Been back from California for a week, but I’ve been a little too busy until now to do a proper write-up of the trip. Here’s the highlights version, with some bonus! photos.
The trip was a great success and, unsurprisingly, a hell of a lot of fun. We — “we” being my Pop and I — managed to see and do quite a bit in just a couple of days.
On the first day we explored bits of L.A. and did a lot of the tourist-y yet fun things one does. Of course, said touristing started out with getting our pictures taken with the Hollywood sign in the background.
As my friend Lauren said, it’s like the American equivalent of getting one’s picture taken holding up the Tower of Pisa.
Next, we hiked up Hollywood Blvd for a while, taking in such sights as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds. We didn’t go into either of them, as they were already busy and time wouldn’t really permit, but being able to see them up close was pretty damn cool. And for a small donation, I was able to get my picture taken with Yoda.
If they’re reduced to posing for photos with tourists, then clearly the Jedi have fallen on hard times.
I also took a quick shot of this Scientology Testing Center, then took off before the folks inside could sic their pet Xenu on me.
We drove through Beverly Hills afterwards, taking in all the very gorgeous and expensive homes. I kept hoping I’d see a celebrity walking around so I could stick my head out the window and shriek, “OH MY GOD IT’S BRAD PITT!” Alas, I saw none.
The whole of Beverly Hills is just stupid nice and fancy. This façade of luxury extends even to their retail chains.
(Photo by Liz Hall)
Honestly, I think that this image is the one that’ll stick with me whenever I think of the Hills in the future.
Our last stop for the day was Chinatown, because, really. There’s just something inherently wrong if a person visits L.A. and doesn’t take time out to visit Chinatown.
Throngs of tourists clogged the shops and restaurants lining the streets, and that was entertaining, but what was really fascinating was diverting from the main areas into some of the smaller plazas and shops. These were mostly filled with Chinese people and were less tourist-oriented. It felt more like what my mental image of Chinatown was.
I feel kind of bad that we didn’t get any authentic Chinese cuisine. We weren’t terribly hungry, so instead we bought a couple of hotdogs from a Mexican street vendor. It was delicious.
The next day we drove over to Redondo Beach, and wandered around the pier and boardwalk for a while. I took in the agglomeration of sailboats that filled the marinas, and silently schemed on how I could get one.
We, along with a group of Japanese tourists, watched on as a couple of pelicans pester the fishermen on the pier. The pelicans would brazenly approach them hoping to snatch up any little fishies that would be dropped on the ground.
Lunch was had at Tony’s, this wonderfully nautical-looking seafood joint situated on the pier that overlooked the water. I won’t lie: I sort of fell in love with it. It’s everything that I think a seafood restaurant should be.
We also played ski ball in a rundown arcade — the Fun Factory — that didn’t appear to have been updated since the early Nineties. I tried to engage my dad in a game of Pong on this ancient black-and-white machine, but the second player’s wheel didn’t work, which seemed sort of fitting.
And I was able to finally dip my feet in the Pacific Ocean.
The rest of the trip was fun, but my dad had meetings during the day, so I mostly hung around Long Beach, where our hotel was. I whiled away my mornings visiting used book stores, and the afternoons and evenings were spent drinking beer, writing, and just generally being a lazy bastard. It was wonderful.
I’ve got more photos up on Flickr and Facebook, should you care to peruse them. And if you’re not interested . . . well, then, you can sod off.
