My flight from Korea to the US had a free stopover in Dallas, and since I was using American Airlines again I had another free stopover along the way to Australia. It had to be within the US and make sense with my route. So if I had a layover in Los Angeles, for example, I could extend it for a longer time without any extra charge. But I couldn't just pick a random city to fly to first - say Maimi - unfortunately it doesn't work like that.
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The American Airlines rewards program has been great:
I used AA miles to book my flight back to the States
from Seoul and to Australia as well. |
There were several different flight combinations out of Columbus, and since I would likely need at least two layovers, I had flexibility with my free stopover. One of my options happened to be Los Angeles, where my cousin and her husband live. It seemed like a great opportunity to visit them along the way. The only problem was the award space availability; the first chance to book it was in late January when another guest (her husband's cousin) had planned a visit.
Another option for the layover was Hawaii. Hard to believe that I could stop in Honolulu for a few days (or longer if I wanted) before continuing on to Australia for the same number of award miles. A friend who I met while teaching in Korea is now in law school at the University of Hawaii, so I'd also have a place to stay. In the end I worked it out to go both places: I booked my Australian flight with a stopover in Hawaii, and I also booked a separate round trip to L.A. in mid January.
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Instead of stopping in LA on my way to Australia I booked a
round trip back to Columbus with British Airways miles (called
Avios). Since they are part of an airline alliance with
American, I was able to book an American flight with Avios. |
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Avios rewards are distance-based. They are most valuable for short domestic flights, which have low fees. My
flight to LA cost 10k Avios each way plus $2.50 (Columbus to LA clocks in at just under 2000 miles). The Avios
are also great for intra-Australia flights; Sydney to Melbourne costs only 4500 miles plus $2.50 for a one way! |
My cousin Leslie is a resident at USC (University of Southern California) and her husband works from a home office. Leslie may not work as much this year as she did during her first two as a resident, but she still has crazy hours by my standards. If she frequently has 12-plus hour days, I can't imagine what it was like when she first started! Over the Martin Luther King holiday she had three days in a row off, a rarity for her, and she encouraged me to visit. Her husband David's work is more flexible and he also could make time for me during the long weekend.
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With Leslie (L) and my sister a few years back celebrating
her med school graduation in Boston |
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| Leslie and her husband David |
I had visited them once before, back in 2011 when I was getting ready to set off for Korea. Overall a good visit, but I managed to knock off the side mirror and put a dent in Leslie's rental car, which, at $900, dented my wallet as well! Since my last visit they had moved from West Hollywood to Marina Del Rey. Their apartment is only a 10 minute walk from the beach, which meant I wouldn't need to drive, a fact Leslie was quick to point out. My first 'accident', in a parking garage with a concrete pole, mind you, had to be with a rental car (well I have nicked our family's old GMC Safari van, but nothing serious)!
I flew out to L.A. on Thursday evening and stayed until Tuesday morning. Back home the weather was predictably cold, but Southern California was going through a prolonged heat wave. January highs are normally in the 60s, but while I was there several days reached the low 80s. Throw in low humidity, mostly sunny skies, and an ocean breeze - not bad!
Even if you don't know L.A. you probably have heard of Venice Beach. You can find lots of colorful characters along the oceanfront boardwalk: street performers, artists, vendors, fortune-tellers, hippies, bums, and many more (plus tourists of course). Spots to check out include Muscle Beach, where meatheads like to show off their physique; basketball street courts, where even professionals occasionally play; a skate-park with lots of stereotypical California kids sporting their boards and bikes; paddle-tennis courts; and of course, the sand itself. The water is surprisingly cold though - much colder than the water back east during summer. So bring a wet suit if you want to swim or surf!
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| The boardwalk along Venice Beach |
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| You'll meet some interesting characters on Venice Beach |
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| Paddle tennis is surprisingly fun to watch. |
On Saturday night I went to a house party with David and Leslie; nothing crazy but a lot of fun. The next day Leslie was hungover but still managed to push the pace on our run. Back in college she ran cross country and track for Harvard, and she's completed the Boston marathon. In school she partied on Friday night and would get up early Saturday morning for 10+ mile runs! Sounds crazy to me. She may not be running as much with her busy schedule these days, but she sure is no slouch.
On Monday Leslie drove me to K-Town, an area of L.A. traditionally predominated by Korean Americans. There are many Mexican immigrants moving into the area, but signs of Korea are still common. We hit up a Korean mall and had a traditional beef soup for lunch. It probably wasn't her favorite, but surprisingly Leslie liked the kimchi; she hadn't liked it the first time she tried it, which seems to be typical for Westerners.
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| The mall Leslie and I went to in Korea Town |
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| I wasn't a big fan of kimchi when I first tried it either, but it really grew on me. |
We spent the rest of MLK day on the beach playing volleyball, relaxing in the hot tub at their apartment complex, and watching Captain Philips at home (it has good reviews, but honestly, in my non-expert opinion, the movie could have been half as long and still conveyed all the relevant details). The following morning I flew back to Columbus; back to the cold weather and without a beach in sight, but not for long!
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