In Los Angeles With Diana, Mark, & Roxana

07.06.23 Los Angeles

A late, late start and a 20 mile drive from Pasadena to central LA got us to Roxana’s apartment near Inglewood at lunch hour.  She had prepared a Romanian feast that included tripe soup, crusty bread, feta cheese, cured meats, tomatoes, cucumbers and radishes, a delicious eggplant spread, fried cheese, and pastries.  Diana asked Roxana’s boyfriend Attila in Romanian what the one cheese was called and he said what sounded like “you like”.  Mark responded with “I LIKE!”.  It was a delicious lunch.  Her apartment complex seemed nice and safer than the surrounding streets.  I wanted to meet Jerry who had driven up from San Diego to pick me up and was waiting at the Santa Monica pier and Roxy, Diana and Mark wanted to do some shopping in the fashion district in downtown LA so we arranged to meet up later.   What was only a few exits away took me a solid hour and I realized that LA would be maddening to live in with the constant traffic.  I liked the feel of the city but it confirmed what I had expected, that it was superficial and hard to move around in.  One day was enough.  It was nice to sit down on the sand by the pier for a little while and talk with Jerry about our plans for Mexico.  Mark and the girls joined us later and we said our goodbyes and took some pictures.  I will miss them.

Jerry and I headed out in order to get down to San Diego and then across the border into Tijuana to fly out to Oaxaca in southern Mexico at 1:15 in the morning.  What a change to cross the border!  We definitely weren’t in the US anymore.  I was excited to really start my journey because from here on out I’d be going deep south where Spanish would be the official language.  I bid a fond and a bit anxious farewell to my country and we made our way to the airport.  Leaving my hat in the cab wasn’t the best of omens, nor almost boarding the wrong plane and missing ours, but the good-natured Mexicanos at the airport ushered us on at the last minute and we got into the air.