| los angeles |
| This journal page is written in reverse chronological order so it's easy to update. I obviously have enough time to spend on the web to make this my journal of this portion of the trip; I don't know if it will be so full from now on... Great last day here running errands. Highlights were a pedicure, haircut for the desert, and dining alone at the Manhattan Beach Pier: Rockin' Fish Restaurant. I had forgotten how good sourdough bread was! Eating alone also gives me the advantage of being able to just eat the inside of the loaf (sorry Larry)! I'm not really a crust person. This evening a house down the street from Robbie & Ann's burned and there were several fire trucks and howling dogs in the neighborhood. At first I ignored the fire trucks (being used to the sound of them) but then they didn't go away and I realized that I'm not in Cambridge anymore; sirens aren't a way of life in sleepy Manhattan Beach! Today was downtown Los Angeles; a place I've never really explored before and now I know why. I toured the garment district-wholesale is really the way to go, but you couldn't try anything on in any of the shops I went into! Olivera Street was cool; I saw the oldest house in LA built in 1812 and was surrounded by all things I would have seen if I went to Tijuana. Saved me the trip. Evening was spent in Santa Monica at the 3rd Street prominade, neat shopping, and ended up at the Pier for the first Summer Pier Concerts; Michelle Shocked band was great. The smog today made for a great sunset and I took pictures. As soon as they're developed I WILL post them here... Another beach day; Venice Beach, pier, shopping, walking. Manhattan Beach near sunset; it was a CLEAR day and I could see the Santa Monica mountains and Palos Verdes with no trouble! I had to capture the moment and the pier in watercolor; as soon as I can I'll scan it in and add it to the page... Evening with Dave Andrews seeing preview movie of Baby Boy at his workplace, Sony Studios. It was cool to see a movie in the place it was created and the studios are so cool. Neat environment in which to work. Visit to Grandma & Grandpa's house; swimming (last time Grandma had been down to the pool was the last time I came and we went to the pool), played a game of incremental pool in the billards room (sink in order, average was ~9 shots/ball with 3 of us playing), and more gaming after dinner - Rummy K! I think I wasn't welcome after I won 5 of 6 games (I couldn't help it)... Disneyland with Dave Andrews was a blast. My back survived the Tiki Room, Bears Jamboree, Indiana Jones ride, Tarzan Treehouse (re-use of the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse) Mr Toad's wild ride, Sleeping Beauty's Castle, Railroad tour, Davy Crockett's canoes, Pirates of the Carribbean, Haunted Manion, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Innoventions, and the Monorail. Dinner at Downtown Disney's Rainforest Cafe Good movie: we saw Lara Croft: Tomb Raider on it's opening weekend! I highly recommend it for a nice summer flick. Great visuals and loads of action. The highlight of the trip so far was meeting friends Kevin Rugg and Dave Andrews and 8 other friends of Robbie & Ann for a party on the beach at Dockweiler State Beach at a fire pit for the evening. Great fun and really beautiful night. Saw the Torrey Pine in San Diego atTorrey Pines State Park; it's one of only 2 places in the world where these trees are. Great beach day with long walks and mucho sun. Gaslamp Village for dinner in downtown San Diego was good, although we chose a New England style Seafood place without even trying! Universal Studios Hollywood was fun. The studio tour was the most interesting part, and the rest of the day (Foley studio, pyro demonstration Backdraft, hitchcock and Back to the Future effects, Mummy Returns haunted experience) were pretty good. The best part of the day was the T2-3D show! Motorcycles rode through the screen and off into the 3D movie - very cool! Dinner at the Universal City Walk at B.B. King's Blues Club was fun too but we were exhausted. Cove in Palos Verdes surfing and snorkeling! I edited my first suf video of Larry and Ann surfing on Ann's birthday! Here is video 1 (1.3 Meg), Video 2 (697k) and video 3 (1.3 Meg). Each are MPEG files that you should be able to view on your computer. Robbie's new Sony digital video camera is so cool and handy; it's easy to save mpeg video files to the computer. Rode Ann's new electric assisted bike on the Strand from their house in Manhattan Beach to Redondo Beach Pier. Great ride, great views. Lunch overlooking the water in Hermosa Beach Saw still bubbling tar and lots of 30,000 year old bones at La Brea tar Pits, and enjoyed wandering around the Farmers Market. |
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