New Year Festivities

After a long week, Bill was excited. His friend Rommel invited him for five days in the valley at his loft in Los Angeles.  New Year’s plans had been decided.  They were to meet up with Rommel’s friend and finish off the year with a final countdown in Hollywood.  It would be the time of his life.

Bill left his apartment in San Diego, hoping to miss the traffic. But the traffic found him. He had signed up to beta test GROM’s new idea, VLine, and it was a great chance to try it out. VLine allowed the owner to  to upgrade the car’s infotainment system to the latest mobile and car technology, and get the access to Google and Waze maps for navigation, and Web Radio, Google Music, Spotify and other apps for in-car entertainment, right from his Lexus IS350 car stereo screen. . Bill had a chance to test VLine for a week already, so he became accustomed in using it.

Using Vline‘s voice control, he was able to access the latest version of Google Maps and plot the quickest route through traffic. But according to Google maps, the quickest route to Los Angeles was on Highway 5, which was clogged until he’d reached San Juan Capistrano. He could clearly see on his infotainment screen the red line reaching down to Oceanside and up into the foot of Orange County.

While puttering in traffic on the 5, Bill used his VLine infotainment system to pull up Spotify and play something relaxing. This kept him mellow for forty minutes until he decided to call Rommel and give him an update. Rommel wasn’t around so he left a message. Bill spent the rest of the time sifting through traffic as the road clog continued to maintain its lack of fluidity.

By the time Bill was able to pull free of the traffic jam, which last well pasts Capistrano and into the bowels of Orange County, he got a call back from Rommel who told him to meet him and some friends at restaurant called Cascabel in North Hollywood for dinner. Bill used VLine voice control for navigation to get directions from Google and began a journey through Highway 210 then the 134.

By the time he got there, Bill was tired and starving. Unfortunately, Rommel and group had made a change and we’re a couple of blocks away at The Eatery. Bill was a little irritated but Rommel had a beer waiting for him, and Bill was able to order a cheese burger, which is what he’d been craving all day. Afterwards, they hit a bar down the street and killed some more time and relaxed. Later, Bill headed back to Rommel’s place and got some shut eye.

The next day, they spent down in Venus Beach, cruising around and checking out the scene. The sun was raining heat on the concrete. They parked near the Santa Monica Boardwalk and hit the concrete tiles.  With the temperate climate, the beach was packed with travelers, tourists and regulars.

They talked about plans for the next day with Rommel’s friends. Where they could go and what parties were happening on Sunset Boulevard. Rommel wanted to just cruise around  and see what was happening. Bill on the other hand wanted to check out this new gastropub that recently opened. Earlier, he had heard about something big they were doing for the final countdown. Rommel did not seem too thrilled about it.

The next day, they picked up Rommel’s friends to hang out.  They drove all around Santa Monica to some local favorites.  As evening fell, they headed toward the strip and drove until dusk fell on Hollywood. Rommel was looking through Bill’s Google Play collection on his VLine infotainment system. They listened to some Trip Hop while searching the strip.  It did not take long before Bill decided to find parking a couple of blocks off the strip to continue their search by foot.  He was the designated driver for the evening and wanted to minimize cruising by car as much as possible.

They found a lounge that everyone agreed upon on Vine and Hollywood Blvd. The place was hopping, and the three friends ordered some drinks to start the night. Bill had some light snacks.  He had to be responsible after all.  After some time of hanging out and giving Bill a hard time, Rommel decided to give Bill a break.  They headed to Avenue A as Bill had suggested earlier.  By the time Bill got them there, Rommel and his friends sobered up a bit, and they were ready for round two.  The new gastropub was by the beach and with a patio to boot.  Rommel and his friends found an open table and they toasted the night away.  Bill went off on his own in search of the patio and found that it was nicely decorated with red and white lights.  There was also some light music.  Pretty soon, Bill found himself dancing and having a good time.  As midnight approached, Rommel and his friends found Bill outside and they wrapped up the year counting down together.

The next morning back at the loft, Rommel was no where to be seen.  Bill took advantage of this opportune solo time to finish his packing. His friend, however, did not recover from the previous night’s festivities until well into the afternoon.  They spent the rest of the day chilling and chatting as they watched Hal’s Food Adventures on WebTV before Bill decided to head back.  He sure was glad to have VLine to keep him company for the long drive ahead.

Bring us on the road with you.

For more information on our VLine infotainment system product line, check out our store: http://gromaudio.com/store/vline/.