I walked up to the transit center at the Galleria shopping center at Hawthorne and Artesia in Torrance (or Redondo Beach?). I planned to take the LA #310 to Wilshire but found that it only ran at rush hours and I'd just missed the last one. Instead I took the #210 which was a little slower. It went directly north through old neighborhoods, many of which had seen better days but were still in better shape than those to the east.

I was in such a hurry to get going that I still had a couple hours before LACMA opened. I took the #320 bus to Santa Monica. It goes through some really classy neighborhoods, though I like the older ones better. Some of the newer ones lack a real sense of imagination. It is a fun ride. We passed so many of the places that I've seen on movies and television and places that I've read about.

Santa Monica is a pretty town. It's also well regulated from what I've seen and heard. I like neat, clean towns but sometimes wonder if they take any challenge away from people. Still we need both challenging things and comfortable places.

I should have gotten to LACMA before it opened as the line for tickets was already very long. They have a special exhibit of things from Pompeii and people were lined up to see it. It took me an hour to get in but it was worth it. It's interesting to see how many things they had that were quite advanced. There were beautiful frescos and jewelry as well as interesting machines. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I then spent several hours going through the rest of LACMA though I could hardly do it justice in one day. By this time my feet were sore and I was about to overdose on art.

It was just after 5:00 when I left to catch the bus home. The bus was packed and there was standing room only, but I "moved to the back" as the driver kept telling us. A lady got up to leave right next to me, and I got her seat, so I felt that virtue had paid off. I get upset at people who stand right at the front and get in the way of people trying to get off and get on.

The entire bus emptied out at Western and we all got on the Red Line. Before we hit downtown our tickets were checked and the guy behind me was busted. This is the first time I'd been checked and I was wondering how they kept people from cheating as there are no turnstiles, etc., to go through. We were checked again on the Green Line so evidently they were doing a full sweep tonight.

Mike and Lauri met me at the Redondo/Marine station and we went to dinner with some friends of theirs. It was a good day.