12
POLICEWORLD
Vol 59No. 2, 2014
Article
Californiyay!
WhenDonnaPowell, fromSussexbranch, learnt theNational DelegatesConference for SectionUSAwas
going tobe inSacramento, California, shehad togo! Donna tellswhy.
R
eaders of PoliceWorldwouldhave read
that in2013 I visitedWashingtonDC
for the friendshipevent celebrating the
50thanniversary of SectionUSA. I had suchan
amazingweekendmeetingpeople fromall over
theworld. Sowhen I discovered that therewas
a conference inCalifornia I had toattend. The
problemwas that Sacramentowas a longway
to go just for aweekend so I needed to comeup
witha longer travel plan!
People I hadmet on recent travelshad suggested
Imust takea road trip from LosAngeles along
Highway1, PacificCoastal Highway (PCH), to
SanFrancisco, so this gotme thinking... InDC
last year Imet IPAmember RichDuran. Rich
had givenmehisbusiness cardand said if I was
ever in LAhewouldhappily hostme. So I looked
at flights andemailedRich to seewhether he
couldhostme for a longweekend. He confirmed
he couldandevenoffered topickmeup from
theairport. I then lookedat accommodation
alongHighway1anddiscovered therewere
many hostels alongmy route. I then checked
with IPA friendsCalvinandDianaChow from
SanFrancisco, who Imet in2010, whether I
could staywith themat theendofmy road trip.
Thiswas also confirmed. FromSanFrancisco I
would thenheadanhour in-land toSacramento,
soaplanwas formedand I started the travel
countdown!
Before flying to LA I completed some research
andemailedRicha list of places I wanted to
visit whilst in LA. I didnot thinkmy list was too
exhaustive for a longweekendbut the reply
fromRichwas that wewere ‘going tobebusy’
with lots of exclamationmarks. I discovered very
quickly uponarriving that LA is amassive city
andhas immense traffic jams! Richwas a superb
ambassador to the spirit of friendshipashe took
meall over LAand its outer suburbs.Wehad long
daysbut theywere somuch fun.
Ononeof thesedays, Rich toldmehehada
surprise.Well what a surprise it waswhenwe
pulledupat theAir Support Unit of the LAPD!
They haveabout 19helicopters in their fleet with
three in theair at any one time24hours aday. I
was lucky to spendover twohoursup in theair
seeing LA likemany peopledon’t get to see - it
was amazing!
The followingday an IPA friend inSussex branch
hadarranged, before I left home, forme to spend
some timeafloat withhis contact with the LA
Port Police. It was another fineCalifornianday
with clear blue skies and I got to spendover two
hours out onpatrol inwhat couldbe thebest
department in theworld tobeapoliceofficer!
After fivenightsRich tookme to collectmy hire
car andafter takinghis life inhis ownhands
whilst I got used todrivingon the left hand
sideof the road the cordwas cut and I started
my one-girl road tripalong thePCH. I spent 10
days seeing somebreathtaking scenery. On
this part ofmy trip I hadnodirect involvement
with IPAmembers althoughmy travel plan sat
withmembers of SectionUSAwhowouldhave
known roughlywhere I was at any time. As a
single female traveller it was very reassuring
toknow that the IPAwaswatchingmy back. If
anyone is thinkingof completing this road trip I
would strongly urge them todo it as the scenery,
particularly aroundBigSur ismindblowing!
I arrived inSanFranciscoandwasmet in the
Castrodistrict byDianaChow. Dianakeptme
entertained for twodayswhilst Calvinwas at
theofficialmeetings inSacramento. Among the
highlightswas a lovely day in theNapa valley
trying someCalifornianwine.
I alsomet upwith the IPA group inSanFrancisco
for ameal ina lovely Chinese restaurant. I was
soexcited to re-connect with friends fromSection
USAwho I hadnot seen ina year, aswell as
friends fromSectionFranceandSectionSweden.
I alsomademany new friends..
I travelledon toSacramentowhere the following
daywithofficers from theUSA, Ukraine, Sri
Lanka, Poland, FranceandSwedenwewore
our uniforms onamemorial parade for Fallen
Officers. Awreathwas placedat theMemorial for
PoliceOfficers that havebeenkilled in the line
of duty in the stateof California. It was ahighly
emotional serviceas thenames of all the IPA
memberswhohavediedwas readout byRichard
Nevarez, SecretaryGeneral of SectionUSA. After
the service the local K-9 teamput onadisplay
beforewe spent the remainder of theday at the
academy for theCaliforniaHighway Patrol (CHP).
Wewere givena tour of the campusbefore
riders, drivers andapilot of theCHP showed
us their skills.
We then returned to thehotel for theevening’s
final banquet. Anopportunity to get dressedup
andhave final catchupswith fellow guests. I had
already decided that I wanted tobepart of theUS
NDC&FriendshipWeek for 2014which is going
tobea cruise fromNewYorkCity up toCanada
andbackdown from the4 - 11October. As a
result before I wasboarding theplane to return
home I hadalready paidand reservedmy place
on this event!
Theparadeheading for thememorial
of FallenOfficers
IPA friends fromUSA, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Poland, FranceandSweden
