Day 9

Extreme unnecessary closeup

Los Angeles is a big city. Los Angeles, like Houston, is very spread out but it also has a much greater population density. There is a lot to do in this city. I was there just this past July and I know I barely scratched the surface of what the city had to offer. Los Angeles has Hollywood, famous beaches, Beverly Hills, Disneyland, 6-Flags Magic Mountain, and these are just a few of the more touristy things. My wife was in Los Angeles once 12 years ago, but did not get to see any of the city... what to do, what to do.

First thing to do was breakfast. This was to be the last meal at the hotel as the breakfast buffet cost $15 per person... but that homemade waffle was so freaking good. The first place we went was up to Mulholland Drive. I wanted to show my wife the view of the Los Angeles basin from up there. Unfortunately all we got to see was a mixture of fog and smog... it was hard enough just to see the buildings on Hollywood Boulevard.

From there we went to Beverly Hills and the world famous Rodeo Drive. Rodeo Drive is a beautiful little stretch of urban street, but just being on that road makes me feel poor. Any effects from a sick economy aren't felt in Beverly Hills. We walked around for a bit, took some pictures, and left to see where we could go next.

While trying to exit the Beverly Hills area via La Cienega, I came across The Stinking Rose. I wanted to eat there last time I was in Los Angeles, but never got the chance. We had lunch, which would have been perfect had it not been for the appetizer, and dessert - garlic ice cream. I like garlic.

We did some walking up and down Hollywood Boulevard. My wife got to get some pics with her favorite stars' landmarks and some pics of the sidewalk in front of Mann's Chinese Theater. I had no problem doing the touristy thing with my wife since she had not seen any of this before.

After spending about 30 minutes at the hotel we went into Hawthorn, California, near Inglewood to visit one of my wife's childhood friends. The last time they had seen each other was in 1996 at her wedding. They were happy to see each other, although I'm not quite sure what to make of this woman's husband. He was curt to the point of rudeness when we got there and after about 10 minutes made a not-so-graceful exit from the room. As far as I was concerned it was good riddance. My wife's friend wanted us to stay there while we were in Los Angeles, but I'm glad my wife decided not to do so. I think we would have been searching for a hotel on the 2nd day.

As we leave her friend's house I realize how glad I am took the Loss Damage Waiver on the car. The front air scoop under the front fascia bottomed out as I backed out of the driveway. I looked at when we got back to the hotel - it was scratched up pretty bad. That little voice in my head actually got through to me for once.

Off to bed we go because we have an early brunch appointment with my wife's friend. Goodnight.