I Arrive

I woke up this morning at 4:30 a.m. EST and have been riding trains, planes and rental cars ever since. Just now, I'm finally in my room at the DoubleTree in Ontario, California, where you get a free cookie when you check in, but 1 liter bottles of Evian cost $4.50 each.

So far not much to write home about, besides the sunny weather and lack of humidity. National was out of compact cars, so I got a minivan, with two rows of seats in the back, at the same price. There's plenty of room in the driver's seat, and with all my experience begrudgingly driving gargantuan SUVs, it could easily pass for a midsize sedan in my mind. Nevertheless, I'm thinking of offering my services as a shuttle bus driver for wayward podcasters.

The drive here was a breeze, about an hour all things considered, and 57N takes you right past Angels Stadium and numerous signs for Long Beach and Los Angeles (hear that, Jen?). In Ontario, there's a Blvd. called Inland Empire (my joy at this is further proof of my undying David Lynch geekdom, so much so that I almost pulled over and took a picture of the street sign) and an In-N-Out Burger on North Vineyard Lane, within sight of my hotel.

If my first-ever No. 3 combo with onions counts as an adventure, then I'm ahead of the game already.