My departure coincided perfectly with some less than desirable weather arriving in Toronto, making it all the more worthwhile to leave it behind.

Toronto Pearson, my gateway to the larger world.

Be careful, the moving walkway doesn't go on forever! I wonder who sued.

Treated myself to some obligatory overpriced airport food before I left. Chili flakes on pizza is a true pedestrian meal.

Although I'm no stranger to air travel, it still strikes me as remarkable that the process is as simple as walking into one airport and out another.

I never get tired of these views.

There might be some hiccups along the way, but it still feels magical to gaze out of a window 10 kilometres in the air, at 800 kilometres per hour. In a 90 ton metal tube no less.

I'm a sucker for window seats so everyone else in my row more often than not will have to put up with me spilling blinding sunlight in as I stare at clouds. Sorry. But not really.

Coming into Los Angeles the city looked oddly like microchip circuit boards of all things. I wonder if it's unique to LA. I don't recall Toronto looking like this at night.

I found out afterwards that it had just undergone a recent and massive makeover, but LAX Terminal 2 is a little grimier than what I am used to (HKG and YYZ have obviously spoiled me). You won't find 3-story glass expanses here, although there are still some sights to admire.

These "light poles" fit so well in the 60's Space Age aesthetic I thought they had been around for a lot longer. I was in for quite a shock when I found out they were only installed in 2015. Could've fooled me.

My jaw hit the floor when I saw this, I was completely unprepared to see it on my way just out of the terminal. Absolutely unreal to look at.

Although it's not as bad as a 14 hour cross Pacific flight, my short ride to LA left me plenty exhausted for the night. Sleeping in a comfortable bed was much welcome when I finally got to it. Good night.