I flew to LA via Fiji, where I'm visiting Cailene, from my Sydney friend group. I had my backpack wrapped in plastic, otherwise it would get caught and lost. I picked a window seat on the plane from Auckland to Nadi, thinking it was in front of the wing, but it turned out not to be. It was a long, two-part flight, with a layover in Fiji, a total of 18 hours on the road.
Cailene picked me up at the airport. They live in Pasadena, in northern LA, near the mountains.
A few pictures of American flags (also in stores), pepper spray, Cailene's dogs, food, and Erewhon, an expensive influencer supermarket.
And we saw this gray squirrel.
The next day, we went to the movies, Marty Supreme, and then to Costco, a huge store. We had a delicious hot dog there.
Meanwhile in Australia there is a heat wave. Gazebos/cabanas (party tents) are usually a no-go at Bondi Beach; they consider them unsociable. Today, however, it is. In Sydney, it's 30°C today, 43°C tomorrow. hottest city in the worldIn some places in Australia, the asphalt is melting, with road surfaces exceeding 75°C. A state of emergency has been declared in the state of Victoria; there are numerous bushfires with strong winds. Smoke from the bushfires can be seen in New Zealand.
Meanwhile, a tropical cyclone is making landfall in North Queensland, bringing 100-200mm of rain per day (70mm falls per month in the Netherlands). Glad I'm in LA!