Los Angeles 2004

This was my 3rd visit to this city in 6 months and probably the nicest. This time Karen and I traveled by ourselves. I was accompanying her on her first vacation in 2 years.

San Bernardino Mountains, Thursday, Day 1

March 26th we awoke at 5AM to catch a 7:15AM flight. Our airline was Song, a 757 with TV monitors installed in the back of every seat and DISH satellite. We had 20 channels. They were mostly news but also included Animal Planet and A&E. Karen and I spent much of the trip playing music trivia with other passengers. I managed to make it to the top slot once in one of the games.

When we landed, we checked in at the Hertz Gold counter (if you travel a lot, applying for Gold status is worth doing) and picked up our full-size upgrade to a Kia Amante, a very nice car and one I wouldn't mind owning, leather seats and all!

Since it was still morning LA time, we decided to drive into the San Bernardino Mts., a trip recommended by my brother. We managed to get a bit lost as to our exit off the interstate, but once that was mastered, a quick turn onto another road took us immediately into the mountains! Back east, mountains begin as foothills and it takes awhile to get any height. This was so sudden a rise that it was shocking. We pulled off at the first turnout, locked the car, and took the footpath a few feet up the rise for a better view and photo op. Karen and I stood there several minutes admiring the view and breathing in the fresh mountain air.

Looking ahead from our first stop	This was the view from our first stop	Mountain flora	Riverbed far below	More of the bed
The river close up	Looking back, a few lone trees	As we approach the top of our mountain	A Century Plant in full bloom	Anyone know the name of this flower?

We left the San Bernardinos around 5, found a Chinese restaurant that sat badly with us the rest of the evening and made Karen sick. It was on the way to the hotel. We checked into the Airport Radisson and settled for the night. It was very quiet and we slept well. We found the hotel through www.hotels.com at a great price ($67 a night) and were booked for 4 nights. The only surprise was that at that rate, they charged us for parking - $10 per day. The windows on the hotel were double paned with a 1 foot cushion of air between. We never heard any street noise or planes. What a blessing over the Culver Hotel in which we heard everything.