Well, this isn’t much of a leg as it’s just going from one side of LA to another.
On Sunday I met up with some of the local Elise owners for a drive in the canyons. It was rather exciting and the twisties are as tight as some of the ones we have back home. The canyons definitely have more elevation changes than our NC roads, and by the final run I was a little queasy. I was queasy the whole day, so I’m not sure what caused it now. The road surfaces in CA are not very good compared to our mountains, and the terrain becomes quickly crowded with bicyclists, so you have to arrive and drive early.
That afternoon I drove out to Venice Beach to catch up with Doug and his girlfriend. Doug says I trust my GPS too often. The GPS told me to drive down some one-way road and I obliged. As it turned out, it put me on a road that went over the canals of Venice. I think I drove through a videotape interview on one of bridges. Nothing quite like having an orange fiberglass car with an aftermarket exhaust rumble thru your segment. ;)
Doug’s room had a great view of the ocean and boardwalk. We watched a man pee on the tire of a minivan, then get in it and drive away. Later I checked out the local wildlife on the boardwalk. There’s nothing like getting a hippie militant and accusing you of theft for taking his picture in that whiny condescending tone man. The irony of it was quite satisfying.
Later that evening we ate at a Thai restaurant and a senile man (who looked remarkably like David Crosby) walked into the place and started having conversations with entities other than the patrons. There are a larger number of homeless in the area than just the stoners. I don’t think the city has adequate shelters available.
Monday I headed down to Lotus of South Bay to get an air filter (as the Las Vegas dealer was out). I got the chance to meet Qais, Skeeter, and Abe. Friendly bunch of folks and rather busy too. Later that evening I drove out to meet Doug and his girlfriend at Universal Studios. Unfortunately with traffic, I got there with only a little more than 2 hours remaining before close, so I just did some shopping instead and got stung in the neck by a bee (summoned by hippies, no doubt) in the parking garage.
Tomorrow we saddle up for a long drive up the PCH to San Fran...
Sunday, April 22, 2007
