I made it to southern California. The flight to LAX was pretty straightforward. I scoped out the Pacific Ocean and then got a bite to eat and ambled around the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica before heading up Santa Monica Boulevard to my hotel in Hollywood. In spite of the hassles of L.A. traffic, I always enjoy driving through Beverly Hills and Hollywood. The latter is certainly still one of the poles of American culture, and the billboards above Sunset Boulevard always indicate what's hot or what's just around the corner in the entertainment world.