ah yeah

I will be "hitting up So Cal" along with my two brothers. We are driving from Austin, TX. We have always wanted to drive through the desert, and we cannot wait to witness The Dead on May the 9th. I had to reschedule a final exam; luckily my prof understood my predicament! We will be driving Austin to Tuscon/Phoenix (depends on how tired we are) on the 8th, waking up at the crack and finishing it to LA on the 9th. Hope to see some friendly folks at the show......

I am heading to LA immediately after the Denver show - forgive me If I already mentioned this in another thread. Pray for me to have a safe drive - I'm not much for driving all night... I will be staying with family in Cypress - hoping to get to the forum on Sat around 4 or 5 if traffic is good. Have a safe trip everyone!

Shine On!

We're gonna pitch a ball
Down to the union hall
We're gonna romp and stomp till midnight
We're gonna fuss and fight till daylight

We're gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long

Shine On!
Saint Stephen

Just got my tickets from GDTS. Shout out to Ruby and friends. Asked for an aisle seat and got them. Great seats too. Staying in Marina Del Rey, walking distance to Venice Beach. Been dealing w/ GD mail order for 25 years, never been disappointed. See ya'll in LA. kev in Tucson.

I got my tickets in the mailbox today, too. Now I don't have to sweat about THAT aspect of the show!

I am looking forward to being inside the parking lot gates, because I'm NOT looking forward to being on the streets of Inglewood. Glad that arrival time will be during daylight, and I expect to walk with groups of people to get back to the car after the show.

Good advice:

1. If you stop for a meal on the way to or from the show, do it somewhere that you feel safe, and leave yourself LOTS of time to get to the show from the restaurant.

2. Avoid being alone or in pairs in the parking lot for any reason--groups of half a dozen or more are a very good idea.

3. Don't leave anything of value in sight in your car (put anything valuable into your trunk or glove box BEFORE you arrive).

4. Try to park as close to a light pole as you can.

5. Figure out where to meet up with friends for post-show gatherings BEFORE you arrive, so that you can see what the place looks like in the light and so that you can find it again when it's dark outside.

6. Have a good map with you and study it to figure out the names of the major streets that lead to freeways. It's a REALLY bad idea to stop in Inglewood at night to ask directions.

7. Keep your car windows rolled up and your doors locked while driving.

8. If you own more than one car and one of the cars you own is on the "most frequently stolen" list, drive the other one to the show. This doesn't mean that your Camry won't be there when the show lets out, it just means that you are well advised to reduce your exposure to problems.

9. Have plenty of gasoline in your tank so that you don't have to stop for gas until you're in a much better neighborhood.

10. Be very aware of your surroundings and of the people in the parking lot. Park where you are near a parking lot attendant if the lot is mostly empty, and make lots of new friends among the Deadheads who are waiting for the doors to open. There is safety in numbers.

11. If your car is temperamental or unreliable, catch a ride with another Deadhead or rent a car for the evening. Better to pay another $50 - 75 for a rental than to be stuck in Inglewood at 12:30 a. m. on a Sunday, when there are no repair shops open...

12. Don't take any recreationals that will impair your judgment after the show.

13. Traffic on the freeways will probably be busy; traffic on the streets outside the Forum will be a nightmare during the hour before showtime. Budget extra time.

14. Don't drink too much liquid in the parking lot--there are probably NOT any port-a-pots available to relieve your bladder, and sneaking off by yourself to whizz behind the building or a tree is a bad idea for many different reasons.

15. Don't trust ticket scalpers at the site--the odds are too good that the tickets they're holding are counterfeits and duplicates (ESPECIALLY the tickets that are generated by the purchaser by using their home computer's printer). Assuming that the bar code readers are working, a duplicate or counterfeit ticket will probably not get you in the door, despite the fact that you paid $250 for each bogus seat.