Martin's Musings

I’ve been staying in Altadena with Todd and Tiffany this weekend (for reference, their place is not too far from 1675 E. Altadena Drive), and I spent yesterday with them. After starting the day sitting around reading The L.A. Times we went to Dish for brunch (where we had one of the most upbeat waiters of all time), and then Todd and I went off to the Huntington to walk around, check out the gardens, and generally just enjoy the near-90 degree and sunny weather. (I’ve been told that the weather wasn’t this nice until just a few days ago, so clearly I timed my trip just right. And yes, I’ve been wearing sunscreen.) The gardens were nice — not soooooo well-maintained, but still worth seeing — and we had a good time. Unfortunately, the thing we really wanted to see — an actual Gutenberg Bible — was off display. But I guess sweating under the hot sun was also fun, and by the time we left, it’s fair to say we both felt sorta beaten down by the heat. Then we drove around Pasadena, got out and walked around Old Pasadena (which is a lot less “old” now than the last time I was here four years ago), and headed home to meet up with Tiffany. Dinner was at Green Street Restaurant, which is right near a Hamburger Hamlet — not to be confused with a Hot Dog Macbeth or Sushi Othello, or even a Deserts All’s Well That Ends Well. (Actually, we almost went to Ruth’s Chris but didn’t, partly so we could stay in shorts.) Anyway, that was the day. Good, low-key, and very hot.

It’s hard to tell which song to quote: Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” or the Riviera’s “California Sun,” but since I used one for the headline of this post, I’ll say now that I’m out here a-havin’ fun in the warm California sun.

Spent yesterday with Rebecca. Met up with Jake (formerly Howie) at Basix in West Hollywood for brunch, ate delicious pancakes, etc. Then we headed over to Venice for a couple hours, walked the canals, saw the houses (no two the same), took many pictures (again, the above is not one of mine), hung out on the beach, got wet in the Pacific Ocean, took more pictures.

Then at night we went to Royce Hall at UCLA for a silent film gala screening Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last! with live accompaniment by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

And then, somehow, Rebecca navigated me from her place in Hollywood back to the 134 through all kinds of side roads and whatnot, and on a Saturday night too. Very impressive.

All told, having a very good time. I’m totally relaxed and very happy I decided to get away. Really needed the vacation.

As I’ve learned time and again, it’s a bad thing for me to be set loose in a nice place with my camera, and now that I’m on vacation here in Los Angeles, I’ve slipped all-too-easily into the role of “tourist.” Yesterday I went to one of my favorite places, the Getty Center, and must have taken about 50 pictures, some of the same things from different angles. In fact, I was there for about three hours, and not counting the architecture, I didn’t see a single piece of art. And it’s not like this was my first trip there. (I should add right away that the picture above is not one of mine, but one I found on Wikipedia’s site about the Getty that I really like.) You’ll see all my pictures and hear all my stories when I return to the right coast, but as long as I have Web access at Todd and Tiffany’s, I thought I’d give some quick trip updates every day before I set off, in case you’re interested in what I’m up to out here. Had a good flight, it was half-full, and despite having more space than I needed and two whole rows to choose from, I couldn’t sleep. Thankfully, the inflight movie was King Kong, so I watched that again. Yesterday I went to Westwood and had brunch at Jerry’s, mmmmmmmm. While I was walking around, I saw an armed robbery in progress at the EB Games store (well, not from inside the store, but I saw the cops with guns and the backup and the helicopter and the newsvans, etc.). Good stuff (and no, I didn’t take any pictures of it). Went to the Getty with Rachel, who I’ll also see next week at Reunion. Went to the Dodger game vs Phillies with Todd, Tiffany and Kerri. The Dodgers lost, but it was good to see that Nomar is loved by the fans and playing well — the PA plays “Low Rider” when he comes up to bat. Also, it was Ron Cey bobble head night. (Bonus!) And the temperatures here are in the mid-80s, which is really nice. I’m just relaxing and taking it easy out here, on this last weekend of my 31st year. If yesterday was any indication, it should be a good rest of the trip.