Give Me A Ticket For An Aeroplane

Booked my vacation time and bought my ticket yesterday. I'm going to Los Angeles during the last week of this month to visit my sister Anne.

This will be my third LA trip. Anne's been living there for almost 30 years; got recruited straight out of nursing school. My first visit was in the Spring of 1977, when I was 13. Stepping off the plane, the air had felt so different. Such a different climate. Every second song on the radio down there was from an album I hadn't heard of yet: Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours". I hear it went on to do fairly well. The rest of the radio dial seemed to be owned by the Eagles, Joe Walsh, Walter Egan's "Magnet & Steel" (a duet with Stevie Nicks), Warren Zevon's "Werewolves Of London" and other So Cal rock fare of the era.

I went down with my brother Grant, who was just 16, and had only had his driver's license for a few months. But my sister gave us her little Toyota on days when she was working, and Grant and I took off by ourselves for the day to see things like Universal Studios and various theme parks. Now when we talk about that, Anne says, "What was I thinking?" Zooming around the freeways in the LA sunshine with Zevon's "Werewolves" cranked on the radio, Grant and I, 16 and 13, howling along, heads tilted backó"Ow-ooooooo!!"

It was THE time for Southern California rockógreat radio, and an amazing place to two adolescent boys from the Maritimes. It seemed like every second car was a Porche or a Mercedes. And the girls. Oh, California Girls. This was at a time when Farrah Fawcett was the era's pin-up girl. That feathered, í70s Farrah hair was everywhere. Endless summer, indeed.

The second visit was two years ago, when I came down with a case of food poisoning a few days before I was to leave. That grounded me for about the first 4 days of my holiday, but I managed to salvage four days of a visit. It was a quick one, but it felt like it was longer, and it was a nice time. Had done all the Disneyland/Seaworld-type stuff on the previous visit, but we hung out at Venice Beach one afternoon, took a drive up through Malibu to Santa Monica another day and did the Beverly Hills/Bel Air tour of stars homes on another.

This time, even though I'll probably see a few sites, I think I'm just gonna take it as a chance to recharge. I'm happy to get a break and a chance to chill. Been feeling very stressed and burnt out for quite a while now. My sister lives just one narrow block from the strand in Hermosa Beach, so she's practically on the beach and the ocean. May not be warm enough for beach lounging, but it's always nice to get reacquainted with the ocean and the sand. I love the piers in So Cal too.

And I'm happy to be visiting my sis. Her partner of 20-some years, Alex, passed away a little over a year ago, and she's been living alone in the place they had shared, dealing with ghosts and memories. I know she welcomes the company, and having some family around for Thanksgiving is a good thing too.

So, nine days from now, California dreamin' will be becoming a reality...