 15 minutes after Sjauna had arrived. It had taken me almost 3 and a half hours to get from Newport Beach to Santa Monica with all the bus and train switches. I was grateful to see a familiar face and to be able to travel in a comfortable car after that! It was so good to hang with Sjauna's babies too, Evelyn and Owen. Evie was so happy to see me, which was surprising because I haven't seen her in almost a year! Kids are usually so fickle and forget people they don't see often, or it takes them awhile to warm up. Well, not these kids! They are so sweet! Evie had colored me a picture and gave it to me and both of them wanted to hold my hands. So cute!


Vanilla Bake Shop was paradise! They had many delicious cupcakes like Sprinkles, but they had so much more too. the best was that they had mini versions of their cupcakes, or "babies" as they called them. Sjauna and I picked some out and got them boxed up to go. We picked up some sandwiches and went to the LA temple to picnic and show her kids where mommy and daddy had gotten married. We parked and plopped down on the grass right by the car and started eating, but were quickly stopped by the nicest security guard ever telling us that the policy is not to let people picnic there, but that we could go by the visitors center. Good to know! :)

We enjoyed our lunch & dessert and then walked around, taking pictures and Sjauna took the opportunity to teach the children about the temple. It was such a nice day and a nice experience, especially since we all had a hectic morning with our travels.

If you look in the back you can see the security guard coming to "kick us out!" :)

My cupcakes didn't survive the journey well

I tried to fix them up for the picture! :)














After that we headed back down to Orange County. We hit up Target for some necesseties and then checked into her hotel. We relaxed for a minute and then headed off to South Coast Plaza, right next to the hotel, in search of dinner. We ate at CPK and then walked around a little, heading to the carousel. The kids and Sjauna had a nice ride and I took pictures. It was about 9pm now, and Sjauna drove me to my office to get my car. We were all exhausted and the kids fell asleep as soon as they got in their seats...since they are from the East Coast it was midnight to them! Sjauna was nice enough to let me crash with them at the hotel so I didn't have to drive all the way home just to return right back in the morning. Luckily I had my work clothes that I had only worn a few hours that morning that I could wear again, and I had my make-up in the car too. I had to act like I was back-packing through Europe and wash my underwear in the sink, but it was nice to lay down and relax, and Sjauna and I chatted a while until we fell asleep, just like a slumber party...except there were 2 babies sleeping next to us. :)

It was so nice that it only took me 10 minutes to get to work in the morning, even though I had to do my walk of shame wearing the same clothes as yesterday. :) Luckily no one noticed except for Geoff & Joan, the only people I really come into contact with daily. I am so exhausted today after all the shenanigans of yesterday, but I had a really good time. I am glad that I just up & decided to take public transit into LA...I learned a lot and was reminded how lucky I am that I don't have to do that every day. I had a lot of experiences with people, not all that I can relate here, that reminded me that there are still good people left in the world. And I got to spend some quality time with my BFF and her adorable munchkins, which was priceless.


Dinner at CPK - Mommy & Evie and Own with a chocolate milk goatee. :)






Enjoy a video from the carousel...I accidentally had my camera on a weird setting that only showed the color red! :)


About this entry


5 validations:

  1. Christa Jeanne May 22, 2008 at 1:53 PM

    What an adventure!!! I'm glad you had fun and returned safely. Yay for Suit Man!

     
  2. Karly May 22, 2008 at 6:38 PM

    You were right, this was a long post-thanks for the warning. I saved it to read while my laundry was washing. And I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed, loved, and laughed at every bit of it.
    Especially the picture of the fallen cupcakes, for some reason I laughed out loud when I saw that. And then the next picture they looked so perfect...wow-impressive.

     
  3. Hizzeather May 23, 2008 at 9:06 AM

    Awww...thanks guys for enjoying my "novel." I know I sound like a country bumpkin in the big city for the first time, and we all know that I am not that naive! But it really was a big step out of my comfort zone. We are so spoiled here in OC!

     
  4. Sjauna May 26, 2008 at 10:00 PM

    I'm really so flattered that you went through all that for me! BFF! Oh, and I have told your bus story like five times already, and I crack up every time. SIR!... I can't get over it!

     
  5. Julie M. May 28, 2008 at 10:26 PM

    I finally got around to reading this, but I didn't really read it. Being afflicted with an illness and tired, I didn't want to read this big long deal, so I copied it, pasted it into Word, made a .PDF and had the computer read it aloud to me. Lovely. It was like you were retelling the events to me in bored and monotone detail. That was quite an adventure and I know you'll be driving to LA the next time. I need to hear the Crazy Guy on the bus story in person next time I see you, then it can truly come to life.