Courtney GRestless Morning
The night before a trip, I’m always restless. Tossing and turning, filled with excitement of the possibilities on vacation. Usually, it’s a happy restlessness. This time…not quite.
For my trip to Los Angeles, I bought a buddy pass from my dad in order to fly standby. This was the only way I could go on the trip. It took nearly $500 off the plane ticket which was $600-$800 regularly.
Flying standby was cheaper but you risked being at the airport all day waiting for a flight. My dad said the flight looked good a few hours before I went to bed.
I woke up later that night at 3AM, still restless. I decided to check the standby list again since I was up. One of my sisters, who also bought a buddy pass from Dad, and I were at the bottom of the standby list and it looked like we’d barely make it on.
I got dressed. The flight I was currently on was the second flight out but I wanted to see if I could catch the first flight.
Texting my dad, I told him my plan, hoping he’d see it when he woke up. Saying goodbye to Mom and the dogs, I drove to Park ‘N Fly Plus where I’d already reserved my car for valet parking. Valet parking uncovered for four days was $70 with the AAA discount.
I was traveling with my duffle bag and backpack so I didn’t have to check my bag and walked straight to TSA. The security line was moving pretty quickly. I got through in 20 minutes.
Switching Flights
I found the gate for the first flight to LA and took the plane train there. I spotted the gate agent and asked if I could switch to this flight. All I had to do was give my name, confirmation number, and show my ID and I was switched.
Tip: According to my dad, you’re supposed switch flights at customer service near the bag check. This is so you aren’t bothering the gate agent while they prep for the flight.
While all this was happening I was on the phone with my sister. My dad dropped her off while he parked their car so she could try to catch the first flight with me. My dad, step-mom, and little sister didn’t have to worry because they’re priorities were higher (and free). Dad is an airline employee. We weren’t on his insurance any more so we had to pay.
My sister was going through security and the gate agent told me if she could make it in time, he could switch her over. I couldn’t do it because she needed to be there in person. Lucky for us, she made it about 15 minutes before boarding.
Even luckier, we were cleared on the flight! We were placed in the premium economy which we were grateful for, though we didn’t get to sit together.
To our surprise, the rest of the family also got on the first flight. We were all headed to LA together!
Four hours later, we landed in the City of Angels.
Morning at LAX
My dad, step-mom, and little sister all checked a bag because they were staying a full week. My other sister and I were only staying for four days. Even though they made the earlier flight, their bags didn’t. While we waited for the other flight to land, we searched LAX for breakfast. I ate a pumpkin muffin I made from home on the plane but I was still hungry. We decided to get Jersey Mike’s.
About an hour and half later my family’s bags arrived on the baggage claim carousel and we headed to the rental car area.
Tip: If you’re visiting LA and don’t have a car (or family/friends with a car) you’ll probably have to use a ride-share everywhere if not renting a car. There is a public transportation options but renting a car will be easier.
The shuttle to the rental car went around to the different airport terminals for pick up before ending at the final destination.
Rental Car Fiasco
My dad was able to choose any car from what was in the lot. I was hoping we’d get an SUV but my sister and step-mom convinced him to get the Jeep Gladiator, a five-seater with a pickup truck back.
It being a gas guzzler aside, this would be fine for two people with suitcases because they can just put them in the back seat. But five people? Everyone has to put their bags in the truck bed, exposed.
Considering I just bought my fabric duffel and the car was wet from recently being washed, I refused to put my bag back there.
What if we were stopped at red light too long and someone runs up and steals a suitcase? What if it rained suddenly?
And you’re probably thinking, “Well, once you get to your hotel, you can just put your bags in the room or do bag check-in,” right? Wrong.
We were staying at an Airbnb and would not be able to check-in until 4PM. For context, it was around 10AM when we got the car. That’s six hours of driving around with these bags in the truck bed. I just think the truck had way more problems than it was worth on the first day.
Out in California
Inglewood
Since we couldn’t drop our bags off we decided to do some things on our itinerary a little out of order. We went to Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood first, all eyes watching the car and bags as we waited in line.
I got the apple fritter and the Nutella raised donut. The Nutella raised was messy and just okay in flavor so not worth the mess. I suggest just getting the chocolate one; it’s cheaper. The donut is very thick if you’re not into that. The apple fritter, however, was so good and huge! I should’ve just stuck with that by itself.
After Randy’s and some picture taking of the “Welcome to Inglewood” sign, we went to the Nipsey Hussel Mural at Fatburger. We probably only spent 5 minutes there max.
Malibu
Since we had way more time to kill, we attempted to take a long, scenic drive. We went to Malibu and stopped at the country market. Here, we decided to put all of the bags inside the truck which took some maneuvering but it worked with keeping everyone’s bags secure.
We mostly stopped here for a bathroom break but I did get a pineapple passion fruit lemonade from Starbucks to quench my thirst.
Getting Closer to Check-In
We passed the Santa Monica pier when we left Malibu but still had a couple more hours to kill so we stopped by Target for groceries, again having to maneuver the bags back into the car. When we got out of the store, we tried to strategically put the groceries in the truck bed with the suitcases (and at this point I had decided to put my duffel in the back too).
Kogi Taqueria
My sister really wanted some street tacos but the one place we’d chosen before we even left for the trip wouldn’t open until 4PM. We passed the Kogi Taqueria food truck on the way to the store so we decided to go back there and get tacos from them which would be our dinner.
We didn’t eat until we (finally) got to our Airbnb. I got the carne asada, chicken, and short rib tacos. All the tacos had a sweetness to them but they were spicy! None of us were expecting the heat the tacos packed but they were still good. Kogi also had tofu tacos for the vegetarians out there. I really liked all of them but the short ribs had the best flavor.
Airbnb
After we ate, we got settled into the Airbnb. They chose it because it had a place to put the car and it was used in a few seasons of Insecure. We found out later this was Lawrence’s place from the show. It was cute and clean. The host even had water, Gatorade, and snacks set up. The only con was that there was one shower/tub so we all had to rotate with showers.
The first day was hectic and a little annoying but we were going to be ready for our second day in LA, which would be the busiest day.
