When I arrived at the Avis office, I was given what must have been a triple upgrade — from our usual tuna fish can, sub-sub-economy class reservation — to my choice of a PT Cruiser (okay, maybe only a double upgrade on that) or a brand spankin’ new Ford Mustang. This was not my mother’s 1967, baby blue Mustang. No, this was a powerful machine meant to accelerate at the tap of the gas pedal, climb Carrillo Hill effortlessly, attract car aficionados and hot babes alike. Yes, this was a man’s car – great styling on the outside, great guts and an ergonomic nightmare inside. Maybe women buy the convertible, hoping to look like Lindsey Wagner in those old commercials, but I suspect most who want a sports cart opt for something German or Italian.

Alan drove us to LAX in our All-American, manly, man car.

I’ll not waste time writing about Delta Airlines. Great, cheap price. In this case, we got what we paid for. However, we had the good fortune of sitting next to a gentleman from Guatemala (grew up in Japan, fluent in English, extremely well educated and likely very well off) who, for the past 20 years, has been working to build a city that is economically and environmentally self-sustainable as well as socially just. It won’t be a utopia, but it sounds pretty darn close. The pilot city will be completed in 18 months. I’ll be doing much more research on the project when we get home and will be happy to share details with any of you who may be interested in learning more about City of Light.