Thoughts on LA
Pics below.
They got out of order so start with 1.
What an amazing country. Remember the elections when you saw blue on the coasts and red everywhere, then you looked at the popular vote and it didn't seem to make sense? I mean, sure, you can intellectually comprehend that the coasts are more populous, but then you go out west and you see a 50 mile stretch with no people. 50 miles...that's amazing. People will pay $1500/month in NYC for a broom closet with plumbing and there are unbelievable expanses of poorly accessible, undeveloped, dirt cheap tracts; and no one wants them. Don't know what I'm getting at really, but look at the pic. Snow capped mountain touching parched desert earth. Beautiful country we live in. You just have to look a little past suburban Maryland to see it sometimes.
So we landed in LA on Saturday. Nothing like the beginning of a week in sunny California. Except for el nino. Just as it rained in the deserts of Mexico and Arizone on me a couple weeks ago, the LA I know was transformed into a dirty gray, bringing out everything that makes it undesirable to others. It was chilly and dirty and traffic was all you've heard it to be. We picked up our Chevy Malibu (and used the horn 3 times in the first 10 mins...fun). If any of you ever buy one of these cars, prepare for etermal mock and shame from me (and yes, that's coming from someone who bought a Hyundai; the Malibu is really just that bad). We did touristy things. Nothing too exciting. We ate in Beverly Hills and managed to have some money left over for the rest of the trip. That was a cool thing to do. Despite popular beliefs, Paris Hilton WAS NOT having sex publicly on Rodeo Drive. Yes, I consider myself shafted. No, the pun was not intended. The best time in LA was Santa Monica, which coincidentally refused to join the other smaller cities when greater LA was formed. Santa Monica seems more beachy, less snooty, and it's a general good time. We met up with Tanner and his woman, and the 5 of us ate and enjoyed the Sunday night scene. I ate a pickle burger. It was pickles diced up in the ground beef and cooked together. I think I would have preferred just a pickle on the burger, but hey, I had to give it a shot. Experiences are there for the taking, and really, that's what a lot of this trip was all about. The night pretty much topped off when several cop cars rolled up at top speeds and arrested someone in a Barnes and Noble. Not sure what he did exactly, but he was black, and it was LA so let each man draw his own conclusions.
On the 2nd day we also went to Venice Beach. Once the sun came out, so did the freak show. Thankfully. For those who haven't been, Venice Beach is where you go if you want to be accosted by people in costumes, watch weird street performers, or if you feel like hippydom (which includes mass paintings of Bob Marley, more than a few references to "the pot", etc). My favorite memory is the man with a gray overcoat, yellow pants that only reached the top his knee high boots, a hat with a feather, and a pitching wedge. He requested a dollar for a pic with him, and he ran up to tourists trying to scare them by pretending to kick them or hit them with the golf club. Did I mention that he also had a 40? Or that it was 10am? Good times.
Gotta go. I'll pick this up later...
They got out of order so start with 1.
What an amazing country. Remember the elections when you saw blue on the coasts and red everywhere, then you looked at the popular vote and it didn't seem to make sense? I mean, sure, you can intellectually comprehend that the coasts are more populous, but then you go out west and you see a 50 mile stretch with no people. 50 miles...that's amazing. People will pay $1500/month in NYC for a broom closet with plumbing and there are unbelievable expanses of poorly accessible, undeveloped, dirt cheap tracts; and no one wants them. Don't know what I'm getting at really, but look at the pic. Snow capped mountain touching parched desert earth. Beautiful country we live in. You just have to look a little past suburban Maryland to see it sometimes.
So we landed in LA on Saturday. Nothing like the beginning of a week in sunny California. Except for el nino. Just as it rained in the deserts of Mexico and Arizone on me a couple weeks ago, the LA I know was transformed into a dirty gray, bringing out everything that makes it undesirable to others. It was chilly and dirty and traffic was all you've heard it to be. We picked up our Chevy Malibu (and used the horn 3 times in the first 10 mins...fun). If any of you ever buy one of these cars, prepare for etermal mock and shame from me (and yes, that's coming from someone who bought a Hyundai; the Malibu is really just that bad). We did touristy things. Nothing too exciting. We ate in Beverly Hills and managed to have some money left over for the rest of the trip. That was a cool thing to do. Despite popular beliefs, Paris Hilton WAS NOT having sex publicly on Rodeo Drive. Yes, I consider myself shafted. No, the pun was not intended. The best time in LA was Santa Monica, which coincidentally refused to join the other smaller cities when greater LA was formed. Santa Monica seems more beachy, less snooty, and it's a general good time. We met up with Tanner and his woman, and the 5 of us ate and enjoyed the Sunday night scene. I ate a pickle burger. It was pickles diced up in the ground beef and cooked together. I think I would have preferred just a pickle on the burger, but hey, I had to give it a shot. Experiences are there for the taking, and really, that's what a lot of this trip was all about. The night pretty much topped off when several cop cars rolled up at top speeds and arrested someone in a Barnes and Noble. Not sure what he did exactly, but he was black, and it was LA so let each man draw his own conclusions.
On the 2nd day we also went to Venice Beach. Once the sun came out, so did the freak show. Thankfully. For those who haven't been, Venice Beach is where you go if you want to be accosted by people in costumes, watch weird street performers, or if you feel like hippydom (which includes mass paintings of Bob Marley, more than a few references to "the pot", etc). My favorite memory is the man with a gray overcoat, yellow pants that only reached the top his knee high boots, a hat with a feather, and a pitching wedge. He requested a dollar for a pic with him, and he ran up to tourists trying to scare them by pretending to kick them or hit them with the golf club. Did I mention that he also had a 40? Or that it was 10am? Good times.
Gotta go. I'll pick this up later...
posted by jerm at 11:27
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