L.A. Traffic

Above, here is one L.A. landmark I passed on the way home. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today's task was completed a while ago this morning.

I had to take Sierra down to the vet in Torrance for spaying. Luckily, I used to live in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County and knew the best and quickest route to getting there. They said that I can pick her up anytime tomorrow. I will definitely avoid the morning and afternoon rush hours when I do pick her up.

Getting down there from the San Fernando Valley wasn't too difficult. I got there in less than an hour. However, getting back home was another story. I expected a lot of traffic and that's what I received. It took me a good hour and a half to make the 30-mile trek back. Some of the time was used to cruise around the old neighborhood in Hawthorne. The businesses along Hawthorne Blvd. from Torrance to Lawndale and then Hawthorne were barely recognizable.

Interstate 405 going north was in its usual parking lot conditions, so I took the surface streets from Inglewood. There was a lot of traffic there as well. It was probably the worst in West Los Angeles. I managed to get back on the 405 at about Olympic Blvd. and the traffic began to thin out there. After passing Wilshire Blvd., the freeway opened up to clear sailing (almost) into the Valley.

Thank goodness it wasn't raining this morning!