June 30 - July 2: Adam in LA (Pasadena, really)!

I took a brief trip out to LA this past week to take care of some business, and to visit my good friend Ana, who is working out there. For those of you who have never looked at a map, Pasadena is very far away from Puerto Rico. To get there, I took a flight to Houston, then to LA, about 8 hours in total flying time. To get back, I flew to San Francisco, then to Washington, D.C., and then back to Puerto Rico, about 11 hours in total.

[Adam's Trapezoidal Trip]

Pasadena is a lovely city - it is surrounded by mountains:

[Pasadena with mountains in back]

. . . but is mostly a flat city, with a really neat downtown that has a lot of art deco buildings. It sort of has a Miami Beach feel to it, sans the beach:

[Colorado Ave., downtown Pasadena]

[the Pasadena courthouse]

While I was out there, we saw the new Die Hard movie, which was largely filmed in Pasadena, although most of the movie took place in Washington D.C. I suppose the movie was either filmed on a low budget, or the producers have no idea what downtown Washington D.C. actually looks like.

[note: Washington D.C. architecture is mostly granite - it is rare to see so much glass in the city]

On Sunday, we drove out to Santa Monica to eat at this place called "The Counter" - sort of a make-your-own-burger type joint. It was pretty tasty, and we got a chance to hang out with my friend Zach, my stepsister Julia, and my friend Jimmy and his girlfriend (not pictured below)

[Zach, Adam, Ana]

[Zach, Adam, Julia]

Monday was a workday, and after seven hours of interviews, I was on my way back. I flew out of the Burbank Airport, a tiny little airport near Pasadena, which happens to be where Casablanca was filmed. I didn't get many good pictures from inside the one-room terminal, but I did manage to snap this shot of the sun setting over the runway:

[Pasadena Airport]

Up Next: Valerie visits Adam in Puerto Rico, the Doog wonders "what are my owners up to?"