The Road to China...

...leads to China. And it's not a road, but a 15-hour flight. American Airlines was super - it's a shame they're losing 7000 employees. LAX is a mess - first, you can't get to the Tom Bradley terminal (International Flights) without exiting security; second, you have to walk around outside. The Tom Bradly terminal is dreadful - under construction, yes, but the rest of the place is a dump. Shameful - the NOT-under-construction parts have missing ceiling tiles, leak stains, scabrous wall paint, and it's dark and (apparently) not air-conditioned.

Southern China Airlines are inexpensive but efficient. At LAX, you have to board a BUS to take you out to a remote terminal to board, but the plane was that marvel of American manufacturing - the Boeing 777.

The Victory hotel is nice. Even though it's quite old, it's all recently refurbished and clean. Flying that long apparently lowers a person's IQ about 40%, so it was difficult to understand 150 a night for an extra bed was 150 Yuan, not 150 dollars - not the desk agent's fault.

Dinner tonight with a couple of other families at Lucy's and on to a 2:00 appointment tomorrow to get Lauren.