I am writing this from the airport, waiting to board my connecting flight home from Los Angeles (LAX). In my last blog I mentioned the team was headed to L.A. for the 16th annual GT Tested Reader Survey awards and that this trip included a lot of firsts for me.

My first time in L.A. was fun. I stayed at The Peninsula Beverly Hills and loved every minute. I wish I was there a little longer so I could go sightseeing, but I did get to go to Rodeo Drive, which was cool.

I really enjoyed my first trip as part of the team. The event was fun. We had a good turnout and it seemed like all the guests enjoyed themselves. One of the main highlights was the fire dancer. He did an awesome job, even if I was nervous the whole time he was up there.

As for it being my first flight with a layover, it was a little stressful, but overall it went pretty well. On the way there, Fran, Bill, Dick and I had about 25 minutes to get across Detroit’s airport to catch our connection. Luckily we made it with about five minutes to spare. My trip home, I was supposed to have 90 minutes between flights but ended up with about four hours. My layover in Minneapolis was supposed to take off at 8:26 p.m. but didn’t end up taking off until 10:30 p.m. There were issues with the plane, and we had to wait for a new crew to come.

Overall, my first trip as part of the team and my first time in L.A. went well. Can’t wait to go back and explore one day!

— Mary Melnick, social media and editorial coordinator