LA Invasion

So following four hours of sleep on Saturday night, we took the four-hour 6:40 flight from O'Hare to LAX. Outside, the temperature must have been around 60 degrees, but it may as well have been 85. Mom picked up our navy blue Nissan Sentra from Fox Rental Cars and there's no doubt we put a few hundred miles on that puppy, maybe close to a thousand.

Marina Del Rey is two neighborhoods north of LAX and I was very surprised how crammed the neighborhood was. I had visions of a quiet town, very touristy, almost like the eastern end of Long Island. It turned out to be filled with strip malls, a lot of traffic, and construction of condos right next door to the Courtyard we were staying at. We got Room 460, the last remaining room. After setting our room up, we decided to head north up to the mountains. The first stop was Brent's Deli in Northridge, a real Jewish deli. The French dip was decent enough, not great. They had great crisp, fresh pickles and I always like a good Dr. Brown's root beer. But I had a #3-corned beef, pastrami, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, Russian dressing, and deli mustard on double-baked rye bread. Excellent sandwich.

We then headed north to Simi Valley to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. The drive off RR Blvd to the museum includes flags of every President, which is cool. Lots of audio and video exhibits, some old artifacts from his birthplace, Dixon, IL, a town I know well. I wouldn't call the place a must-see, I would call it good. The highlight was probably the opportunity to step on board a real Air Force One that Reagan flew on for years. We also visited his crypt, located in the Central Garden. And considering how the Republican debates are going and the inadequacy of our current President, I wish we had someone like him leading our country now.

We took a long drive west down the Ventura Highway (And I played the America song of the same name). We got somewhat lost, but found our way to the PCH eventually. The highlight was visiting Malibu during sunset. The mountains just seem to drop revealing houses and a beach road and then the Pacific Ocean. We had dinner at the Reel Inn and had some amazing seafood dinner. I had grilled Cajun snapper, rice, steamed veggies, salad, and a drink, and it only cost me about $16. Mom went with the Cajun orange roughy. And we had a view where we could scope out the PCH and the ocean as the sun set. Just a tremendous restaurant. Thank you Man vs Food Nation. We headed back into MDR through Santa Monica and Venice before shutting down for the night early. I really think I fell asleep by 9:30 at night.

Day 2 was all about Los Angeles. After a solid workout, we began driving northeast into Beverly Hills. We walked through the infamous Beverly Hills Hotel, the site of the cover for the Eagles famous Hotel California album. Of course, I wore my Hotel California t-shirt and it certainly got some laughs from the hotel staff. We then drove down Hollywood Boulevard through the Sunset Strip and past the Troubadour, the Whisky A Go-Go, the Comedy Store, the Laugh Factory, and other famous clubs. We arrived in downtown and saw Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Kodak Theater, and plenty of celebrity impersonators. We probably would have gotten out and explored, had my camera not died. So we headed west two blocks to LaBrea Avenue for Pink's hot dogs. We got three: the Today Show dog (2 hot dogs in one bun, mustard, onions, chili, cheese & guacamole), the Mullholland Drive dog (10 inch stretch dog, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, cheddar cheese & bacon), and I got the Philly dog (dog with Philly steak, American and Swiss cheese, bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms). The Today show tasted okay, but the chili and guac combo is just weird to get used to. The Philly was just tremendous. Drank a cream soda for the first time in maybe 20 years! The fries were okay, nothing special. I would certainly return.

We then headed over to the Hollywood Bowl and managed to sneak our way inside and I took some photos. What's so cool is there are no elevators, it's just concrete, stairs, and ramps. I think we spent the next three hours navigating the tight curves and bends around the plush houses in the Hollywood Hills, trying to grasp a decent view of the Hollywood sign. We tried to find Griffith Park, a huge public park in north LA, because I heard that was a good place to see the sign and they also had a great observatory of the city. We had no such luck getting anywhere near there. So I just called it off and asked Mom to drive to Dodger Stadium, that took maybe 10 minutes. I did notice how close together so many great tourist attractions are to each other in LA. For being such a huge city, it really isn't too hard to navigate if you know where you're going. Unless of course you're driving north on the 405, which completely blows regardless of time or day.

We then began heading west and stopped in Hollywood again, this time to check out the Farmer's Market, which was mobbed. The food was set up just like an expanded Quincy Market. There wasn't a type of cuisine that wasn't featured, there were booths for Brazilian, New Orleans, hot sauces, BBQ, sushi, etc. Wound up getting some ice cream just to validate the $1 parking. Peppermint for mom, pumpkin for me. We walked past the market into the outdoor shopping area that featured a Jamaican band and Santa's Village for the novelty feel. The mall itself had A&F, Nordstrom, an 18-cinema theater, Barnes & Noble, etc. And I must admit it was a great opportunity to look at some beautiful ladies.

We really wanted to avoid the freeways back to MDR, so we took a ton of sideroads through neighborhoods we probably should have avoided. There was one stoned jackoff who ran right in front of our car trying to make us stop. I screamed and of course Mom shut right down on me for a few hours. But we did at least drive through Washington St in MDR all the way down to the beach. We wound up eating at Island's, which is a tropical themed burger place. Happy hour let me sip a 22-ounce golden ale for just 3 bucks! We wound up eating some sliders and I was happy my plate included over a dozen pickle chips and I didn't even need to ask for them. We also got a basket of fries for two bucks and my God, there must have been three potatoes worth. We may have finished half the fries between us and they were cooked exactly how a french fry should be. Skin-on, just a little seasoning, and crispy and tender at the same time.

We headed back to the room around 6 and Mom said she was just going to lay down and nap. I knew what that meant. She was about to sleep for at least three hours. We did think of catching a movie at the cinema right across the street, but I knew that wasn't happening, at least not that evening. I headed over by myself, but $11 for a ticket seemed a bit much, especially after buying lunch and gasoline. So instead, I went over to Barnes and Noble and finished reading the Andre the Giant biography till about 9:30.

Day 3 (Tuesday) started with a trip to the Getty Museum, tucked high in the hills of L.A. Mom really wanted to check this place out, so who was I to object? I learned when a museum doesn't charge admission, the first thing to do is check the parking price. Fifteen bucks. anyway, this is a art museum that displays works from the Middle Ages to the present day. The unique designs of Richard Meier's architecture also make the Getty one of the more unique structures I've seen in a long time. I liked walking around the Cactus Garden as well as the spiral-shaped Center Garden.

For specific art work, a few pieces stuck out to me in particular. Jan Brueghel's Sermon on the Mount was so intricate and detailed. Aert van der Neer's Moonlit Landscape uses few colors, but the shading is great. And I like the fiery orange in the nighttime too. Vinent Van Gogh's Irises is one of the most popular works in the entire museum. The colors are very vivid and it's remarkable how Van Gogh weaves and layers each flower.

We spent about five hours at the museum, leaving around 3 pm. We drove down to El Pueblo de Los Angeles; I heard it was a nice historic site with a lot of Mexican heritage. We walked through a street fair where every vendor seemed to either sell blankets, shirts, miniature guitars, or lucha libre masks. Lunch was a pair of burritos from a street vendor, and they really weren't that good. Even the sodas didn't taste good! After that, we walked over to the historic Union Street train station, which is renowned for its blend of architecture styles and that it has been around since 1926.

After debating a few ideas on where to go, we finally took one more shot at Griffith Park. After a few minutes of driving uphill and past the Greek Theater, we did find the observatory, although Mom had no desire to walk to it since we would have had to park at least a half mile away. So I just got out and snapped a few quick shots of the valley and the observatory itself. We drove back to MDR to C&O, an Italian joint. I loved the decor immediately, with a ton of Rat Pack memorabilia and their music playing on the jukebox. Great garlic knots too! Mom and I did see Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. While the storyline intrigued me, I found the film rather raw and graphic. I understood it I guess, but I have never disliked a hero or heroine in a film more than Rooney Mara's character.

Day 4 was our transition day, and as it turned out, one of the most grueling on us physically and on our Sentra as well. I certainly would have liked to spend a full day at the beach playing volleyball, but the temperature never even exceeded 65 degrees. Anyway, we checked out of the hotel and drove back to the Santa Monica Pier and spent a good hour there. I remember thinking that it reminded me of Coney Island with the style of shops, the street musicians, the Ferris Wheel, and shops, and then I realized the guy who designed the Pier actually came from Coney Island. About all it needs now is a Subway station and a minor leagues baseball team. I purchased a beaded necklace, my first souvenir. It was cool walking to the end of the pier looking out at the water while listening to the smooth piano of the live musician. Very relaxing indeed. As I walked back, I did see three or four people practicing volleyball and I was in my jeans, so it bummed me out that I couldn't play. And the other thing was the walking surface by the basketball courts. It looked like a composite court, except the ground gave way beneath me. It was sort of bouncing up and down. I don't know what the surface is called, but it's a pretty neat invention.

We drove north a half hour to Burbank and toured NBC Studios from noon till about 1:15. This was where they film the Tonight Show, Carson Daly, Days of Our Lives, etc. With it being Christmas week, there wasn't a whole lot of action going on in the lot. I got to visit the set of the Tonight Show, unfortunately we couldn't take any photos. After 20 minutes of driving east, we found ourselves in Pasadena. We had lunch at Stonefire Grill, I had a few other places in mind, but I guess I had to respect Mom's wishes to eat healthy. Against my will, granted. Anyway, I had a lunch combo of BBQ tri-tip and lemon garlic chicken with a salad and breadstick with a drink for 9 bucks. It was a steal. Almost no carbs, juicy meat, and no tip to pay. And the kitchen staff seriously threw big chunks of raw garlic on the chicken, so even I had to go easy on eating garlic!

Our plan was to travel the entire PCH from LAX all the way to Carlsbad, where we had a 7 pm dinner reservation. But Mom became infuriated that we traveled northeast when we were heading south later. I just didn't realize time was an issue for her, I thought 5 hours would more than suffice. Well, after some arguments, I got us back to the PCH, unfortunately none of it became picturesque until we hit Long Beach, so that was kind of a wasted hour all in all. Although it would have been nice to stop and spend time in Redondo Beach or maybe Manhattan Beach. One town that stuck out was Huntington Beach, it is just gorgeous.