Every time I land at LAX there is something of nostalgia that comes over me. I love looking out the window of the airplane tracing the approach to LAX because there is so much of my personal history on the ground: San Dimas, where I once taught English to college freshmen; Paramount, CA; the "L.A. River" (now just a storm drainage) the Harbor Freeway (they built that when I was a just a kid); the L.A. Harbor (where I grew up); Hermosa Beach (where I had my first car accident as a 16 year old brand new driver); and, finally crossing over Sepulveda Boulevard and touchdown at LAX.

The LAX passenger terminal area is arranged in a kind of "U" shape with terminal buildings forming the outline of the "U" and short-term parking structures for each terminal in the middle. There are nine terminal buildings, including the Tom Bradley International Terminal located in the very bottom of the "U". I am most familiar with terminal 2 (KLM/Northwest), terminal 1 (Southwest Airlines), the Bradley terminal, and terminal 5 (Delta and Air France). If you are departing from LAX be sure to allow plenty of time to find your terminal, and clear security. LAX on the outside is like life in the fast lane of the freeway: Don't hesitate or make a mistake, there'll be police everywhere to hurry you along. Once inside the terminal building things can slow up considerably. This is especially true of clearing security at LAX.

Ground Transportation

There are two shuttle van services which operate from LAX: Super Shuttle and Prime Time Shuttle. You can usually find the touts for either Super Shuttle or Prime Time on the traffic island outside of baggage claim under the orange "Shared Ride Vans" sign. They will find out where you want to go, and call for a van to come and pick you up. The wait for a van can be as long as 15 to 20 minutes. There is very little difference in price between the two services (I usually pay US$15 to downtown L.A.). Taxis, hotel shuttles, and Metro busses are all operating from LAX as well. Taxis are so expensive you'll need a second mortgage on the home place to be able to afford the taxi fare.

Customs and Immigration

Baggage trolleys in the international areas can be used without charge. A nice touch since most visitors coming into the USA from outside don't usually have the pocket full of quarters required for renting the trolleys. International visitors will be shocked to discover that baggage trolleys cost U$3.00 to use if picked up outside the terminal.

Each terminal building has its own complement of restaurants, news stands, and duty free shops. The Tom Bradley terminal has a very spacious mezzanine floor over looking the ticket counter area with several fast-food outlets and at least one very nice restaurant. In most terminals both domestic and international flights are serviced. So, entry into the duty free shops does require you to show a boarding pass for an international flight.

There is usually plenty of short term parking for "meeters and greeters" in the parking structures. The longer term parking lots (lots "B" and "C") are a distance away and can be accessed by shuttle bus. There is a "cell phone" lot on Airport Blvd where your ride can wait away from the confusion of LAX for you to "beep" them by cell phone when you arrive.