Part One: Getting There is only Half the Battle

It started when Mr Theologian and I both wished to see my family in the Los Angeles area. I have not been to California for over two years, and my husband wanted to see where I grew up.

So I booked a flight on Delta for 25 Dec, FWA-CVG-LAX, and was excited. Well... the bad weather came, and then, as soon I've heard that CVG was in trouble, I called Delta and managed to rebook for the next day, FWA-ATL-LAX.

26 Dec came and we left in the afternoon, but the flight was delayed for over an hour, and the blokes at Delta were working hard to help its customers. We boarded the plane and the wonderful flight attendant tried his darndest to make the flight comfortable for all of its pax.

We arrived in ATL, tired and realized that we missed our flight to LAX. There would be no flights until the next day. There were two choices we had: to turn back home or to go forth. No matter; we had to stay one night in Atlanta. The gate attendant told us to go to the ticket counter and get instructions.

Now, ATL can be a difficult place to navigate, with its vast space. It was especially so with Mr Theologian's back problem, as he can walk only short distances. (Ever since an accident 10 years ago, he had trouble orthopedically.) We found a wheelchair and we pushed to the Delta counter. Someone there had compassion on us and beckoned to come. After looking at our tix, she rescheduled our flight to LAX at 11 am Monday and comped us with food vouchers and a stay at the Airport Marriott. We thanked her profusely and went out to the shuttle.

Many people were waiting and looking for their own shuttles. Mr Theologian figured that all these people were in the same boat as we were: shuffled around and waiting for the next plane. Our van came and took us to the Marriott. There were very helpful and gave us a king-sized bedroom. Very clean, very spiffy. The bed is nice and firm, and we snuggled up nicely, falling asleep in a few minutes. The next day, we had a great breakfast buffet. I highly recommend it. Then we went back to ATL and waited for a wheelchair. The lady at the baggage section had paged for the wheelchair three times, and finally it came. She was peeved that no one came. We had a great conversation whilst waiting. She wished me a great flight and we hugged. (I must take the time and thank those who've helped us at ATL, especially the lady at the ticket counter who comped us and the lady at the luggage section. Thanks also to the blokes who wheeled Mr Theologian around.)

We arrived at the ticket counter and got to the kiosk. Checked ourselves and then waited for another wheelchair. We got throught the process and finally got to the gate. We finally got to LAX at 1:30pm PST, and after a long wait in the plane. For an Air France flight arrived at the gate before us and all of their pax must get through customs. No one gets off the plane until they all get through. Finally, we were able to get out. My mom picked us up and we headed to our hotel room.

(To be continued in another post...in my second post, I'll talk about our stay in Los Angeles and Orange County.)

After getting off the plane in LAX, we knew that our one luggage that we checked in was not with us in the 11 am flight, but in the last flight that we were on standby but there was no room. When my mom came, Mr Theologian took a breather outside while me and my mom looked around in the luggage section. There were many bags grouped according to the last two digits of a flight number. Believe it or not, we've found the bag in under five minutes. Mr Theologian can not believe that we've found our luggage in so short a time.

After loading up the car, we went out of the airport and went to the Burbank-Glendale area, where we stayed at the Homestead Suites in Glendale. It was an okay place to stay, and it was a good thing we got that on Priceline for cheap; otherwise we would not stayed there. It was clean and enough for our needs. Mom took us to Bob's Big Boy and had a small snack there. I said small because later on she took us out to dinner with my family. Hubby and I rested a bit, and then we saw my dad, the sibs, the in-laws, and their children at dinner time. It was a fun time. If you want a great meal for cheap, go to the Hill Street Cafe in Burbank.

The next day, we woke up to the news about the rain. No problem as we were there to see family. My sister took us to eat at In n Out Burger and then took us around Hollywood and shopped at Amoeba Records and then saw the Sunset Strip and Bel-Air. Loads of fun! We wanted to visit the Getty Center, but it was crowded as heck. But we did saw Encino and had coffee there.

That night, we all dined at the Macaroni Grill in Northridge and had good food and good times by all. Then we returned to Glendale and packed our luggage for Orange County.

Due to the flight situation, our visit in the Valley was shortened. Wednesday morning, we all said goodbye and our friends from Fullerton picked us up at noontime. We hung out at their place and then checked into another PL hotel, the Costa Mesa Hilton. That place is so great! The room we got is a big double queen room with a balcony. The people who work there are great blokes. The beds are firm and the property is new-looking.

We ate at the Five Crowns in Corona Del Mar for dinner, where they had great prime rib and there were carolers singing at the table. Now that's plush eating! If you want to eat good and impress someone, go there!

On Thursday, I took a shuttle at the South Coast Plaza and shopped there. There is so many stores for all budgets, especially the luxury, big ticket stores. Luckily the after-Christmas sales were in progress.

Mr Theologian and I invited a friend of mine and his wife who lived in the area for dinner, so we took them to Rothschild's in Corona Del Mar. It's my favorite restaurant to dine and we had a great time.

(The next post will describe in detail about Rothschild's, South Coast Plaza, and the dining in OC.)

As a former resident (of four years) in Irvine, I miss the diverse places to eat. This post will talk about the places I went while on vacation.

The Back Bay Rowing and Running Club Restaurant in South Coast Plaza
http://www.netwest2.com/BackBay/

This place rocks! They got good food in plentiful portions...and they got this meatloaf that was fabulous as well as its famous salad bar. It was crowded and it was worth the wait. We bemoaned that in Indiana, there is no restaurant that is as good and unique as the Back Bay. Misguided Hoosiers can keep their Applebee's and Friday's to themselves. Mr Theologian loved the Squaw Bread and the Back Bay potatoes.

Five Crowns in Corona Del Mar
http://www.lawrysonline.com/fivecrowns_gen_info.asp

Owned by the Lawry's chain, Five Crowns is an English-themed restaurant that is known for its prime rib. Very nice decor, reminded me of those old inns in England. They got this great wine list and the sommelier is marvelous, knowing what to recommend. In fact, Five Crowns has the Grand Award from Wine Spectator. Everyone except Mr Theologian had the prime rib. He had the duck. It was good, he said, except he wished he had the prime rib as well. The chocolate souffle was excellent. Glad someone else took us out and paid for the meal: it was about $240 for all of us, including tip!

Rothschild's in Corona Del Mar
http://www.rothschildscdm.com/default.asp

Rothschild's has a special place in my heart as I dined there every year. This year, I brought my husband there, plus we invited a close friend and his wife for dinner. They specialize in seafood and Italian dishes. The wine list is much smaller than Five Crowns, but the food was every bit as good. The decor is warm and romantic. They do not have a sommelier, but the waiter was helpful. I had the Paglia e Fieno. It was delicious. Would like to try the Linguine Maremonte next time. He had the Chicken Parmesan. After dinner, we had three desserts (one of which is their ice cream pie-- wonderfully obscene!) There is something magical about Rothschild's-- after dinner, Mr Theologian and I exchanged those glances only a couple can make. And I end this review there!

(Next post: the trip back to Fort Wayne.)

Before I begin my last part, I wish to talk about the South Coast Plaza (http://www.southcoastplaza.com/). It touts itself as the only premier "shopping resort" and it even has valet parking. The fine folks at the Hilton Costa Mesa has complementary shuttles to South Coast Plaza and it was wonderful to visit there after years in the Hoosier State. It was fortunate that Nordstrom's has their half-yearly sale. Good clothes at a good price! A side note: I went into this certain store near the Nordstrom's end and it was swanky. I looked at this 990-dollar sweater that yours truly cannot afford and this sales lady came by and said that it is 60 percent off, and it's now "only" 360 dollars. And she and I both giggled at that. Comedy gold.

And now, the third part. We packed away our stuff and made an very early wake-up call, for we wanted to leave at 2:15am for the 6:30 flight to LAX. We hired a SuperShuttle for that. As we are waiting, there was a New Year's party with people going home and then, some families returning from Disneyland. The bellhop told us that the hotel was 60% full and everything was lowkey as this is a business-oriented hotel. After checkout, we waited and see the people going out and in, and then the shuttle arrived and picked us up. The shuttle went around Anaheim picking up more people and then we were in LAX at 5:30am. Luckily the rain is gone, and nothing was flooded that night.

At 6:15, we checked at the Delta Self-Service kiosk, and it asked us it we wanted an earlier flight to ATL instead of CVG. I declined (it's a good thing I did) and the tickets got printed. It turned out that we got the random "SSSS" and I pointed that out to Mr Theologian. After a thorough check, we got into the gate area.

At the gate we waited for the counter to open so I can see if we can get an upgrade. It turned out that there were plenty of F seats available and bought two upgrades at $150 each. Best $300 spent, as it was roomy and the Hubby is a tall chunky fellow with back trouble. He hates flying Coach with a passion and he had never heard of purchasing upgrades before. He is now sold on that.

After the hot towels, we ate breakfast, a cheese omelette with fresh fruit, potatoes, and a cranberry muffin. Very good. Then we relaxed the whole way. Mr 3000 was the inflight movie, though I only watch a little of it. After arriving at CVG earlier, we rested and then went to Concourse C, where the small town airplanes are. Nothing eventful, and it seemed that CVG was getting back to normal.

We arrived in Fort Wayne in less than 30 minutes, and after picking up the suitcases, I found out that the the ATL to FWA flight was cancelled (due to bad weather I presume), so it was a good thing that we stuck to the original plan.

We both had a great time in California and we look forward to coming back for visiting the family and Orange County. But never again during the holidays!