2004-02-07-1335Z


Yesterday evening (or really "earlier today" Zulu time) I went to the outskirts of Chinatown, just a few blocks from Union Station, and found a Chinese seafood restaurant called Mayflower near the corner of Spring and Ord. They had a "Pan Fried Fish" special for - you won't believe it - $2.99. I figured for that price I'd get something a little larger than a sardine, but no; it practically filled the large plate. So it wasn't so tasty, it was one of those flat fish like flounder or sole (I never can remember which is which), not snapper like you usually get in Miami or Cartagena, Colombia - but it was a decent meal for a grand total of $4.25 including a dollar tip. Now to find out if they will seat me next time - the waiter, an Asian man apparently in his 30's, didn't seem so thrilled to see this bearded gnome with his weird-looking baggage the first time, and less so when I ordered the fish.

Haven't been lucky finding edible foods yet though - I might try some Aloe that grows on Aviation Boulevard close to the airport entrance, but it may or may not be palatable. Nopal has been nowhere to be found, so far. Overall, I'm not thrilled with LA; haven't found a real beach yet (though I prowled the "Long Beach" area), nor a 24-hour coffee shop outside of the airport. Not even a single Starbucks yet that had power outlets available for laptop users. Amtrak tells me I can get to Deming, NM for $76 if I buy my ticket at the right time on certain days, but can't tell me what those times and days are. Last night it would have been $119, which would have just about drained my available funds. I went back to the airport, and the free access in the Delta Song baggage area in terminal 5 was working again, and put another gold coin up for sale on eBay.

Oh, and haven't found any coconut palms yet either. Some palms I saw downtown yesterday did look like date palms though. Way too tall to even attempt climbing, and they were outside a bank or something. I opened a mussel growing near the low-tide level in Long Beach yesterday and it stank somewhat, so maybe those aren't safe to eat. Definitely not something I'd relish in any case.

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