Emily returns from rehab…

The good folks at Garmin decided to replace our faulty GPS unit, and just in the nick of time. I really tested Emily on my trip to LA this week. In fact, as I sat on I-5 (pictured above), Emily’s lilting British voice was welcome company. (Jeff has dubbed her “the new Emily”, quoting from The Devil Wears Prada.)

It was Emily’s job to route me from Bob Hope Airport, to the LA civic center, to the Santa Ana civic center, and finally to John Wayne Airport. Along the way, I ignored her to take short cuts, inserted intermediate food stops, and took several wrong turns. Emily kept with me…patiently “recalculating” at every turn.

The one upside to my “traffic time” was catching a few odd building signs along the way. You can vote for your favorite:

1. First (and my personal favorite) was the permanent sign for a Swap Meet, with a temporary sign underneath announcing a weekend tribute to Ozzy Osbourne. (This reminded me of a classic scene from Spinal Tap…”I’ve told them a hundred times: put ‘Spinal Tap’ first and ‘Puppet Show’ last.”)
2. Then, there was the sign for the “Taco Bell Discovery Science Center”. That’s just frightening…it must be where they invent new combinations of meat + cheese + tortillas.
3. Lastly, a rather sketchy sign for surgical supplies. Its more about the quality of the sign and building…so I actually snapped a shot of the sign (below).