A Collection of Daily Wisdom by Dennis Sylvester Hurd since September 2003.

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We left Vermont and Santa Monica at 2:00 pm to head to LAX. It took 1.5 hours to get to the airport but only a bit more than 2.5 to fly up the coast. We didn't get in the apartment in New Westminster until 10:15 pm.

Labels: flying, Los Angeles, Q2_2007

I'm sitting in the courtyard of the hotel. It seems all too soon to have to pack my luggage. A week here was enough to only get a taste of the miles of city that exist. It has given an overview and a staple for comparative comments and insights that might be blogged over the next week.

For instance, does NYC or LA make a better spot to visit or to live in permanently? Have I left my heart in San Francisco on a previous visit or shall I drop it off here? If learning a second language here would it best be Spanish, Korean, or Russian? Do people really use the car one owns as a primary way of judging status? If gas jumped to $15/gallon tomorrow, would it really change behavior here? Can one visit LA without venturing to Anaheim? Why could I already find illegal Superman III DVD copies on the sidewalk near MacArthur Park shops?

Today, we went back and walked Sunset Strip but I couldn't find 77. We also walked in MacArthur Park and I bought three, LA t-shirts for 10 bucks from a little old Korean lady who tried speaking Spanish to Jay. We ate at the Central Market again as this has become a bit of a habit. Today I ate Mongolian served with Hong Kong chicken by Latino workers. Tonight we'll just do simple things where the crowds are, probably back up near Hollywood/Highlands.

We have no rush getting out of here tomorrow as our plane doesn't depart until 5 pm. As it's a direct flight back to YVR, we'll be back at home in time for Peter Mansbridge.

Labels: Los Angeles, Q2_2007

In the fourth grade, I first read about the Le Brea Tar Pits. Seeing an artist rendering of a Saber-toothed cat amazed me. Around 37 years later, today, I visited them. Pit 91 was open and it proved to me just how determined a scientist would have to be to muck around in that sludge.



We also spent time riding around on Metro buses. Once a Metro information board downtown, we noted a place called Eagle Rock and just the name made it worth a visit. Then, we accidentally took a return bus that went to Pasadena. We didn't really spot the little old lady but then she wouldn't been out driving to church on a Thursday. If we'd not gone there, we might not have ridden on the new Gold Line train into Union Station.

We ended the night by just taking the Santa Monica bus down to West Hollywood. It's now cooler in the evenings.

Labels: Los Angeles, Q2_2007

I just tried to check on my fish and found that my web cam stopped at 3:00 am last night. I sometimes end up far away from the PC on Microsoft update day. I wish they wouldn't force the PC to reboot!

Things here in LA are peachy. Last night's nearby blaze in Griffith Park is under no longer a threat. The sky is back to a clear blue and the afternoon temperature is still right up there in the 90's F.

Last night we took a bus downtown via the Silver Lake area. It's cute but I'm partial to hills rather than the straight as an arrow avenues and boulevards here. We walked around downtown a bit and ended back up on Hollywood / Vine as it's an easy commute from our hotel area at Santa Monica / Vermont.

This morning I was proud to be up and about early. Well, actually it was 9 o'clock before we left the hotel. We did the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. It lasted more than two hours and was okay but the guides are really told to stick to what the passengers might be interested in. Frankly, it's been a few years since Friends occupied any of my viewing time so they might want to tone down that aspect. I'd rather have seen stuff from the lot in the 1940's but then again, I'm far from normal.

We went downtown and ate at the Central Market. It'd been a while since I had a shawarma plate.

In a while, we've got to head up to see Wicked. I hope it's worth the $80 tickets!

Labels: Hollywood, Los Angeles, musical theatre, Q2_2007, Warner Bros

The routine now includes an afternoon nap. I guess that's fine as this is vacation. It's better to do morning things and the evening ones for it just seems too hot in the afternoons. It's presently in the high 90's Fahrenheit. In fact, the TV is on and we're getting good television shots of the 150-200 acre brush fire in Griffith Park. Still, we've not seen any yellow smog while here.

Last night, we did go to Venice Beach and walked north to Santa Monica. We took a familiar bus back towards our hotel, stopping in West Hollywood on the way. We didn't stop at Beverly Hills as none of our movie-star friends are in LA at the present time.

This morning, we went for a tour of the Kodak Theater. It was interesting to see the location and behind the scenes of the modern Oscars. We also bought tickets at the Pantages for tomorrow evening's performance of Wicked. If you had the choice of Hollywood Walk of Fame stars, whose would you stand near for a photograph? I decided on Bette Davis. After that, we followed the directions from www.metro.net to find a specific vitamin / sports supplement shop but ended up at the wrong address. Still, the air conditioning works well in most buses and although all the streets look the same from the window, I feel as if we're seeing some of real LA.

Labels: Hollywood, Los Angeles, movies, Q2_2007, weather

I'm back at the hotel pool just as I was for yesterday's entry. The water's cool but the outside temperature is 35C or almost 95F today. The wind and the fact it's dry means can say it's no sweat.

Last night, we took a bus down to Santa Monica and walked out on the Pier and along 3rd Avenue which was full of trendy shops, restaurants, and folks out and about. I'm glad I had my jacket I'm easily fooled by LA maps as distances look short but take hours, literally.

This morning we headed downtown first and saw there really is a there out here. We also took a bus to a famous farmers market. There was also shopping nearby and the CBS studios. As I'm standing in the water up to my waste with my laptop perched on the lip of the pool, I'll let you look up the exact information in Google if you are keen of it.

We'll soon probably get ready to head toward Venice Beach this evening.

Labels: Los Angeles, Q2_2007, weather

It's 5:00 pm and I'm just sitting by the pool in sunny LA. There's not a hint of cloud in the sky and it's as blue as robin's egg.

We had a nice flight down yesterday afternoon and have managed to avoid renting a car. Yeah, even in Los Angeles. It took a few rail connections to get to the hotel by Metro but it can be done. This Ramada is at Santa Monica/Vermont on the red line.



We started the day with a nice breakfast. Then ended back up by Hollywood/Highlands but decided to go backstage at the Kodak Theater when there are fewer crowds and the weekend's over. We also went up to Universal City Walk but didn't go in for the rides as we did that once in Florida. Yeah, I know there are new and more exciting rides now. Then, we used our transit passes, which cost just $14 a week, to go downtown. Just a walk from Union Station there was continuing celebration because of Cinco de Mayo.

We're resting and will be out again after this burning sun sets. I'll mention that in tomorrow's blog entry.

Labels: Hollywood, Los Angeles, Q2_2007