LA trip: delayed start, amazing concert!

We are in LA and had the most amazing experience with the Blackpink concert! Yet, my last post anxiety about this trip kind of fulfilled? Because we missed our flight on that day, or to be precise, we were denied to fly because I had laptop in my checked bag (apparently, electronics are totally banned in checked bags). By the time we went to the gate, it was too late to retrieve it as we were at the lounge waiting and didn’t hear the call of my name. We were disappointed and uncertain whether I had to buy a new ticket for us, as it could be said it was my fault for not declaring it. Fortunately after 3 hours of wait at the airport, we were rebooked to fly out the next day. The next day, the trip was smooth and we arrived LAX, laying over in Miami, at 10:30pm. Then we took the wrong shuttle to the car rental, had to take an uber to go to the right one, wait a long time to get the car, almost not getting it as it seems that some rental companies require you to pay with credit card issued by the country that issued the license. Mine is Indonesian and I had no Indonesia credit card. After some consultation with management, we got the car, a very big one. The drive from airport to our hotel was 10 min, at midnight with empty street. Well… I managed to get us to the hotel. We were all very tired by then so crashed to bed immediately, at 1:30am.

The next day we all woke up 6:30am, with some sleep, we were in good mood to start officially our trip. We had breakfast at the hotel and went out to do shopping: target, gap, and Trader Joe’s. We all had a list things to get and super happy to make it happen. We went back to the hotel for a much needed nap before heading out to the concert.

We arrived 2.5 hrs before the start so we had plenty of time to walk around the stadium and enjoy the anticipation of something special that was about to happen.

8:20pm, the group finally appeared. The stadium that was only half full by 7:30pm, was full by then. The enthusiasm and happiness was in the air. Everyone was excited and ready to enjoy a good show. The groups delivered, performance was great, with all the dancing and fireworks. I was holding Lizzy and we kept dancing on our seat, moving with the rhythm, and finally on our foot to dance/jump at the last song, jump. Sofia, on the other hand, was quiet on her seat, attentive to everything, smiling inside. I saw myself in her and wanted to tell her: relax, loosen up, it’s okay to show to the world how you feel. Well.. it took me 3 decades to finally do it, so I let her be.

Satisfied with the experience, we got back to hotel in 20 min, better than I thought. Girls crashed to bed immediately. The excitement kept me for a while and I finally went to bed 12:30am.

We woke up again 6am. We took this day super chill. I went to the gym. Still no running for me as my knee feels weird and I don’t want to risk it. We checked out 10am, first went to Santa Barbara pier, very old fashion amusement park and pier.

Then we went to rodeo drive near Beverly Hills. Very fancy place, full of luxury cars, well dressed locals and curious tourists. Girls enjoyed special drinks at Starbucks

We took many pics before we went to get lunch. Girls finally tried the chipotle burrito, one big one for the two of them. They loved it and asked if we could have it everyday

Then we checked in at our hotel in north Hollywood, driving through the hills gave me some nervous moments. We visited Trader Joe’s again before ending our day.

For the next two days, we will be in this area, exploring the Hollywood, chill, do more shopping, before moving to Disneyland area.