Vancouver to LA Jan 5, 2011

We left Vancouver around 7 pm, a little behind schedule but still arrived in Los Angeles at the designated time. For so many miles it was dark and cloud covered below us but once we crossed to California the skies cleared and we could see lighted coastline as we flew to L.A..
We had 2 hours to get to our new connection. Soon we were aboard and on the second leg of the marathon.It seemed again, after leaving California, that we couldn't see much beneath us. After a snack and a drink (we declined the meal we could purchase for $6.) I looked out the window and there below us were tiny villages dotting the blackened countryside. What a sight. Some places only had 2 or 3 lights, others had several dozen in a crosshatch pattern. It was like looking at a new and somewhat designed constellation. The farther south we travelled the larger the villages became, still like a large mass of stars, but beneath us. Then, to the south, a golden orb. It was not the sun, it was the lights of Mexico City. Mexico City sit in a sunken hole, surrounded by conical and coastal range mountsin. The light shone brighter and brighter and it was at least 15 minutes later before we landed - on the eastern side of the city.
We're still cold and tired...