here was a lot to be done in this day, a lot to experience. Megan and I were at the same time anxious, excited and exhausted. But we carried on. We ate breakfast, packed our bags and checked out of the hotel. We were on the road by 6:45am.
The drive to the Staples Center was a bit nerve racking. Los Angeles freeways are unpredictable on a good day, today there was no way for us to know how Michael's memorial service would affect traffic headed towards the Staples Center. Exits were reported to have closed and the news was warning people to stay away unless you possessed a ticket and wrist band. I was just hoping that I could navigate the chaos.
A long line of traffic greeted us as we approached the road blocks that surrounded the Staples Center. As we finally passed through, displaying our wristbands and tickets, I thought we were home free. Sadly, we were due for more confusion and anxiety. While the traffic control and crowd control in Los Angeles had been superb, there had been one glaring oversight, there was nowhere to park. There was nowhere to park and there was, seemingly, no body that knew what to do about it. Emptied parking lots in surrounding businesses were selling spots for $30. Traffic control personnel spoke of a shuttle that was taking people, but couldn't give clear directions. My frustration grew. After all that we had been through to get to this point, I was desperately afraid that we would be defeated by the city of Los Angeles and it's lack of available parking.
But, as is the moral of this story...better forces prevailed. Not only did we find parking, we found affordable parking. As I drove in circles around the Staples Center, losing my sense of direction and distance, we happened across a low cost parking structure just about a mile away from our destination. Our good fortune had continued...we were parked in relative safety and on our way.
Where is the rest of your adventure?
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