trinacriabob

Starbucks

Some exec at fallen Enron did the same thing...but with a gun. That's how the movie "The Smartest Guys in the Room" starts out. (PCS, a lot of aerial views of Houston...you'd like it). I really think that living a fairly simple life, without all this ridiculous excess, is the best thing. The "mucky mucks" who are at the top of the pyramid and make the big bucks can keep their stress...I'll just drive my GM cars to scenic places, eat well or take in a buffet, and compute my mileage.

soda

Political correctness is not my strong point, so... ...a lot of immigrant East Indians are very mercantile by nature, so they enjoy the "art of wheeling and dealing." To an American, it can be annoying. And it's not just them, it's the Med, the Middle East and North Africa, in general. I've had "issues" with East Indians in: 1) a vitamin shop where she keeps trying to upsell me...and I don't buy 2) a dry cleaner where he changed the price upon arrival from when I called...it was only 50 cents per suit...but I made a scene upon picking them up and made sure others in line behind me heard the argument 3) a hotel owner in a chain with an 800 # who quoted $ 5 higher with AAA than what the 800 # told me...I didn't stay there The best one: I was driving from Miami to Tampa about 8 years ago and pulled over to a motel area toward dusk. I went in and asked for the price. I made a face. He must have been the son of the owner who said to me, in that hilarious up-and-down accent: "You vill not find a chipper room anyvhere in dees area." (la la la la la la la sound) He was too pushy to be taken seriously. I drove a block down the street and found another chain motel room for $ 5 less. I don't think it's based on personal characteristics, he's just pushy, nosy and will be high maintenance.

Miss Piggy

pain

Yep, overly dry climates send me to the MD to get scrips. Re the bolded: they, too, are another "check the box" group that can be "cultish" and that I find annoying ... the "horse crowd" is another staple in the foothills of the Sierra...

woodpecker rat-tat-tat-tat-tat rat-tat-tat-tat-tat

Upper 90s here today. Can't say I like it. Not in mid-April. It's always hotter in the extreme northern inland parts of CA, where it is hemmed in by the coastal range - places like Redding, Red Bluff and even Chico are insufferable in the summer. Moltie, you know I like Denver metro, but it is so damn dry...when the humidity is that low, it messes with my sinuses. Plus I've always thought the Boulder factor and nearby Rockies would attract more granolas than I can tolerate. I do like the housing stock that is available there. I did a thread once asking about high temp-low humidity or lower temp-high humidity. I could take Atlanta or any Florida major city before Phoenix or anywhere in the West that is similarly hot. I can barely do 1 week of triple digits, no matter how dry.

gin (that's coming from someone who detests alcohol)

I've stayed there, too. They gave me the corner room with the round window looking out at Century City. My cousin from Europe was visiting, so she stayed in the loft and I stayed downstairs. What a great base for exploring L.A. Needless to say, she thought it was a great city!

Greg Brady hair

Croc, those parts are indeed banal. The very end of Imperial Hwy is a beach, though one wouldn't want to use that beach and would go left (south) to the South Bay Beach towns. I think TYD is looking at $ (American, Canadian or otherwise) and is looking for a base. I don't ever spend money in LA to stay at a Santa Monica or Redondo Beach zip code, though it would be nice. There are some good hotels along the Sepulveda strip where you wouldn't feel any of those bad El Segundo things. It is a business area with mid-rises, though vapid nonetheless. There is the Doubletree at which I would stay any time, but I think the prices are higher than they have been...it is literally across a plaza from Mattel Headquarters. There is an Embassy Suites at the corner of Imperial and Sepulveda, from which you could watch planes land/take-off. Manhattan Beach Blvd. is but 3-5 minutes south of this area along Sepulveda at which there is a nice shopping center with Barnes and Nobles, nice clothing stores, some decent restaurants and Versailles Cuban food further south on Sepulveda. TYD, whatever you do, don't judge LA by either Torrance or El Segundo. These are merely bases from which to explore and put a few extra dollars in your pocket, while staying in clean and safe® surroundings.

Kind of a bland business park area, and there will be nobody around at night.

mine

fed

Right. Don't even think about Carson. That whole area will depress you. Torrance is a good base. Try to stay on, or west of, Hawthorne Blvd. and definitely SOUTH of 190th. You don't want to be in Lawndale. Another option is El Segundo. There are a lot of good hotels south of LAX. I have stayed at the Doubletree several times. Another one is the Hilton Garden Inn. There are some good rates to be had, with AAA/CAA or on line, but not much to do. However, it is SUPER close to the beaches. Please do NOT stay in Inglewood, no matter how tempting the prices are. Do NOT stay along Century Blvd. anywhere east of the 405. It gets nasty real quick. Ask away if you have more questions.

dip

stop

dfelt, I was just up there over Easter, but only up to Tacoma. Don't forget, though, that there is almost always cloud cover over Seattle. I was once driving to Canada with a friend who remarked that the cloud cover over Puget Sound is denser and lower than it is in Porltland. That seems to be correct. As for Seattle, I too like the suburbs (East Side) over the city...everything is newer and there are way more trees. Don't you have relatives / roots in California? Fess up!

True...when my relatives came in from Europe and Alitalia was arriving late enough for the lights of LA to be on, they couldn't believe how the lights of the metro area went on and on and on... By comparison, Atlanta, which is supposed to have sprawl, feels compact. You come in over a heavily treed area from the southwestern suburbs, see the skyline to the left (north of the airport) and you land fairly quickly.

trestle shifter (Riv or Toro or one of those...weren't those cool?)

artificial dfelt, you posted TTWWIICCEE

I just thought of a new Central Pennsylvanian comfort food dish: Mashed potatoes and hare

Boston