Martin's Musings

It’s chilly (high 50s) and rainy, the Yankees have now beaten the Red Sox two nights in a row, the post office didn’t actually hold my mail while I was away, there’s almost no food in my kitchen, and I have to go to work in the morning — without an umbrella. This can mean only one thing: vacation is now officially over.

Just wanted to close the loop on my travel journal and let you know my flight home was more enjoyable and more comfortable than the flight out to L.A. was. I actually slept for a chunk of it and managed to read an entire (double) issue of Entertainment Weekly. Stopped at Noah’s for a bagel on the way to LAX … and that was basically all the excitement I have to report for the day — if you don’t count the fact that one of my coworkers was also on the flight coming back from L.A., which was fun.

So, yeah … to quote the Soul II Soul song, “Back to life, back to reality.” Please excuse me if I don’t seem happy about it.

You might say I spent my last day in L.A. seeking stars.

Started off by driving down East Altadena Drive to number 1675, to make sure the Walshes’ house was still there. It was, just like I remembered it. (Phew!) Snapped a couple pictures and drove away, so as not to arouse suspicion (there were “neighborhood watch” signs all over).

Then I went to the downtown area to see the Walt Disney Concert Hall (which was still under construction the last time I was here), and find Union Station (which was not what I expected, based on the music videos and films that had been shot there) and City Hall.

After that, I headed on over to Hollywood, to Paramount, to have lunch with Todd (who works there) and our old friend Ross, who was meeting us there.

Then Rebecca (who also works there) gave me a tour of the back lot, pointing out all the historic sets and buildings, and let me pick through her free DVD collection. Suffice it to say, I walked away with six or seven titles, everything from The Naked Gun and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to, ahem, Laguna Beach: Season One. (Hey, it was free!)

And of course, I saw lots of cool stuff on the lot and took lots of pictures.

Oh, and I did have a star sighting: Brandy. (Alright, so maybe it wasn’t Tom or Julia, but it was somebody. And no, I didn’t ask to take her picture; she was there to work.)

Then I drove down Melrose Avenue and decided to head up to Hollywood Boulevard, where I walked around for a bit, checking out (again) the Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater, and that general area.

Got into a “thing” with two guys dressed up as Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper in front of the Chinese Theater who didn’t like me taking their picture without giving them a tip; the Storm Trooper actually waved his finger at me from across the street to tell me not to take the picture!

At night, I headed back to Dodger Stadium to watch the Dodgers play the Mets with Todd, Tiffany and Kerri. (The Mets won, 4-1.)

And then, after filling up my car with gas (which cost me $40!!!) I stopped at 21 Choices for some dessert (think Cold Stone Creamery, except with soft-serve yogurt. There are 21 choices of toppings. I had “Kit Kat Cookie” with M&M’s mixed in. Yum). It was a sweet way to end what has been a really relaxing, really fun, and just really great vacation.

It has been four years since I went away anywhere (my 3-day weekend in Chicago doesn’t count), and I guess I just forgot how nice it was to get away and do fun things.

Getting on the plane to come back home is going to be really tough, as is getting up on Wednesday to go to work.

Of course, I do have one thing to look forward to: Wednesday is my birthday! So, although my vacation is over, I am returning to a celebration and am looking forward to being another year older.

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.