Going To LA - 4/14/12

Saturday - 4/14/12

My friend Alex sent a message out a few days ago inviting everyone who wanted to come to a Russian orthodox Easter celebration. He's invited me for several years. I've never been able to go for one reason or another. This year, the timing works. I can go! I've got to step out of my comfort zone and travel up to LA in the evening though. I'll leave for there around 7:30pm, get there around 9:30pm (hopefully), spend the night and travel back tomorrow.

I'm spending a lot of time trying to figure out what to wear and what to bring and how to pack it. I'm limited to what will fit in the backpack. Everything has to fit in the backpack both tonight and tomorrow when I'm coming home. It's going to be cold tonight. I need to be warm both for the trip to his place and for the Easter celebration, which he says will be mostly outside. We aren't going to it until 11pm. I expect it to be late, and very cold. For the celebration I need to wear a skirt that goes below my knees, a long sleeved top and a scarf over my head. I want to wear layers of clothing too, to protect against the cold. After trying on several combinations I decide to wear a fitted pair of pants with silk long johns under for the trip up. I don't want to wear a skirt up. So, I'm packing a long, full black skirt that I can pull up over the pants when I get there. For my top I've picked a heavy cotton ribbed sweater with a heavy long John silk top under that and a lightweight silk turtleneck under that. I want to wear my new tennis shoes. They'll be good for the transit. I'm not sure they'll work for later in the evening though. I have a book called "the perfect stranger". It gives you an overview of different religious ceremonies and what's appropriate. I looked up the orthodox Easter celebration. It specifically said no tennis shoes. I'm trying packing a pair of moccasin boots. They aren't fitting into the backpack. I already have water for the trip and hot tea (in case I get cold on the trip), a full sized sheet (alex said to bring my own sheets and I figure one full sized sheet will work for a couch. I'm going to have to give up on wearing my tennis shoes and find some shoes I can wear for everything. I've picked a pair of black boots. They are going to have to do. It's finally time to leave! I think I have everything. I re-check that I have the directions and money for the red line.

I almost sat down at the wrong stop! I'm so used to going south from here that I didn't even think about it. I just headed for that stop. Thankfully I realized it right before I sat down and moved to the other side of the street. I've wanted to ride the 460 up into la. It's nice to be doing that. The sad part is that it's dark out and I can't see what there is along the route. The bus is pulling up to the Norwalk train station. This isn't where I'm supposed to get off, even though the directions have me taking the red line later. As we pull up to the stop the bus driver is asking us to get a zone ticket out so he can check them. I've never heard of a Zone ticket! I think my octa pass should cover it, but I'm not sure. I ask the bus driver. He says I need to pay $1.40 for the next segment. I'm wondering if it would be better to get on the train here, since I have to pay anyway. I try asking him. He must have misunderstood my question. He tells me he does stop at 7th and flower, which is were google maps has me getting off next. I decide it's better to go with the course I have printed directions for. I handed him the money when he came back from checking everyone's passes. Apparently I wasn't supposed to do that. I was supposed to follow him to the machine and put it into the buses toll machine. I'll figure this all out sometime!

Well, that's why google maps had me take this bus rather than the train! We're on the highway, headed up to La. We easily passed a train going the same direction. That wasn't even the train I would have been on! I would have been on a later one!