City Of Angels

Today we headed to Los Angeles to visit a few of our must see places.  We did not allot much time for this city, because the Pacific is calling our names, and we wanted to get there ASAP.  The weather in LA was about 25 degrees cooler, which made it perfect.   The humidity, however, was back.  Kira's hair got word first, and then my nose started running.  No more dry sinuses, but no more good hair either. There are good and bad things about the dry versus the humid air, but all I know is that if I had to live in the desert, I would have to bathe in a vat of oil every night just to keep myself from spontaneously combusting.  

It took us a little over 2 hours to get from Palm Desert to LA, and although the traffic was bad in spots, it was not as bad as I expected it to be.  I have waited longer on I65 on Friday drives home, but the problem with LA traffic is that it hardly ever thins out.  I cannot imagine how bad it can get during the week when everyone is driving to and from work.  Our first stop was lunch at Carney's on Sunset Blvd.  It is a cute restaurant in an actual railcar and they serve really good burgers and hotdogs, plus wraps and salads.  I was craving a hotdog, and my Carney dog did not disappoint.  

Look at these cuties!  The shirt Anthony is wearing is from Cuba, and can he pull off a hat or what!

After we left there, we walked a bit on Sunset Plaza and did some car watching.  Rolls, Maseratis, Bentleys, Mercedes, Teslas, BMWs---they were all there.  We then drove to Beverly Hills and admired all the large houses that were hidden behind huge gates and trees.  We saw several open air tour vans driving through the area, and I suggested we just drive behind one and go to all the places they went.  The other two did not think that was a very good idea. Photo creds for that second photo go to Kira.  

We then headed to Santa Monica, and stopped first at Venice Beach.  It was every bit as eclectic and weird as I had heard it to be.  There were street vendors, performers and hustlers everywhere, along with people on bikes, scooters, and skate boards.  There was also a LOT of weed, and I don't mean the stuff that grows between the cracks on the sidewalks.  We never actually saw anyone smoking it, but we sure smelled it and probably got second hand buzzed.

After we left Venice, we tried to get to the Santa Monica Pier, but traffic was such a nightmare that Anthony just dropped Kira and me off so we could take a couple of photos and then leave.  Might be a fun place when there aren't 50K people there.  Photo creds again to Kira for the shot of the Pier and the amusement park.

After we left Santa Monica, we doubled back to visit Griffith Observatory, which was my favorite part of our day long fast track through LA.  Credit again to Anthony for his driving skills.  We parked at the bottom of the hill, and luckily I had done some reading up on how to get to the top, so we waited in line to hop on one of their city buses.  This was the cheapest thing we did all day and it was worth it. We paid a total of three dollars to get these views of the city below.  Also, I got a very smoggy photo of the Hollywood sign, but at least I didn't have to hike in the hills to do that.  At first I wanted to drive Mulholland, but after all the hilly driving we have done, I canceled that thought without even bringing it up to Mr. Kingston.

Los Angeles is a unique and beautiful place.  I am glad we visited and were able to see a lot of the iconic landmarks.  I would never want to live there, but I have a ton of respect for those who call it home.  It is not for the faint of heart.

Tonight, we are staying in Dana Point, which is between LA and San Diego.  Tomorrow, I hope to see my first ever whale.