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About Travel Expert Angel Castellanos

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Brenda McGuire

Great job speaking in Des Moines at Landmark Luggage! Loved all of your helpful tips!!!! Looking forward to seeing you there again soon!

Great meeting you Brenda! Thanks for the positive feedback.

Fantastic presentation today at Rooten’s Luggage in Orange Co. CA today. You’ve changed the way I will pack in the future for the good. Really appreciate the tips and ways to make travel easier and more fun.

Thank you very much! I’ll be back there May 21. Tell your traveling friends.

Thanks for the kind words Carl. Happy Travels.

I really enjoyed meeting you yesterday at Savinar luggage. I learned so much. I am the one who spoke to you about the pick pocket pants and you said you know the owner. We will be ordering more of them for our next trip, for me it eliminates a purse! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us. Great learning experience. I am going to follow you on Facebook.

Great meeting you Jo! Happy travels to you

Pam Robinson

Hi Angel, you gave a fun and informative talk at the Bergman Luggage manager’s meeting. I have been in the travel industry for decades and still learned a lot ! Pam

Thank you Pam. My pleasure to be there. Thanks for having me.

Thank you for your kind words Pam. It was my pleasure

Thank you Pam!

Just got back from a trip to France. 8 hotels in 14 days. Your travel pointers really helped even as experienced travelers. I’m a believer now in packing cubes and we loved the CityMapper app you suggested. I wondered if you could suggest a travel clothesline for laundry in the room. We had problems with this. Thanks!

Great to hear thank you! Use a laundry line that firmly attaches to 2 points. Stay away from suction cups

Friends and I are bugging Savinar Luggage to have you back your tips are great and I always learn something new Cheers and Ciao

Hey Angel, thanks so much for more travel ideas – I’ve used packing cubes but the travel folder is new to me. Great job!

Thank you so much!

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Angel's Travels on Instagram: @angels_travels

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News | 300 transit ambassadors become new sets of eyes…

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News | 300 transit ambassadors become new sets of eyes and ears for LA Metro

Ambassadors are a softer, gentler approach to reporting crime, homelessness and dirty conditions on buses, trains, platforms.

With violent crime on LA Metro’s transit system up 24% in 2022, and riders dying from drug overdoses also skyrocketing, the massive transit agency on Monday, March 6 deployed 300 “transit ambassadors” as part of a softer, gentler approach to boost public safety on buses and trains and at stations.

Wearing green polo shirts with the words: “Support. Connect. Report” stamped in capital letters, these young men and women are part travel guide, part transit host, who report crime and drug use to law enforcement, connect the unhoused to Metro’s homeless crisis teams and alert the custodial staff about messes and litter.

LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell introduces the new Transit Ambassador program at Union Station Monday, March 6, 2023. 300 new Metro Transit Ambassadors will serve as greeters and be eyes and ears for problems and trouble on trains and buses for Metro is now in service across the metro platforms. Metro hopes the new ambassador program will increase rider safety and comfort. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

The new LA Metro Transit Ambassadors are introduced at Union Station Monday, March 6, 2023. 300 new Metro Transit Ambassadors will serve as greeters and be eyes and ears for problems and trouble on trains and buses for Metro is now in service across the metro platforms. Metro hopes the new ambassador program will increase rider safety and comfort. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Ara Najarian, Chairman of the LA Metro Board, introduces the new Transit Ambassador program at Union Station Monday, March 6, 2023. 300 new Metro Transit Ambassadors will serve as greeters and be eyes and ears for problems and trouble on trains and buses for Metro is now in service across the metro platforms. Metro hopes the new ambassador program will increase rider safety and comfort. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Stephanie Wiggins, CEO of LA Metro, introduces the new Transit Ambassador program at Union Station Monday, March 6, 2023. 300 new Metro Transit Ambassadors will serve as greeters and be eyes and ears for problems and trouble on trains and buses for Metro is now in service across the metro platforms. Metro hopes the new ambassador program will increase rider safety and comfort. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Metro Ambassadors on the L line metro train Monday, March 6, 2023. 300 new Metro Transit Ambassadors will serve as greeters and be eyes and ears for problems and trouble on trains and buses for Metro is now in service across the metro platforms. Metro hopes the new ambassador program will increase rider safety and comfort. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Metro Ambassador Jennifer Sory rides with passengers on the L line metro train Monday, March 6, 2023. 300 new Metro Transit Ambassadors will serve as greeters and be eyes and ears for problems and trouble on trains and buses for Metro is now in service across the metro platforms. Metro hopes the new ambassador program will increase rider safety and comfort. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

They are armed only with iPads and cell phones, no firearms or weapons. Beside reporting crime and grime, they help riders find the nearest bus or train and show them how to pay their fares via Metro’s TAP card system.

One ambassador on Monday was asked why the Little Tokyo/Arts District L (Gold) Line station is still closed and riders must instead take a bus to continue to East Los Angeles or north to Union Station. The Little Tokyo rail station has been closed for almost three years to make room for the new Regional Connector rail, which has been plagued by delays due to testing irregularities.

The ambassador concept, made popular by San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), is also a move by the Metro board away from use of law enforcement to bust riders who don’t pay their fares or commit other infractions. The board found that a disproportionate number of Black and Latino riders were being cited.

“We can improve public safety without the unnecessary risk of over-policing,” said Second District Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro Board member Holly Mitchell in remarks to the ambassadors and VIPs at the  kickoff in Union Station’s ticket hall.

CEO Stephanie Wiggins mentioned the overwhelming outcry from riders. About 89% of survey respondents said they wanted more Metro staff on board buses and trains. Ridership by women has dropped recently, while male ridership increased.

“We know that an increased presence can help women feel more safe,” Wiggins said. And 85% said Metro should put more staff on trains, platforms and buses to address the growing number of unhoused people loitering or using the trains as mobile shelters and places to sleep.

“If they (customers) know someone is empowered to report things, that may be a deterrent in itself,” Wiggins said in an interview Monday.

But as customer surveys show, you don’t have to be a trained transit ambassador to report a crime. Riders can anonymously report any suspicious activity using LA Metro’s Transit Watch app.

Julia Coursey, who was riding the L (Gold) Line Monday said she has witnessed riders doing drugs. “One person said to the other one: ‘This is a weird thing to do when we are on ‘shrooms,’” she recounted while her southbound train approached Lake Avenue station, located in the middle of the 210 Freeway in Pasadena.

“I once saw two guys doing crack, smoking crack, in the elevator here,” she said, pointing to the station’s elevator. “But they didn’t seem aggressive.”

Wiggins said the ambassadors are part of a multi-layered, public safety approach that includes LAPD officers , Long Beach PD officers, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies, Transit Security Officers (TSOs) and the agency’s homeless outreach teams. The ambassadors can be smiling faces and also 300 pairs of eyes and ears to report wrongdoing on seven rail lines, 2,200 buses and 100 micro-transit vans that together account for 800,000 boardings a day.

“To be clear, ambassadors are not security officers. They are not replacing existing security staff or law enforcement,” said Glendale Mayor and LA Metro Board Chair Ara Najarian. “Their role is more nuanced; more customer-centric.”

Most ambassadors come with experience to handle a broad array of issues that play out on Metro’s public transit system. Two ambassadors took turns performing CPR on someone who was riding on the D (Purple) Line, Mitchell said.

About 60 ambassadors were deployed as part of a soft launch six months ago on the new K Line in Crenshaw and on the D and B lines. Ambassadors can also be found on the A Line to Long Beach, L Line from L.A. to Pasadena and along the foothill communities of the San Gabriel Valley, plus the following bus lines: 20, 720, 40, 210 and J (Silver).

The contract is for $123 million for five years. Ambassadors will be deployed seven days a week, Najarian said. Wiggins said the first few years of the pilot program will employ about 300 people. She indicated it was difficult to fill those jobs due to job candidate shortages.

Ambassador Erica Moton said she’s familiar with mental health issues and the unhoused, having worked in a nonprofit that sheltered women and children who were homeless. “If you have experience within your own community, you can reach out to others,” she said.

Ari Silva likes the job because it fits his lifestyle as a non-driving, train-loving, Google maps aficionado from Los Angeles. “If I go into a new area, I have people telling me, ‘Hey, this is a good food spot,’” he said.

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You can apply for an expedited passport in Los Angeles by scheduling an appointment at the regional agency or, if no opening is available before your departure date, employing the assistance of a registered expedited passport courier service. A list of passport expediters in Los Angeles is provided below.

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Rush My Passport 9465 Wilshire Blvd Suite 3093 Beverly Hills, CA 90212 (310) 896-8950

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Travisa Visa Services 6222 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 210 Los Angeles, CA (323) 932-7300

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AllStar Passports and Visas 5455 Wilshire Boulevard #1107 Los Angeles, CA (323) 935-7900

Ambassador Passport and Visa Services, Inc. 2811 Wilshire Boulevard Santa Monica, CA 90403 (310) 828-7878

Global Visa & Passport Express 8921 S Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 210 Los Angeles, CA 90045 (310) 645-2293

Intercontinental Visa and Passport Service 350 S Figueroa St # 185 Los Angeles, CA (213) 625-7175

International Passport & Visa 204 S Beverly Dr #115 Beverly Hills, CA 90212 (310) 274-2020

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Morad Morad Passport & Visa Services 1545 Westwood Blvd., Suite C-100 Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310) 441-2746

Passport & Document Solutions 1434 Westwood Blvd., Storefront #2 Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310) 441-1413

Passport Relief 11041 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 643 Los Angeles, CA 90025 (310) 489-3434

Peninsula Visa 9595 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 900 Beverly Hills, CA 90212 (310) 300-8472

Sameday Passport & Visa Services 9911 West Pico Boulevard #103 Los Angeles, CA (310) 402-1619

State Passport & Visa Services, Inc. 714 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 604 Los Angeles, CA (310) 770-8392

WIthout the Stress 5455 Wilshire Boulevard #2117 Los Angeles, CA (888) 727-0617

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COVID-19 ‘Travel Safely Ambassadors' To Deploy At LAX On Monday, Garcetti Says

The program will start in Terminal 1, with plans to expand to all terminals at the airport.

By City News Service • Published July 29, 2020 • Updated on July 29, 2020 at 8:17 pm

Mayor Eric Garcetti said today that a "Travel Safely Ambassador Program" will begin next week at Los Angeles International Airport, with workers handing out free masks to people who need them, along with informational materials about safety precautions to fight COVID-19.

"To encourage passengers to wear masks, which are required at LAX, starting on Monday,'' Garcetti said. "So you can have the peace of mind when you travel and we can all stop the spread."

The Travel Safely ambassadors will be easy to spot, Garcetti said.

"They'll be wearing Travel Safely buttons and standing next to signs encouraging mask use,'' the mayor said. ``As resources and staffing allow us to get there, we want to have a world-class airport that provides you with world-class safety."

Garcetti said deep cleaning is being conducted at LAX's highly trafficked areas and there are now more than 250 hand-sanitizer stations throughout the airport.

"We're doing everything we can to protect everybody who's in need, to protect our most vulnerable to stop the spread and to save lives," Garcetti said.

Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.

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Thermal cameras that check passengers' body temperatures were installed in June at LAX throughout the Tom Bradley International Terminal and arrival areas of the airport as another layer of protection to help keep travelers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Garcetti also announced another hotel is now being used as part of Project Roomkey in the southeast San Fernando Valley, adding 150 rooms, bringing the total number of rooms to nearly 4,200 across the county. Project Roomkey seeks hotel and motel rooms throughout the county to house homeless people temporarily amid the pandemic.

"There's only so much though that we can do locally, and I have been singing that song since the beginning of these briefings," Garcetti said. "We can't do this without national leadership."

Garcetti said 830,000 people locally will lose federal unemployment benefits on Friday if Congress fails to act on a new relief plan.

"I want to take a moment because this is a critical moment for all of us to call the president, to call the senate, to call the House of Representative and to get action right now,'' the mayor said. "The stakes couldn't be higher."

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Ambassador Passport and Visa Services, Inc. 2811 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 720 Santa Monica, CA 90403 Phone: 310-828-7878 Fax: 310-828-7472 [email protected]

Office Hours Monday through Friday: 9:00 am – 6:30 pm Saturday: 11:00 am – 3:00 pm

Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time via phone or email. We are a professional U.S. Passport and Visa processing agency located in Southern California, a few blocks from the U.S. State Department Office in Westwood, CA. We offer nationwide service for expedited U.S. Passport, Passport Renewal, Replacement of Lost Passport, Passport Amendments, Second Valid Passport, and Travel Visas to hundreds of countries around the world.

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We are minutes away from the Los Angeles Passport Agency, and we have affiliate offices nationwide including Washington D.C., New York, and San Francisco. We are one-stop U.S. Passport and Travel Visa Processing Agency.

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Los Angeles Passport Agency

Physical Address: West L.A. Federal Building 11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1000 Los Angeles, CA 90024-3602 (At the intersection of Wilshire Blvd. and Veteran Ave.)

Hours:  7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Mondays through Fridays

By appointment only Closed federal holidays

Mailing Address: U.S. Department of State Los Angeles Passport Agency CA/PPT/LA 44132 Mercure Cir. PO Box 1087 Sterling, VA 20166-1087

Application Numbers Start With : 50

How to Apply at a Passport Agency

1. find out if you're eligible.

To apply at this passport agency, you must:

• If you need a foreign visa, your appointment must be within 28 calendar days of your travel.
• Show printed proof of international travel. See examples in the 'Collect all your application materials' section below on this page.
• Pay the $60 expedite fee with your  application fees .

If you have a life-or-death emergency, please see  Life-or-Death Emergencies . If you don't meet the requirements for an appointment, request expedited service .

We do not charge a fee to make appointments . If you asked to pay for an appointment, you should consider the request to be fraudulent. We are not affiliated with any third-party appointment booking services. We may not be able to honor appointments booked via third parties. Do not attempt to book duplicate appointments.

2. Collect all your application materials

• Printed confirmation of your appointment
• Flying : show a flight receipt or an itinerary.
• Driving or taking a boat to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, or the Caribbean : show a hotel reservation, cruise or bus tickets, or international car insurance.
• Fill out your  form(s) online and print it  
• All required supporting documents
• One passport  photo
• Major credit cards
• Debit/check card (not ATM cards)
• Digital wallet payments such as Apple, Google, or Samsung Pay
• Checks or money orders. Make payable to the U.S. Department of State.
• Cash (Exact amount only - no change provided)
• If you are applying for a child under 16 , both parents or guardians and your child must come to the appointment. 

*We accept all forms for first-time and renewal customers. Not sure what forms or supporting documents you need? Start at the  Passport Application Wizard .

3. Make an appointment

Follow these steps:

I have not yet applied

• Go to our Online Passport Appointment System .
• Enter information about your travel plans to see if you qualify for an appointment. You may make an appointment for up to 7 members of your household.
• Enter your email address. We will email you a code which you must enter to continue making an appointment. Check your junk or spam folder if you do not see the code in your inbox.
• Enter your mobile phone number. We will send you an SMS text message with another code you must enter to continue making an appointment.
• Finish scheduling your appointment. Check your email for a message confirming the details of your appointment. The system will hold your appointment for 15 minutes. If you do not confirm your appointment within 15 minutes, start over.
• If you need to cancel or change the appointment, click the link in the confirmation email to get information about your appointment. If you made an appointment over the phone, forward the email you got to [email protected] with “Cancel my Appointment” in the subject line. 

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Call  1-877-487-2778  from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Mondays through Fridays, or on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We close on federal holidays. 

Se habla español. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call  1-888-874-7793  for TDD/TTY teletype services. 

4. Arrive early to your appointment

• Arrive 15 minutes early to go through security screening. You must show valid government ID to enter the building.  
• You cannot bring weapons, food, and drinks (except water in a sealable bottle).
• Come to the outside visitor's entrance. Check in at the information desk on the 1st floor, Suite 1000. Provide your appointment confirmation number.
• Be seated and wait until we call your number. We may not see you exactly at your appointment time.
• When we call your number, go to your assigned window.
• We will review your application and supporting materials. We will discuss options for picking up or delivering your passport.

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Parking information.

You can park in free visitor spaces on the Veteran Avenue side of the building. There is road construction in the visitor parking area. Please drive carefully.

There is also metered parking available near the agency. The fees to park may change without notice. 

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We have two types of appointments: Life-or-Death Emergency Service and Urgent Travel Service . You cannot walk-in. 

Not Yet Applied : Make an appointment online

Already Applied : Call  1-877-487-2778 . Se habla español.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call  1-888-874-7793  for TDD/TTY teletype services. 

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Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles

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Watch CBS News

'Travel Safely Ambassadors' Deploy At LAX To Combat Coronavirus

August 3, 2020 / 9:42 AM PDT / KCAL News

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The City of Los Angeles rolled out its Travel Safely Ambassador Program at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday.

Members will be handing out masks to anyone who needs one as well as information about safety precautions on ways to stop the spread of COVID-19.

"So you can have the peace of mind when you travel and we can all stop the spread,'' Mayor Eric Garcetti said last week when announcing the program.

The Travel Safely ambassadors will be easy to spot, Garcetti said.

"They'll be wearing Travel Safely buttons and standing next to signs encouraging mask use,'' Garcetti said last week. "As resources and staffing allow us to get there, we want to have a world-class airport that provides you with world-class safety."

The program will begin in Terminal 1 and eventually expand to all terminals.

Garcetti said deep cleaning is being conducted at LAX's highly trafficked areas and there are now more than 250 hand-sanitizer stations throughout the airport.

"We're doing everything we can to protect everybody who's in need, to protect our most vulnerable to stop the spread and to save lives," he said.

In June, thermal cameras that check passengers' body temperatures were installed throughout the Tom Bradley International Terminal and arrival areas of the airport.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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Famous Los Angeles turtle-racing bar hit by animal rights protests

T wice a month, Brennan’s Pub in Los Angeles attracts enormous crowds of punters, who gather in an amphitheatre-style circle in the outdoor area to watch a peculiar sport: turtle-racing.

The bar, located in between Venice and Marina Del Rey, has been hosting the events since 1975, describing the amphibious spectacle as “the sport of kings”. The “athletes” are kept in a terrarium connected to the venue, and brought out for the shows.

During the races, a number of turtles are placed at the centre of a circle, formed by crowds that are often six or seven rows deep. When the contest begins, the first turtle to crawl out of the circle is the winner. “Bets” can be placed on individual animals for one dollar, with tickets put into a raffle and drawn out of the winning turtle’s pot.

Animal rights activists say that the events are inhumane and exploitative, and that the hundreds of drunken punters screaming and cheering at the animals causes them clear distress.

On Thursday 21 March, In Defense of Animals (IDA), along with members of Los Angeles Animal Defense League (LAADL) and Los Angeles For Animals (LAFA) staged a protest outside the bar, with signs and a megaphone, educating those who arrived for the races. Organisers said that around 30 people showed up for the demonstration between 6.30pm and 8.30pm.

“Brennan’s has been exploiting turtles for almost 50 years. And as animal rights activists, we believe that animals are not ours to exploit. They are not entertainment,” an LAADL organiser, who did not wish to be named, told The Independent.

“Turtles are sentient beings. They don’t want to be exposed to stress and all these drunk people, and very loud noises. Just imagine your dog or cat being in their place. It’s very inhumane, and we’re demanding them to stay away from exploiting animals for entertainment and for profits.”

Correspondence between IDA and Brennan’s has reportedly been ongoing since September. The LAADL claims that Brennan’s “stopped responding,” and are dismissive of activists’ concerns.

“They don’t care – I mean they’re still hosting it tonight,” the organiser told The Indpendent.

A spokesperson for Brennan’s denied the claims, saying that, on the contrary, the bar’s current owners consulted with local turtle experts and has invested heavily in the animals’ well being.

"When we purchased Brennan’s Pub seven years ago, we found the long-term resident turtles were living in an inadequate habitat. They were not well cared for, and some were in poor health,” the spokesman told The Independent.

“We consulted with some of the region’s foremost turtle experts, and spent lots of time and quite a bit of money building them a new habitat with room to swim, sunbathe, and live the good life.

“This project was not easy, but we did it with joy in keeping with our decades-long commitment to centering vegan menu options, donating to animal welfare organizations, and similar efforts to promote the well-being of our non-human neighbors on Earth.”

Brennan’s says that a certified veterinary technician has also been employed to oversee the care of the turtles and that they are closely monitored even during “non-race” weeks. If the turtles are unwilling to race, they are not required to do so.

“On race nights, our turtles are out of their habitat very briefly, and never for more than about ten minutes,” the spokesperson added. “None of them are required to race, as sometimes they prefer to nap or socialise while the others compete.”

All money collected from the “bets” goes directly to local charities, some of which work with members of the Los Angeles unhoused community. Brennan’s says that as much as $30,000 is made through Turtle Races per year.

Despite these assurances, activists are not convinced. “If someone keeps you in a tiny basement, gives you food and all that stuff, but you can’t go anywhere and you’re being exploited. Would you like that?” the anonymous organiser said.

“That’s a question I always ask people just because you know, they feed the turtles and keep them in space doesn’t mean that the turtles want to be here.

Imagine all these people, all these humans that are much taller than you just shouting at you, all the loud music – it’s terrible. It’s a very scary environment for them. They are tiny.

“They did not consent to be here. They’re not athletes.”

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.

Construction to begin on high-speed rail between Vegas and California

Brightline west will make the trip between las vegas and rancho cucamonga in a little over two hours.

Privately owned train company Brightline will break ground next week on a $12 billion high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas and Southern California.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will join company leaders and other officials for the start of construction in Las Vegas on Monday, the Department of Transportation confirmed. The ceremony was first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Brightline West benefits from $3 billion in federal funds from President Biden ’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Trains could be running as soon as early 2028, in time for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Travelers have a lot to look forward to. Electric trains will depart every 45 minutes from a Las Vegas station south of the city’s storied Strip and a Southern California station in Rancho Cucamonga, a Los Angeles suburb about 40 miles east of downtown.

Traveling at up to 186 mph — faster than any other train in the United States — Brightline West trains will make the 218-mile trip in about 2 hours and 10 minutes.

“At long last, we’re building the first high-speed rail project in our nation’s history,” President Biden said of Brightline West in December. “We’ve been talking about this project for decades. Now we’re really getting it done.”

Other high-speed railroads that would carry passengers at 200 mph and faster are in the works in California, Texas and the Pacific Northwest.

Driving between Rancho Cucamonga and Las Vegas takes at least three hours without traffic, according to Google Maps.

“You’ll be sitting there flying by on Brightline looking at all these brake lights on the highway and thinking, ‘It sucks to be you,’” said Jim Mathews, CEO of the Rail Passengers Association , said on Friday. “That’s what it’s going to be like for all those people trying to get from greater Los Angeles to Las Vegas.”

Brightline West trains will run along Interstate 15 for nearly their entire journey. They will make two intermediate stops in California: one in Hesperia and one in Apple Valley.

Travelers coming from Los Angeles will have the option of riding Metrolink , Southern California’s regional rail system, to the Rancho Cucamonga station located near the junction of Interstates 10 and 15. The trip between downtown Los Angeles and Rancho Cucamonga takes at least 50 minutes by car without traffic, or 1 hour and 15 minutes on the train.

Speed won’t be the only reason to ride Brightline West.

Brightline’s Florida operation connecting Miami to Orlando opened in September , giving future customers out West an idea of what to expect. Before Brightline’s debut, Amtrak held a monopoly on intercity passenger rail travel for decades.

Stations are spacious with comfortable areas to sit, bars selling craft cocktails and a lounge for premium passengers. Onboard, travelers enjoy assigned seats and fast WiFi. Attendants come down the aisle serving snacks and drinks throughout the trip.

Brightline told investors that it carried a record 258,307 passengers in March, and that one in three of its trains were nearly full.

Brightline’s strong ridership, though slower than initially promised to investors, makes a strong case for building fast and frequent trains between major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Brightline West estimates that 6 million people will ride its trains during the first full year of operation, according to a federal environmental assessment . That number is projected to grow to as many as 9.2 million people within a decade.

The company estimates that, without the train, three-quarters of its riders would drive between Southern California and Las Vegas. Another 15 percent would fly, and the balance would not make the trip at all.

More travel news

How we travel now: More people are taking booze-free trips — and airlines and hotels are taking note. Some couples are ditching the traditional honeymoon for a “buddymoon” with their pals. Interested? Here are the best tools for making a group trip work.

Bad behavior: Entitled tourists are running amok, defacing the Colosseum , getting rowdy in Bali and messing with wild animals in national parks. Some destinations are fighting back with public awareness campaigns — or just by telling out-of-control visitors to stay away .

Safety concerns: A door blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jet, leaving passengers traumatized — but without serious injuries. The ordeal led to widespread flight cancellations after the jet was grounded, and some travelers have taken steps to avoid the plane in the future. The incident has also sparked a fresh discussion about whether it’s safe to fly with a baby on your lap .

Terry Anderson, AP reporter who was held captive for years, dies at 76

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Terry Anderson, the globe-trotting Associated Press correspondent who became one of America’s longest-held hostages after he was snatched from a street in war-torn Lebanon in 1985 and held for nearly seven years , has died at 76.

Anderson, who chronicled his abduction and torturous imprisonment by Islamic militants in his best-selling 1993 memoir, “Den of Lions,” died Sunday at his home in Greenwood Lake, N.Y., according to daughter Sulome Anderson.

Anderson died of complications from recent heart surgery, his daughter said.

“Terry was deeply committed to on-the-ground eyewitness reporting and demonstrated great bravery and resolve, both in his journalism and during his years held hostage. We are so appreciative of the sacrifices he and his family made as the result of his work,” said Julie Pace, senior vice president and executive editor of the AP.

“He never liked to be called a hero, but that’s what everyone persisted in calling him,” said Sulome. “I saw him a week ago, and my partner asked him if he had anything on his bucket list, anything that he wanted to do. He said, ‘I’ve lived so much and I’ve done so much. I’m content.’ ”

After returning to the United States in 1991, Anderson led a peripatetic life, giving public speeches, teaching journalism at prominent universities and, at various times, operating a blues bar, a Cajun eatery, a horse ranch and a gourmet restaurant.

He struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder, won millions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets after a federal court concluded that the country played a role in his capture, then lost most of it to bad investments. He filed for bankruptcy in 2009.

Upon retiring from the University of Florida in 2015, Anderson settled on a small horse farm in a rural section of northern Virginia he had discovered while camping with friends.

World & Nation

Hostage Ordeal Ends as Anderson Is Freed : Mideast: ‘Faith, stubbornness’ kept him going through 6 1/2 years as captive, American says. He left his captors with a single word--’Goodby.’

Dec. 5, 1991

“I live in the country, and it’s reasonably good weather and quiet out here and a nice place, so I’m doing all right,” he said with a chuckle during a 2018 interview with the Associated Press.

In 1985 he became one of several Westerners abducted by members of the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah during a war that had plunged Lebanon into chaos.

After his release, he returned to a hero’s welcome at AP’s New York headquarters.

Louis D. Boccardi, the president and chief executive officer of the AP at the time, recalled Sunday that Anderson’s plight was never far from his AP colleagues’ minds.

“The word ‘hero’ gets tossed around a lot but applying it to Terry Anderson just enhances it,” Boccardi said. “His 6½-year ordeal as a hostage of terrorists was as unimaginable as it was real — chains, being transported from hiding place to hiding place strapped to the chassis of a truck, given often inedible food, cut off from the world he reported on with such skill and caring.”

As the AP’s chief Middle East correspondent, Anderson had been reporting for several years on the rising violence gripping Lebanon as the country fought a war with Israel, while Iran funded militant groups trying to topple its government.

Kidnapers Videotape Anderson, Who Urges Talks to Free All Hostages

American journalist Terry Anderson, the longest-held Western hostage in Beirut, in a videotape released Sunday called on all sides to press negotiations for an overall hostage release.

Oct. 7, 1991

On March 16, 1985, a day off, he had taken a break to play tennis with former AP photographer Don Mell. Anderson was dropping Mell off at home when gun-toting kidnappers dragged him from his car.

He was probably targeted, he said, because he was one of the few Westerners still in Lebanon and because his role as a journalist aroused suspicion among members of Hezbollah.

“Because in their terms, people who go around asking questions in awkward and dangerous places have to be spies,“ he told the Virginia newspaper the Review of Orange County in 2018.

Reporter Starts 7th Year as Hostage : Lebanon: Terry Anderson of AP is the longest held--and best known--of the Westerners abducted by Islamic fundamentalists.

In a city of 1.4 million people and a reputation for chaos, is it possible that a letter with only a name and “Beirut” for an address can be delivered?

March 16, 1991

What followed was nearly seven years of brutality during which he was beaten, chained to a wall, threatened with death, often had guns held to his head and was kept in solitary confinement for long periods of time.

Anderson was the longest held of several Western hostages Hezbollah abducted over the years, including Terry Waite , the former envoy to the archbishop of Canterbury, who had arrived to try to negotiate his release.

Envoy Waite Detained by Hezbollah Forces, Diplomatic Sources Say

Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite is being detained by fundamentalist Hezbollah forces in Lebanon in a political tug-of-war between the militant Shia Muslim group, which has close ties to Iran, and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, diplomatic sources said Friday.

Jan. 31, 1987

By his and other hostages’ accounts, Anderson was the most hostile prisoner, demanding better food and treatment, arguing religion and politics with his captors and teaching other hostages sign language and where to hide messages so they could communicate privately.

He managed to retain a quick wit and biting sense of humor during his long ordeal. On his last day in Beirut, he called the lead kidnapper into his room to say he’d just heard an erroneous radio report that he’d been freed and was in Syria.

“I said, ‘Mahmound, listen to this, I’m not here. I’m gone, babes. I’m on my way to Damascus.’ And we both laughed,” he told Giovanna Dell’Orto, author of “AP Foreign Correspondents in Action: World War II to the Present.”

He learned later that his release was delayed when a third party, to whom his kidnappers planned to turn him over, left for a tryst and had to be replaced.

Mell, who was in the car during the abduction, said Sunday that he and Anderson shared an uncommon bond.

“Our relationship was much broader and deeper, and more important and meaningful, than just that one incident,” Mell said.

Mell credited Anderson with launching his career in journalism, pushing for the young photographer to be hired by the AP full-time. After Anderson was released, their friendship deepened. They were best man at each other’s weddings and were in frequent contact.

Anderson’s humor often hid the PTSD he acknowledged suffering for years afterward.

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“The AP got a couple of British experts in hostage decompression, clinical psychiatrists, to counsel my wife and myself, and they were very useful,” he said in 2018. “But one of the problems I had was I did not recognize sufficiently the damage that had been done.

“So, when people ask me, you know, ‘Are you over it?’ Well, I don’t know. No, not really. It’s there. I don’t think about it much these days; it’s not central to my life. But it’s there.”

Anderson said his faith as a Christian helped him let go of the anger. And something his wife later told him also helped him to move on: “If you keep the hatred you can’t have the joy.”

At the time of his abduction, Anderson was engaged to be married, and his future wife was six months pregnant with Sulome.

The couple married soon after his release but divorced a few years later. Although they remained on friendly terms, Anderson and his daughter were estranged for years.

“I love my dad very much. My dad has always loved me. I just didn’t know that because he wasn’t able to show it to me,” Sulome told the AP in 2017.

A Palestinian baby in Gaza is born an orphan in an urgent cesarean section after an Israeli strike

Sabreen came into the world seconds after her mother left it. Their home was hit in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Father and daughter reconciled after the publication of her critically acclaimed 2017 book “The Hostage’s Daughter,” in which she told of traveling to Lebanon to confront and eventually forgive one of her father’s kidnappers.

“I think she did some extraordinary things, went on a very difficult personal journey, but also accomplished a pretty important piece of journalism doing it,” Anderson said. “She’s now a better journalist than I ever was.”

Terry Alan Anderson was born Oct. 27, 1947. He spent his early childhood in the Lake Erie town of Vermilion, Ohio, where his father was a police officer.

After graduating from high school, he turned down a scholarship to the University of Michigan in favor of enlisting in the Marines, where he rose to the rank of staff sergeant and served in the Vietnam War.

After returning home, he enrolled at Iowa State University, where he graduated with a double major in journalism and political science and soon went to work for the AP. He reported from Kentucky, Japan and South Africa before arriving in Lebanon in 1982, just as the country was descending into chaos.

“Actually, it was the most fascinating job I’ve ever had in my life,” he told the Review. “It was intense. War’s going on — it was very dangerous in Beirut. Vicious civil war, and I lasted about three years before I got kidnapped.”

Anderson was married and divorced three times. In addition to Sulome, he is survived by daughter Gabrielle Anderson from his first marriage; a sister, Judy Anderson; and a brother, Jack Anderson.

“Though my father’s life was marked by extreme suffering during his time as a hostage in captivity, he found a quiet, comfortable peace in recent years,” Sulome said in a statement Sunday. “I know he would choose to be remembered not by his very worst experience, but through his humanitarian work with the Vietnam Children’s Fund, the Committee to Protect Journalists, homeless veterans and many other incredible causes.”

Memorial arrangements were pending, she said.

Associated Press writers Meldrum and Weber reported from New York and Los Angeles, respectively. Retired AP writer John Rogers in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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On The Red Carpet

'the greatest hits': grief, music and... time travel.

"The Greatest Hits" will take you on a wild journey through music and time.

LOS ANGELES -- Searchlight Pictures' new film, "The Greatest Hits," is a unique amalgamation of genres. Part love story, part sci-fi fantasy and part heart-wrenching drama, the movie is sure to take you on a wild journey through music and time.

After Harriet loses her boyfriend in a car accident, she finds that certain songs transport her back to different moments in the past. In her search for a song that will help prevent the accident, she can't help but get caught up in a new whirlwind of emotion when she meets David.

The film is written and directed by Ned Benson and stars Lucy Boynton, Justin Min and Austin Crute. On The Red Carpet had the opportunity to speak with them about the story.

"I've always been very tethered to my past and I never quite clocked how detrimental that can be, so I really do empathize with where she's at and the way she justifies it," Lucy Boynton, who plays Harriet explained.

Harriet meets David at a grief therapy group, where he too has suffered the loss of a loved one. The role resonated with Justin Min, who portrays David.

"As I was experiencing grief myself and sort of getting into the mindset of David, it helped me to process and heal a lot of my own personal things. So, I'm very grateful in that regard," he said.

Austin Crute, who plays Harriet's friend Morris, explained "I think music is, scientifically, it's sound to say that music is a marker for you to remember your life by."

Benson took this idea and ran with it. "It's really about the emotional power of music in our lives and how it affects us, both by throwing us back into the past, and sort of reminding us to live our lives."

"The Greatest Hits" is streaming now on Hulu.

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Searchlight Pictures, Hulu and this ABC station.

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